Move aside, Natus Vincere, there’s a bigger, stronger candidate at the Dota 2 Champions League Season 7. The age of established powerhouses has collapsed, and it’s all thanks to Team Spirit’s miracle run at the International. They are the reason we are seeing many unfamiliar names at the Dota Pro Circuit 2021-22 (DPC2021-22) and Dota 2 Champions League Season 7 alike.

Deep into the bracket stage at Dota 2 Champions League Season 7, plenty of new teams are making names for themselves. Let’s see what they are up to, and set our predictions for the final stage of the event.

Entity vs Gladiators

The upper bracket series of Dota 2 Champions League Season 7 is surely extraordinary this time around, as it features two unfamiliar teams.

First, a stack of eastern European players, which goes by the name Entity, swept Natus Vincere out of the upper bracket earlier. Evidently, Entity threw versatility out of their book and prioritized cheese strategies to win versus NaVi. Their overpowering combo that can instantly kill any hero, consists of Queen of Pain, Disruptor, Bloodseeker, and Nyx Assassin. These heroes aren’t just powerful in terms of offense but also counter-initiations. As a cherry on top, they picked either Broodmother or Lycan as a disgusting assurance to win the midgame.

In hindsight, Entity is clearly a one-trick pony, that got lucky at bamboozling Navi with a broken draft. However, it’s likely the most assuring way to win the series against a powerhouse.

Gladiators, formerly Team Tickles, is the real deal. These are the same folks who won first runner-up at the DPC2021-22 Western Europe, defeating notable opponents, such as Team Secret, OG, and Tundra Esports. While certainly not an underdog in Dota 2 Champions League Season 7, Gladiators’ humble days date back to the DPC2021-22, where they earned promotion to Division 1. Entity won’t be able to keep up these charades any longer, not against a DPC2021-22 big shot.

Unsurprisingly, the Dota 2 odds favor Gladiators at x1.34 versus Entity at x3.14 returns.

Natus Vincere vs Nemiga Gaming

Down in the lower bracket, Natus Vincere is still baffled by their unexpected loss to a sly opponent, such as Entity. That said, a match with Nemiga Gaming wouldn’t be difficult to win, considering their seasoned line-up.

For the uninitiated, Navi is now home to many all-star players, several of whom are major champions. Notably, the former Virtus.pro players, Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko and Alexey “Solo” Berezin. Yet, their downhill performance since debuting in DPC2021-22 Eastern Europe is a blatant sign of an unreliable candidate in Dota 2 betting.

Nemiga Gaming is mediocre at best and is struggling to even stay afloat in Division 2 of DPC2021-22 EEU. Despite the many roster changes, Nemiga just isn’t improving, and it might be time to call it quits soon.

The power gap is enough to give NaVi a strategic spot to win at x1.51 versus Nemiga at x2.48 odds.

HellRaisers vs V-Gaming

V-Gaming is creating waves with its sensational upsets on many formidable opponents, namely HYDRA and Winstrike.

Once again, V-Gaming adopts a similar drafting pattern with Entity. They rinse and repeat their staple heroes, occasionally with a single hero swap to switch up the combo. While V-Gaming’s streak feels thrilling, they are up against a DPC top-four soon.

HellRaisers is a powerhouse that has shown hints of potential ever since they adopted their new roster. We had said their progress in DPC2021-22 isn’t too shabby, so expect great things from these young guns.

V-Gaming seems to prefer playing heroes that scale into the late game, which is a heavy investment against powerhouse teams. Most powerhouses are proficient at preventing the game from lasting absurdly long, so V-Gaming’s usual tactics might not work.

Expect HellRaisers to win at x1.34 versus V-Gaming at x3.16 returns.

It’s the rise of underdogs as they call it at Dota 2 Champions League Season 7. However, it’s not the end for the powerhouses who got upset in the cheekiest style possible. If Navi and HellRaisers win their lower bracket rounds, they are bound to face their opponents once again for a rematch.

The Dota 2 Champions League Season 7 is scheduled throughout this week, so that’s ample time to put up a decent betting slip. Not long after, consider checking out the DPC2021-22 Regional Finals WEU too, which will surely showcase Gladiator’s potential among the strongest teams in that region.