Competitive World of Warcraft is back on the menu, with the Shadowlands Mythic Dungeon Invitational (MDI) Global Finals taking place October 21-31.
The event sees the best WoW teams duke it out in a series of dungeon races, with teams competing to complete certain dungeons as fast as possible. Each team earned their place at these finals through intense competition throughout the year, meaning we’re set for some intense action.
Make sure to check out our guide on all things World of Warcraft Esports and let’s take a look at who’s racing and the MDI Global Finals format.
Who’s Competing in the MDI Global Finals Season 2?
There will be eight teams battling it out at the Mythic Dungeon Invitational, which includes all of the best in the world, who have earned their spot through league play. This includes all the usual favorites like Echo, Complexity and Perplexed, as well as some underdogs in Ambition, Incarnation, Obey Alliance, Team Name and China’s representative Aster.Y.
The biggest team to watch is of course Echo, which comes in as current World First Race and MDI champion, having entered a period of domination in Shadowlands. However, Complexity has also made a strong case for themselves, and there’s always the surprise factor to look out for from Aster.Y, hailing from the Chinese league that is separate from the rest of the competitions.
Meanwhile, the event itself is rather straightforward. The teams meet in a double-elimination bracket, which means they are eliminated after two series losses and the last team left standing wins. Interestingly enough, the two favorites, Echo and Complexity, meet in the first round, which could very well end up being the grand final as well.
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Echo | +137 |
| Complexity | +175 |
| Perplexed | +400 |
| Incarnation | +800 |
| Aster.Y | +1600 |
| Obey Alliance | +4000 |
| Team Name | +6000 |
| Ambition | +8000 |
Odds as of October 26 at Sportsbook
Echo Looks to Return to Winning Ways After Shaky Season
Despite being World First Race and current MDI champion, Echo does have some work to do if they wish to retain their crown. The team is known as the best across World of Warcraft, but they had a rather shaky season, shockingly dropping two series to Incarnation in the group stage and finishing second in time trials.
This means that unlike season 1, Echo has shown they can be defeated. As such, it’s looking like this Global Finals may be closer than before, though all eyes will still be on Echo as they should be able to regain their championship form and take the win here.
Can Complexity Finally Take Down Echo?
Complexity has been playing second fiddle to Echo throughout Shadowlands, coming second in both the World First Race and just behind their rivals in the MDI time trials.
Despite that, the squad definitely has the talent to be No. 1 and has proven in the past they can take the crown. However, this expansion hasn’t gone particularly well for them so far, so it remains to be seen if they can actually defeat the favorites.
What Can We Expect From The Underdogs?
This season seems to be the most promising so far when it comes to the underdogs, with even the favorites showing they can be defeated. Most notably, Perplexed managed to win the time trials, while Incarnation took down Echo twice in the group stages.
We also have Aster.Y hailing from China – a region that always brings a surprise or two to international events – and even Obey Alliance managed to take a game off of Complexity.
So, while the favorites are still favorites for a reason, they have shown some gaps in their gameplay and if there was ever a good time to bet on an underdog victory, this may very well be it.
