The first Dota 2 LAN of the season, the Mars Dota 2 League (MDL) has been announced today, and is set to take place from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. The LAN will feature eight teams vying for a prize pool of $250,000 in Xiamen, China.
Four of the eight teams competing are directly invited, non-regional to China-based MarsTV. These teams include Evil Geniuses, MVP Phoenix, OG and Team Secret, competing in their first LAN since the fall roster shuffle. Newbee and Vici Gaming will also be included in the pool of eight, having qualified from their performance in the Dota 2 Professional League prior to The International 6. The final two teams will be the finalists of the Chinese qualifiers.
Every roster competing in this LAN has gone through drastic changes after TI6. MDL will be one of the earliest litmus tests to see if the new look is clicking for teams.