Mythic Dungeon Invitational – Teams, Statistics, Predictions

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Logo of Wow dungeon PVE esport

Logo of Wow dungeon PVE esportThe Mythic Dungeon Invitational is Blizzards newest and perhaps most experimental eSports to date. It is a Player versus Environment tournament, build around the mythic dungeon feature from World of Warcraft Legion. Which see top teams from around the world compete in high-level mythic dungeons on a timer, to see who’s the best five-man dungeon roster in the world.

This type of eSports is not entirely new to Blizzard. It’s rooted in the mythic raiding race sometimes hosted by Blizzard at BlizzCon and other big gaming conventions. Which saw two of the top guilds in the world race each other in the latest raid. However, it is the first time we see an actual organized PVE race tournament with prize pools and everything.

Over the last couple of weeks, the top teams from around the world have been competing, and we now move on to the quarter and grand finals this weekend(9/30 and 10/01). So this weekend will be the last chance for a while to watch this, surprisingly entertaining eSport.

This article is designed to give you a complete overview of the tournament, teams and catch you up to date if you have been missing out on the action.

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In-game world of warcraft screenshot

Mythic Dungeon Invitational – What is it?

If you are up to date or fully understand the concept of MDI, you can safely skip this section.

How it works

These are the basic rules of engagement for the MDI.

  • Two teams face off in a best of 3 mythic dungeon race. Loser chooses next dungeon.
  • Teams are free to choose whatever combination of classes they wish.
  • Keystone affixes are determined by Blizzard.
  • Keystone level set to 17.
  • The first dungeon of each series is pre-determined by Blizzard.
  • All Legion Mythic+ dungeons are eligible
  • Gear is scaled to item level 935 and Artifacts are set to item level 965.
  • Grand Finals will be best of 5.

Qualifications, brackets and Tournament structure

  • The Mythic Dungeon Invitational has a total prize pool of 100.000$.
  • The MDI is divided into four regions. Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and China.
  • It started July 25 – August 8 with the proving grounds, where everyone could upload their mythic keystone timers. The best 32 teams from around the world then moved on to the Mythic Dungeon Invitational.
  • Early September the MDI started with teams facing off against the other contenders of their region in an elimination bracket. Leaving only the two best teams in each region left standing to represent their region in the global finals.
  • September 30th is the day of the Global Quater Finals, where the eight best teams will face off in a head-to-head single elimination bracket to find out who will make it to the grand finals.
  • October 1st the grand finals will take place. The winners of the single elimination bracket will face off in a best of 5 to determine the global champions.

In-game screenshot from Wow dungeon

The Teams

Let us take a deeper look at the 8 teams that made it to the final weekend. The statistics used in this article is purely from the Regionals and will not include stats from the Proving Grounds.


Premonition(Americas)

Americas Regionals Rank #1

Premonition is the number 1 team from Americas regionals and defeated ”Friends with Affixes” 2-0 in the Regional Finals.

Roster

  • Tank: Eman
  • Healer: Zach
  • DPS: Cistara, Topcatz, Malvose

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

Their most common combo in the regionals was: Guardian druid, Holy Paladin, Marksmanship Hunter, Arms Warrior and Fire Mage.

  • Guardian Druid: Picked in 7/7 dungeons in the regional
  • Holy Paladin: Picked in 7/7 dungeons.
  • Marksmanship Hunter: Picked in 7/7 dungeons.
  • Arms Warrior: Picked in 6/7 dungeons.
  • Fire Mage: Picked in 4/7 dungeons.

Niche Picks

  • Subtlety Rogue: Picked in 3/7 dungeons.
  • Unholy Deathknight: Picked one time in the regionals.

Premonition Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 7
  • Deaths: 27
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 3.8
  • Fastest Run: 19:16 in Darkhearts Thickets versus Defenestrate. Sanguine, Quaking, Tyrannical.
  • Slowest Run: 26:11 in Halls of Valor versus Deplete. Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming.
  • W/L: 6 Wins, 1 Loss.

Friends with Affixes(Americas)

Americas Regionals Rank #2

Friends with Affixes were ranked as the number 1 team in Americas leading up to the tournament but lost in the regional finals to Premonition. Although Premonition won the series 2-0 it was incredibly close with only 17 seconds apart in the first run on Cathedral of Eternal Night and 31 seconds on their final run in Neltharions Lair.

Roster

  • Tank: Jason
  • Healer: Feraldog
  • DPS: Imfiredup, Bigluke, Vymm

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

Their most played combination in the regionals was: Brewmaster Monk, Restoration Druid, Beastmastery Hunter, Balance Druid and Arms Warrior. In 2 cases they ran double Balance druid instead of having an Arms Warrior.

  • Brewmaster Monk: Picked in 7/7 dungeons in the regionals.
  • Restoration Druid: Picked in 7/7 dungeons.
  • Balance Druid: Picked 9 times over the course of 7 runs.
  • Beast Mastery Hunter: Picked in 7/7 dungeons.
  • Arms Warrior: Picked in 5/7 dungeons.

Friends with Affixes didn’t show much range in their picks at the regionals. However, we know from the proving grounds that Imfiredup is more than comfortable with whipping out his mage.

Friends with Affixes Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 7
  • Deaths: 62
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 8.8
  • Fastest Run: 20:18 in Cathedral of Eternal Night versus Premonition. Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming.
  • Slowest Run: 28:51 in Halls of Valor versus Lethal. Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming.
  • W/L: 4 Wins, 3 Losses.

Raider.IO(EU)

Europe Regionals Rank #1

Raider.IO is one of the big favorites to win and was ranked as the best team in the world before the tournament. They have lived up to the hype with a 100% win rate in the regionals, although they did win their first series by forfeit. So they only had to play 2 series total in the regionals, but with a 2-0 in the regional final, they are looking incredibly strong.

Roster

  • Tank: Thorlefulz
  • Healer: Meowchan
  • DPS: Musclebrah, Tarkam, Guti

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

They ran the same combination in every 4 of their dungeons in the regionals. Blood Death Knight, Holy Paladin, Subtlety Rogue, Balance Druid and Arms Warrior.

  • Blood Death Knight 4/4
  • Holy Paladin 4/4
  • Subtlety Rogue 4/4
  • Balance Druid 4/4
  • Arms Warrior 4/4

Raider.IO is one of the few teams that stuck entirely to 1 combination of classes throughout the entire regionals, and they ran the same in the Proving Grounds. One has to wonder if it is a potential weakness that they show so little range in their picks.

Raider.IO Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 4
  • Deaths: 8
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 2
  • Fastest Run: 17:04 in Return to Karazhan: Upper versus Premonition. Explosive, Bolstering, Fortified.
  • Slowest Run: 24:28 in Halls of Valor versus Lethal. Raging, Grievous, Fortified.
  • W/L: 4 Wins, 0 Losses.

Team Bigpull(EU)

Europe Regionals Rank #2

Team Bigpull was only ranked as the number 5 team in Europe during the Proving Grounds. However, they fought tooth and nail and made it to the regional finals but lost 2-0 to Raider.IO. Making it the second-seeded EU team at the global.

Roster

  • Tank: Nezro
  • Healer: Gnizz
  • DPS: Hundemensch, Kenvo, Bufey

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

One of the few teams to switch the class of their healer from dungeon to dungeon. They often ran Blood DK, Resto Druid or Holy Paladin, Marksmanship Hunter and 2 Subtlety Rogues.

  • Blood Death Knight: Picked in 8 out of their 8 runs in the regionals.
  • Restoration Druid: Picked 6/8 dungeons.
  • Subtlety Rogue: Was picked 13 times over the course of 8 dungeon runs. They love their double subtlety rogue set up.
  • Marksmanship Hunter: Picked in 6/8 dungeons.

Niche Picks

  • Holy Paladin: Picked in 2/8 dungeons.
  • Beast Mastery Hunter: Picked in 2/8 dungeons.
  • Arms Warrior: Picked in 3/8 dungeons.

Team Bigpull Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 8
  • Deaths: 68
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 8.5
  • Fastest Run: 15:21 Maw of Souls versus Sneaky Snakes. Sanguine, Quaking, Tyrannical.
  • Slowest Run: 25:57 The Arcway versus Absolution. Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming.
  • W/L: 4 Wins, 4 Losses.

Honestly(Asia Pacific)

Asia Pacific Regional Rank #1

Much like Raider.IO, Honestly only played 2 series throughout the regionals but also managed to win both 2-0. Including the finals against Free Marsy.

Roster

  • Tank: Pumps
  • Healer: Dorfie
  • DPS: Nibren, Meod, Warler

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

Honestly played more or less the same setup in all 4 dungeon runs. Guardian Druid, Restoration Druid, Subtlety Rogue, Affliction Warlock and either Frost Mage or Balance Druid.

  • Guardian Druid: Was picked in all 4 dungeons by Honestly.
  • Restoration Druid: Picked in 4/4 dungeons.
  • Subtlety Rogue: Picked in 4/4 dungeons.
  • Affliction Warlock: Picked in 4/4 dungeons.
  • Frost Mage: Picked in 2/4 dungeons.
  • Balance Druid: Picked in 2/4 dungeons.

Honestly Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 4
  • Deaths: 14
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 3.5
  • Fastest Run: 21:01 Cathedral of Eternal Night versus Free Marsy. Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming.
  • Slowest Run: 24:12 Return to Karazhan: Lower versus Team Ook. Bolstering, Explosive, Fortified.
  • W/L: 4 Wins, 0 Losses.

Free Marsy(Asia Pacific)

Asia Pacific Regional Rank #2

Free Marsy looked very sharp throughout the regionals with a 4-0 until the final. Their winning streak was cut short against Honestly in the regional final who won 2-0.

Roster

  • Tank: Brath
  • Healer: Xera
  • DPS: Ero, Poom, Retrofresh

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

Free Marsy only switched 1 class, once, throughout the regionals. Their ideal setup looked like this: Guardian Druid, Restoration Druid, Subtlety Rogue, Beast Mastery Hunter and Arms Warrior.

  • Guardian Druid: Was picked in 5 out of 6 of their dungeon runs at the regionals.
  • Restoration Druid: Picked 6/6 times.
  • Subtlety Rogue: Picked 6/6 times.
  • Beast Mastery Hunter: Picked 6/6 times.
  • Arms Warrior: Picked 6/6 times.

Niche Pick

  • Brewmaster Monk was chosen once on a Return to Karazhan: Lower run against Goinmul.

Free Marsy Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 6
  • Deaths: 46
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 7.6
  • Fastest Run: 19:06 Return to Karazhan: Upper versus Goinmul. Raging, Grievous, Fortified.
  • Slowest Run: 32:22 Return to Karazhan: Lower versus Goinmul. Bolstering, Explosive, Fortified.
  • W/L: 4 Wins, 2 Losses.

Team MPE(China)

China Reginal Rank #1

Team MPE went undefeated throughout the regionals and took the number 1 spot in China.

Roster

  • Tank: 大帅哥阿诺
  • Healer: 大帅哥阿斌
  • DPS: 基丶少, 斗鱼天空, 清风丶拂颜

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

Team MPE was incredibly consistent with their setup and only switched one of their classes, once. Their favorite composition was: Blood Death Knight, Restoration Druid, Windwalker Monk, Havoc Demon Hunter and Beast Mastery Hunter.

  • Blood Death Knight: Picked in all 5 of their dungeon runs in the regionals.
  • Restoration Druid: Picked 5/5 times.
  • Havoc Demon Hunter: Picked 5/5 times.
  • Beast Mastery Hunter: Picked 5/5 times.
  • Windwalker Monk: Picked 4/5 times.

Niche picks

  • They swapped their Windwalker monk one time for an Arms Warrior on a COEN run with Explosive, Volcanic and Teeming.

Team MPE Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 5
  • Deaths: 33
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 6.6
  • Fastest Run: 17:18 Maw of Souls versus Death from Above. Sanguine, Quaking, Tyrannical.
  • Slowest Run: 28:28 The Arcway versus NGA Casual Gamers. Raging, Grievous, Fortified.
  • W/L: 5 Wins, 0 Losses.

MMT(China)

China Reginal Rank #2

MMT had a hard time in the regionals compared to MPE but still managed to get the number 2 spot in China.

Roster

  • Tank: 大帅哥阿诺
  • Healer: 大帅哥阿斌
  • DPS: Vsal, 斗鱼天空, 清风丶拂颜

Favorite Classes & Combinations in the regionals

MMT did make some switches occasionally, but their favorite composition was: Guardian Druid, Holy Paladin, Havoc Demon Hunter, Beast Mastery Hunter and Subtlety Rogue.

  • Guardian Druid: Was picked in 7 out of their 8 dungeon runs at the regionals.
  • Holy Paladin: Picked 7/8 times.
  • Subtlety Rogue: Picked 9 times out of 8 runs.
  • Beast Mastery Hunter: Picked 8/8 times.
  • Havoc Demon Hunter: Picked 7/8 times.

Niche Picks

  • Blood Death Knight and Restoration Shaman was selected once on Eye of Azhara in the finals against MPE. With Raging, Grievous and fortified affixes.

MMT Stats at the Regionals

  • Dungeons Run: 8
  • Deaths: 63
  • Average # Deaths Per Run: 7.8
  • Fastest Run: 20:56 Darkheart Thicket versus World Peace. Teeming, Volcanic, Tyrannical.
  • Slowest Run: 27:56 Neltharions Lair versus World Peace. Bolstering, Explosive, Fortified.
  • W/L: 4 Wins, 4 Losses.

In-game screenshot of ROS in world of warcraft

Global Quarter Final Predictions – Head to Head

Now we’ll take a look at the first matches happening in the quarter-final and see how the teams match up on paper. I will be comparing similar dungeon runs between the teams, sometimes there is not an actual concrete timer as the team forfeited before finishing. In those cases, I will assume that they had at least 1 minute left to go but likely more. Note that not all teams have played through the same dungeons and affixes so the number of comparisons can vary.

Premonition Vs. MMT

W/L: 6/1 – 4/4

Deaths: 27  63

Average # Deaths Per Run: 3.8 7.8

HOV Time(Same affixes): 26:11 – 27:46

DHT Time: 19:16(Sanguine, Quaking, Tyrannical) 20:56(Teeming, Volcanic, Tyrannical)

NL Time: 21:03(Raging, Grievous, Fortified) 27:56(Bolstering, Explosive, Fortified)

Chromie Predicts: Premonition as the winner


Honestly Vs. Team Bigpull

W/L: 4/04/4

Deaths: 1468

Average # Deaths Per Run: 3.5 – 8.5

BRH Time(Same affixes): 23:13+24:00(N/A)

COEN Time(Same affixes): 21:02+21:00(N/A)

Chromie Predicts: Honestly as the winner. While Honestly looks much better on paper, it is worth noting that Team Bigpull had much tougher overall opponents and therefore didn’t finish some dungeons.


Team MPE Vs. Free Marsy

W/L: 5/04/2

Deaths: 33 46

Average # Deaths Per Run: 6.67.6

COEN Time(Same affixes): 22:53+22:02(N/A)

Upper Kara Time: 19:20(Bolstering, Explosive, Fortified) – 19:06(Raging, Grievous, Fortified)

Chromie Predicts: A close series with Team MPE coming out slightly on top.


Raider.IO Vs. Friends with Affixes

W/L: 4/04/3

Deaths: 8 – 62

Average # Deaths Per Run: 28.8

COEN Time(Same affixes): 19:38 – 20:18

HOV Time: 24:28(Raging, Grievous, Fortified) – 28:51(Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming)

Chromie Predicts: Raider.IO will win, but FWA will put up a good fight.


I was planning to do a full class and specialization overview, but the good people at Medium already did that. So check out their article if you want class statistics from the MDI.

World of Warcraft screenshot from Maw of SoulsAffixes Stats & Comparison

We all have our own experience of what affix is the ”hardest”. However, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the actual kill count and best/worst dungeon timers for each of the affix combinations we saw at the regionals. All dungeons were played at keystone level 17. Take into account that not all affix combinations were played on the same dungeons and the statistics should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

Sanguine, Quaking & Tyrannical

Quarter Finals

  • This combination of affixes was seen 14 times. 
  • Dungeons: Darkheart Thicket and Maw of Souls
  • Total Kill Count: 126
  • Average Deaths pr run: 9
  • Fastest run: 14:55 by Harsies(EU) in Maw of Souls
  • Slowest run: 23:23 by NAGP(Asia Pacific) in Darkheart Thicket.

I was surprised to see the frankly huge difference between completion time in MoS with these affixes between EU and China.


Teeming, Volcanic & Tyrannical

Quarter Finals

  • This combination of affixes was seen 13 times.
  • Dungeons: Vault of the Wardens, Neltharions Lair, Court of Stars, Darkheart Thicket,
  • Total Kill Count: 127
  • Average Deaths pr run: 9.7
  • Fastest run: 19:25 by Absolution(EU) in Darkheart Thicket.
  • Slowest run: 25:47 by NGA Casual Gamers(China) Neltharions Lair.

Bolstering, Explosive & Fortified

Semifinals

  • This combination of affixes was seen 8 times.
  • Dungeons: Upper & Lower Karazhan
  • Total Kill Count: 136
  • Average Deaths pr run: 17
  • Fastest run: 16:02 by Team Bigpull(EU) in Return to Karazhan: Upper.
  • Slowest run: 32:22 by Free Marsy(Asia Pacific) in Return to Karazhan: Lower.

It is worth noting that Free Marsy won their run on Karazhan Lower, despite it being the slowest recorded run in the regionals, as their opponents failed to finish entirely. Says something about this combination of affixes on Lower Karazhan.


Raging, Grievous & Fortified – Highest Kill Count

This combination of affixes seems to be particularly nasty.

Semifinals/Finals

  • This combination of affixes was seen 12 times.
  • Dungeons: Upper & Lower Karazhan, Blackrook Hold, The Arcway, Neltharions Lair, Eye of Azhara and Halls of Valor.
  • Total Kill Count: 240
  • Average Deaths pr run: 20
  • Fastest run: 17:37 by Raider.IO(EU) in Return to Karazhan: Lower.
  • Slowest run: 28:28 by Team MPE(China) in The Arcway.

Fun fact: Despite the incredibly high kill count of these affixes, Honestly, Free Marsy, Raider.IO and Harsies all did it without a single death, while Team Deplete suffered 43 deaths in a single run.


Explosive, Volcanic, Teeming

Finals

  • This combination of affixes was seen 4 times.
  • Dungeon: Cathedral of Eternal Night
  • Total Kill Count: 74
  • Average Deaths pr run: 18.5
  • Fastest run: 19:38 by Raider.IO(EU).
  • Slowest run: 22:53 by Team MPE(China).

As the only dungeon run with the same affixes across all regions, it serves as an excellent comparison tool between the regions.


Image taken from COEN in world of warcraft

COEN Stats – Region Comparisons

COEN is the only dungeon that was run by every single region with the same affixes. Seeing as it was the first map predetermined by Blizzard in the regional finals. Therefore it is the only dungeon we can actually use to make a regional comparison. Although it will only include statistics from the 8 teams that made it to the MDI Global. Note that some teams didn’t finish due to being too far behind from their opponents, it doesn’t mean that they couldn’t finish in time.

It is time to find out which region is looking the strongest coming into the MDI globals.

Europe

  • Runtime: Raider.IO won with a stunning run at 19:38 minutes. While Team Bigpull didn’t finish.
  • Deaths: 23
  • Class combinations: Raider.IO ran with a Blood Death Knight, Holy Paladin, Subtlety Rogue, Arms Warrior and Balance Druid. Team Bigpull played Blood Death Knight, Restoration Druid, double Subtlety Rogue and a Marksmanship Hunter.

Americas

  • Runtime: Definitely the closest of the finals, with only 17 seconds between Premonition and Friends with Affixes. Premonition finished in 20.01 and Friends with Affixes came in at 20:18. So even though Raider.IO had a slightly better time, Americas as a whole looked a bit better here.
  • Deaths: 8
  • Class combinations: Premonition ran a Guardian Druid, Holy Paladin, Arms Warrior, Marksmanship Hunter and a Fire Mage. While FWA ran a Brewmaster Monk, Restoration Druid, Arms Warrior, Balance Druid and Beast Mastery Hunter. It’s interesting that two teams run the same class with different specializations on the exact same run.

Asia Pacific

  • Runtime: Honestly came in at 21:02 and Free Marsy didn’t finish.
  • Deaths: 14
  • Class combinations: Honestly went in with Guardian Druid, Restoration Druid, Balance Druid, Subtlety Rogue and Affliction Warlock. FM ran with a Guardian Druid, Restoration Druid, Subtlety Rogue, Arms Warrior and Beast Mastery Hunter.

China

  • Runtime: MPE came in at 22:53 and MMT didn’t finish, making it the slowest region by quite a large margin.
  • Deaths: 29
  • Class combination: Team MPE went with a Blood Death Knight, Restoration Druid, Arms Warrior, Beast Mastery Hunter and a Havoc Demon Hunter. MMT ran a Guardian Druid, Holy Paladin, Havoc Demon Hunter, Beast Mastery Hunter and Subtlety Rogue.

While Raider.IO looks incredibly strong and is the favorite for winning the MDI in my book, and the Americas region also showed some impressive performances. China and Asia Pacific probably need to step it up if they want to compete with EU and NA. That being said, Honestly from Asia Pacific also looks to be a strong contender.

Conclusion – MDI Fun Facts

I was honestly surprised at how much I enjoyed watching the MDI, as I initially didn’t like the concept of PVE esport. Once again Blizzard has created a need I didn’t know I had and I am excited to see what teams will make it to the global final. I was also surprised at the viewership at times hit the 40k mark on Twitch, which in theory makes it one of the larger eSports in the world. Might just be the honeymoon numbers though.

  • Good time to be a druid, unless you are a cat. Both Guardian, Restoration, and Balance saw a lot of play at the regionals and often with great success. Especially the Asia Pacifics are fond of their shapeshifters.
    Rogue, Warrior, and Warlock only have 1 specialization. Subtlety is dominating and are among the most popular of all classes, yet Assassination and Outlaw are nowhere to be seen. Same with Warlocks, Affliction are very popular but Demo and Destruction saw no play at all. Fury warrior did get played but has a 0% win rate, so I can understand why arms are the favored specialization.
  • Mage, Paladin, Demon Hunter, and Monk had every single one of their Specializations played at one time or another during the regionals.
  • Blood Death Knight is the most popular tank, followed by Guardian Druids. 1 of the two was picked in 70% of the dungeon runs.
  • Holy Paladin and Restoration Druids are the most popular healers. Together they make up for more than 80% of the healer picks, with Holy Paladin being slightly more popular.
  • Arms Warrior and Subtlety Rogues are dominating the melee DPS role. Together they made up for more than 80% melee DPS picks.
  • Only 5 different ranged DPS classes were picked throughout the regionals. With BM Hunter, Balance Druid and Affliction Warlock being the most popular. All 3 mage specializations were played multiple times.

 

In-game screenshot from karazhan in Wow

Where & When to Watch

The Mythic Dungeon Invitational Global Quarterfinal will take place this Saturday, the 30th of September. And the semifinals and finals will be on the 1st of October. You can watch the full stream here on the Official Twitch Stream.

  • Date: 9/30(Quarter finals) & 10/01(Semifinals and finals)
  • Time: 9AM PDT(Los Angeles), 17:00 BST(London).

Finally, thanks to the Raider.io website. Whose brackets and vods made it a lot easier to make this article.

 

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