The Singapore Major's Group Stage didn't remove a lot of teams from the tournament. However, the matches have still been hotly-contested between the eight teams in this stage. One more team got eliminated, and the upper and lower brackets of the playoffs have been locked in. Here's what went down during the final Group Stage day of the Singapore Major of the Dota Pro Circuit 2021.

THE SINGAPORE MAJOR GROUP STAGE DAY 2: THUNDER PREDATOR DOMINATES

Thunder Predator (15-2-0) finished really strong in the group stage, dropping only two maps. Their last match against the second placers, PSG.LGD (3-3-1), dealt the only series loss to the Chinese team. Their last match defused LGD's dark intentions, as Thunder beat PSG.LGD's surprise Techies pick. The two teams to take away maps from the South American predators are Vici Gaming (2-4-1) and OB Esports Neon (1-3-3). Both of these teams survived the group stage, with Neon narrowly qualifying with a clutch 2-0 win over Alliance (0-4-3). Alliance's loss against Team Liquid (1-4-2) sealed their fate, sending them packing home.

Meanwhile, Vici Gaming and PSG.LGD both remained dominant, joining Thunder Predator in the playoffs upper bracket. Their success in the Singapore Major Wild Cards wasn't a fluke, and their position in the group stage proves that. They performed better even compared to the Group Stage seed from China, Team Aster (1-3-3). Quincy Crew (2-3-2), the final Group Stage seed, finished fourth, with a performance better than both Aster and Neon. They were one map away from tying with Vici, but instead, have to settle for a lower bracket run.

TEAM SECRET, INVICTUS GAMING, VIRTUS.PRO, EVIL GENIUSES, AND FNATIC AWAIT IN THE PLAYOFFS

The upper bracket qualifying teams, PSG.LGD, Vici Gaming, and Thunder Predator gained the pleasure of battling against the top-notchers of each region. Vici Gaming will face against the top Chinese team, Invictus Gaming. The world's current top one for many pundits, Team Secret, will be facing Thunder Predator, who had a surprising performance so far in the tournament. This matchup will be one of the most interesting series to watch in the Singapore Major. PSG.LGD will be facing the young Virtus.pro team, who will be using this tournament as a proving ground for their careers. Finally, two playoff seeds will face each other right off the bat – Evil Geniuses, the heroes of NA, and Fnatic, the SEA giants.

All the upper bracket teams get a second lease in life, having the privilege of losing two series before finally dropping out of the tournament. Meanwhile, the lower bracket teams don't have the same privilege. One loss in the lower bracket and they're out. Quincy Crew, Team Aster, Team Liquid, and Neon Esports will need to play flawlessly to reach the finals, a tough task for any team in any tournament.

All teams have to win at least one series before they can go home with any prize. The lowest prize comes for the 7th-8th placers, which will be secured for those who win in the first round of the lower bracket. At that point, teams take home $12,500 and 200 DPC Points. On the other side, one series win in the upper bracket secures 5th-6th place, with a prize of $25,000 and 300 DPC Points. Meanwhile, the tournament's victors will bring home $200,000 and earn 500 DPC Points. It's absurd how half of the teams who flew all the way to Singapore to compete will not be bringing home any cash for their troubles, but that's just how Valve chooses to operate their tournaments.

TEAM REPRESENTATION: PLAYOFFS

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One of the biggest debates in any esports title always revolves around which of the regions reign supreme. With the consistent performance of Team Secret, many consider them to be the strongest in the world. However, it's worth noting that teams have had minimal experience competing at a global stage thanks to the pandemic. Hence, Team Secret's dominance, while impressive, is largely confined to the European region. Meanwhile, each region has also grown a lot during the isolated regional circuits we've been having over the past months. The Singapore Major is the first time many teams will be testing their wits and strategies against the best that the world has to offer.

But if we're going to judge the regions based on which teams actually reached it to the playoffs, China clearly tops the conversation. All four teams, including the two from the Wild Cards, managed to survive and reach the playoffs. The other regions only have two each: SEA, NA, and Europe. SA would have had two teams in the playoffs, had beastcoast not been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to COVID. Finally, the CIS region only has one team left.

China – 4 teams (from 4)
NA – 2 teams (from 2)
SEA – 2 teams (from 3)
Europe – 2 teams (from 4)
SA – 1 team (from 1)
CIS – 1 team (from 2)