Dota 2
Now that all of the Regional Qualifiers for The International 11 are over, it is time to take a step back and see which teams will attend Dota 2’s most prestigious event. We’ve already discussed the teams that received a direct invitation, but now, it is time to check those that made it through the deadly qualifiers.
Before we do that, it’s important to point out that there are two remaining slots at The International 11. They will be determined by the Last Chance Qualifier that will take place just before the event starts. Every team that finished second and third in the Regional Finals will have the chance to show its prowess, so it will be interesting to see the results.
China
The first region that everyone was looking forward to was China. PSG.LGD is considered the main favorite for The International, so it shouldn’t be surprising that some fans think the other top-tier Chinese teams are also among the potential champions.
Since LGD and Aster already secured slots for The International, it was time for Xtreme Gaming and Royal Never Give Up to decide which of them would secure the last one. Both teams gave everything they had, but in the end, RNG was the better team and deserved the victory.
As expected, Somnus and the rest didn’t have many problems until the UB Final, where they met Xtreme Gaming. Following the 2:1 victory, the latter had to go against Vici Gaming in the Lower Bracket before getting the chance to take revenge. Sadly for Paparazzi and the rest, their efforts weren’t enough to stop Somnus and his team.
Southeast Asia
Normally, Southeast Asia wouldn't have been the most interesting region to watch, especially when BOOM and Fnactic already got their TI slots. However, the fact that the two ex-OG players Topson and ana were a part of T1 made the quals way more exciting.
The bad news for T1 is even these two-time TI winners weren’t enough, with the team failing to defeat Polaris Esports. Polaris proved that they are one of the best teams in SEA right now after dealing with multiple opponents. What’s more, they almost defeated Talon Esports after five amazing games at the Grand Final.
Sadly for Force and the rest, they could not overcome kpii, and his amazing team and Talon Esports won the final. This will make them the third SEA team at The International 11, which means the region has a real chance of winning. Let’s not forget that Dota 2’s most prestigious event will take place in Singapore, which means the SEA teams may have a slight advantage playing on home ground.
North America
North America is a region that has some work to do to catch up to the other parts of the world. Not even the influential Evil Geniuses could challenge the best in EU and China, so it shouldn’t be surprising that the other top teams didn’t win any events. That said, TSM reached the Grand Final of the first DPC Major.
The qualifiers in North America were interesting because we wanted to see whether Soniqs would face nouns in the final. After losing to nouns in the UB final, Soniqs bounced back and had the chance to go up against their opponents one more time. Needless to say, YawaR and the rest were highly motivated to take revenge — they ripped through their opponents.
Following the quick 3-0 victory, Soniqs became the winner in North America, securing their spot to go up against the best in the world.
Eastern Europe
A quick look at the Eastern European Dota 2 scene shows that this was one of the most interesting competitions to keep an eye on. Everyone expected Outsiders (a.k.a. Virtus.Pro) to have no problems against their enemies and win. While it is true that VP was flawless until the Grand Final, this is where things went downhill for them.
We expected Natus Vincere to be the second team in the final, but things didn’t quite go according to plan. Despite reaching the final in the Upper Bracket, No[o]ne and the rest couldn’t deal with BetBoom Team. SoNNeiKo’s squad was eager to take revenge after the loss and eliminated their opponents from the qualifiers.
This victory allowed BetBoom to face Virtus.Pro in one of the most anticipated finals. Unfortunately, Ramzess and the rest couldn’t continue their winning streak because BetBoom was on another level. The latter played three excellent games well deserving of their victory and TI slot.
South America
When it comes down to South America, everyone expected Infamous to have little to no problems against their opponents. This was the case, but the team didn’t take the final, losing it instead to Hokori.
4nalog and the rest rose from the ashes after dropping in the Lower Bracket early on. Following the victories against No Runes, Mad Kings, and Tempest, the team had the chance to face Infamous.
The final was epic. We saw three world-class games and even though Infamous was in the driving seat in some of them, in the end the team lost everything and will have to brave the Last Chance qualifiers to make it to Singapore in October.
Western Europe
Last but not least, we have the most interesting region in Dota 2 and the one that everyone was looking forward to. People expected to see the likes of Team Secret and Nigma Galaxy go head to head and decide which of them would advance to The International 11. Sadly, neither of them succeeded.
Unsurprisingly, Entity was the best team in Western Europe and dominated in every series. The team had no problems throughout the qualifiers, including in the Grand Final. Despite facing Team Secret, which has way more experience, Entity easily ripped through them like a knife through butter after winning three consecutive maps.
Prior to the Grand Final, Secret eliminated Nigma Galaxy in one of the most emotional matches of Dota 2 ever. Despite their efforts, SumaiL and the rest failed to win and won’t be able to attend The International 11.
