T1 has become the first Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) team and nineteenth overall to secure the direct invite to The International 2022 (TI11), this year’s Dota 2 World Championship. This happened after Team Secret smashed Virtus.Pro in the Upper Bracket Finals of the TI11 LCQ playoffs to secure a top-two finish and book their place in the Group Stages.

Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and his teammates had to clutch it in the late-game to secure the first game of the BO3 series, following which they destroyed Virtus.Pro and then cruised to a quick Game 2 victory with some on-point spellcasting and teamfight execution. As a result, Puppey holds on to his record of qualifying and competing in every single TI since the first ever one.

Team Secret vs Virtus.Pro: Match Recap, Highlights, and Kuku Interview

Recap

Game 1 was a close affair, with Remco "Crystallis" Arets’ Sniper proving to be the key pick for Team Secret. Although Virtus.Pro secured a 12k lead in the mid-game phase, they simply couldn’t go high ground against the Sniper who held the base until Team Secret could win one teamfight. When that teamfight came, he crushed their enemies, took Roshan, and just went on to end the game.

Game 2 was a stomp by Team Secret as it dominated Virtus.Pro from the very beginning, displaying excellent laning skills. The team sat back and farmed up their core items before descending upon Virtus.Pro with their key timings. Despite Virtus.Pro boasting a superior mid-game lineup, the tempo that Team Secret set meant that the Eastern European team could not take key objectives and Roshan with their Luna lineup. Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev ended up underfarmed and eventually just couldn’t match up to Team Secret’s might, conceding the second game in quick pace.

Virtus.Pro will now have to battle its way to TI11 through the Lower Bracket finals. It will be interesting to see who it faces in the finals, with Team Liquid and ViCi Gaming both vying for that spot.