Team Liquid Secures Final TI11 Slot as It Defeats Virtus.Pro in LCQ

With The International 2022 (TI11) Last Chance Qualifiers came to an end, the final day of the LCQ saw the final two teams that will be qualifying for the group stages of TI11. While Team Secret became the first team to qualify from the Upper Bracket earlier today, the final spot was contested by both Team Liquid and Virtus.pro as they faced each other in the Lower Bracket Finals.

While many expected the series to go the distance, Team Liquid easily dispatched Virtus.pro 2-0 to secure the final spot at TI11.

This win also means that Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen will get one last chance of securing his second Aegis of the Champions, since he had announced that this would be his last year as a competitive player.

Virtus.pro vs Team Liquid: Match recap

Virtus.pro were considered by many as the heavy favorites to qualify to TI11, however the team’s loss to Team Secret earlier today had some fans doubting its chances.

Meanwhile, Team Liquid were looking to ride its positive momentum after defeating Vici Gaming 2-1 in the Lower Bracket semifinals, which earned them a chance to play in the Lower Bracket finals.

Game One

Game One started off with a fairly standard draft, as it picked up Lifestealer and Pangolier for Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen & Michael "miCKe" Vu respectively. Virtus.pro on the other hand went for Tiny, Primal Beast and Visage.

While the laning phase went in the way of Virtus.pro, the mid-game went fully in the way of Team Liquid as they dominated the game, not allowing Virtus.pro heroes to get online for its late game potential. Game One ended just after 30 minutes as Team Liquid claimed the first game, with both MATUMBAMAN and miCKe earning 11 kills each.

Game Two

With one game away from TI11 qualification, Team Liquid were looking to close out the game as it picked up Luna and QOP as their primary core heroes. Virtus.pro opted to go with an aggressive draft, picking up Morphling for Danil "gpk" Skutin and Chaos Knight Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev.

The laning phase did not go well for Virtus.pro, as gpk’s Morphling was forced to build Hand of Midas early into the match to regain net worth advantage. Furthermore, Team Liquid’s aggression sets Virtus.pro back further going into the mid game.

With no buybacks left to defend its base, Virtus.pro called “GG” after 33 minutes as Team Liquid will not only secure Game Two, but also the last spot at TI11. Michael "miCKe" Vu was considered as the MVP of the series, as he earned a combined 23 kills and assists while not dying a single time in both games as Pangolier and Queen of Pain.

Following the series, the final 20 teams that will play at the group stage have been finalized as Team Secret & Team Liquid secures its place from the Last Chance Qualifiers. Unfortunately for Virtus.pro, they fell short of qualifying for TI11 twice today as it leaves on a sour note.