Top 5 Teams Favored to Win TI11 Last Chance Qualifiers

With The International 2022 (TI11) slowly closing in, teams have begun their journey to their respective bootcamps around the Southeast Asia (SEA) region as they prepare for the upcoming tournaments. However, 12 of these teams are traveling to Singapore for the upcoming Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ). The Last Chance Qualifiers are seen by these teams as a final chance to qualify for TI11, with the top two teams advancing into the group stages of TI11.

With that being said, here are our five favored teams to win TI11’s Last Chance Qualifiers.

Top 5 favored teams to advance into TI11

5. Team Liquid

During the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, Team Liquid have seen its fair share of success as it managed to secure back to back top three finishes in Division I of the DPC WEU(Western Europe) 2021/2022 season. However, it could not replicate its performances at LAN tournaments as it ended up being eliminated in the early stages of four different LAN tournaments, which are the ESL One Stockholm Major, Riyadh Masters 2022, PGL Arlington Major and ESL One Malaysia.

However, despite its LAN results people are still putting their expectation on Liquid to advance to TI11 from the Last Chance Qualifiers, albeit from the Lower Bracket as this could be Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen’s last appearance at The International before retiring from competitive play.

4. Virtus.pro

Virtus.pro had a rough DPC season to say the least, after having to face disqualification in the second tour of the DPC EEU (Eastern Europe) 2021/2022: Division I to brutally miss out on a direct invitation to TI11 by 1 point while competing under a neutral tag, Outsiders. However, despite its tragedies Virtus.pro managed to do relatively well during the DPC season, as it managed to win the third tour of the DPC EEU 2021/2022: Division I.

But despite all of the success, Virtus.pro were unable to secure a direct invitation to TI11 during the EEU Regional Qualifiers as they were defeated 3-0 by BetBoom Team in the Grand Finals. Even so, people still have high expectations for VP as the team were looked upon as one of the favorites to claim the spot for TI11 in the LCQ.

3. T1

While T1 had some marginal success during the first two tours in the first division of the DPC SEA 2021/2022, the team saw a downfall in terms of performance after transferring Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon to Talon Esports with Kim "Gabbi" Santos going the other way. While the swap proved successful at first for both teams, T1 ended up in 5th place during the third tour while Talon Esports went on to surpass T1 in terms of regional performance.

Following the season, T1 decided to drop Gabbi and Karl "Karl" Baldovino for the two time TI-winner duo of Anathan "ana" Pham and Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen for the TI11 SEA Regional Qualifiers. Although the team failed to earn a direct invite from the regional qualifiers, many people still believed T1 will be a contender for one of the spots at TI11 as the duo of Topson & ana tend to perform well when it mattered most.

2. Xtreme Gaming

While Xtreme Gaming had been flying under the radar from most of the community’s view, the team’s performances during the 2021/2022 season said otherwise as the team earned back to back top three finishes in the first division of the DPC CN (China) 2021/2022. The team opted to skip the PGL Arlington Major as one of its players' visa was denied multiple times and felt like the time would be better spent preparing for the upcoming China Regional Qualifiers.

While the time was being put to good use, Xtreme Gaming barely missed out on a direct invite to TI11 after a 3-0 defeat in Grand Finals at the hands of Royal Never Give Up (RNG). However, many people think that Xtreme Gaming could be one of the two teams that will advance from the LCQ as the team’s chemistry along with the rising form of Zhang "Paparazi灬" Chengjun are looking strong at the moment.

1. Team Secret

Probably one of the most expected teams to advance to TI11, Team Secret had an average year to say the very least as they constantly placed fifth in all three tours of the DPC WEU 2021/2022: Division I. Team Secret ended up making several roster changes throughout the season, first by replacing Syed "SumaiL" Hassan with Entity’s Remco "Crystallis" Arets. The second roster change saw long-time support Yazied "YapzOr" Jaradat being sidelined due to health issues and being replaced by Baqyt "Zayac" Emiljanov. The final change saw veteran offlaner Daryl "iceiceice" Koh being replaced with Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok right before the WEU Regional qualifiers.

While things were looking good during the WEU Regional Qualifiers, Team Secret fell at the final hurdle as they were defeated in a 3-0 stomp against Entity, securing its fate in the Last Chance Qualifiers. Many within the community still think that Team Secret are considered as heavy contenders for one of two spots at TI11, as Team Secret’s performances at ESL One Malaysia and Riyadh Masters helped to boost the team’s confidence for the upcoming LCQ while also trying to keep Clement “Puppey” Ivanov’s perfect TI attendance streak alive.

Which teams do you favor on claiming the final two spots at TI11 Last Chance Qualifiers?