Cover-Credits:
It has been a rollercoaster week for Fnatic fans, as they first thought that the team might be missing out on a direct invitation to The International 2022 (TI11), but then found out that the team will be receiving a direct invite ahead of Outsiders, after Valve clarified the situation regarding its calculation of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) standings. Initially it was assumed that Fnatic would be playing in the TI11 SEA Regional Qualifiers after missing out the final invite to Outsiders by 0.05 points, according to Liquipedia's calculations. However, after the community pointed out that there was a discrepancy in calculated points between Liquipedia & Valve, the latter made an announcement that clarified that the DPC website reflects the official standings for the 2021-2022 season. This meant that Fnatic would be receiving the final invite, at the expense of Outsiders.
Fnatic secures final invite as Valve announces the finalized 12 teams.
Following the conclusion of the Arlington Major, it was assumed that at the time the 12 final direct invites were all but confirmed. However, the community were in doubt regarding the final invited team as both Fnatic & Outsiders were the 12th team by different calculations. According to Liquipedia, Outsiders were the final team to receive a direct invitation to TI11 ahead of Fnatic by 0.05 points after Fnatic’s defeat to beastcoast ruined any hopes of qualifying directly. However, according to Valve, Fnatic finished the season with 1020 points, while Outsiders had 1019 points due to Valve rounding down Outsider’s total points after each time it receives a point deduction punishment due to roster changes, which resulted in Outsider’s points being lower on Valve’s official DPC website when compared to Liquipedia as revealed by Twitter user (@iMicromantic)
In response to these speculations, Valve officially announced earlier today on Dota 2’s official Twitter account that “We are aware of a discrepancy regarding how the DPC standings are calculated when compared to unofficial sources.The DPC website reflects the official standings for the 2021-2022 season.”, which means that Fnatic will be going to TI11 at the expense of Outsiders after Valve’s clarification on the matter.
SEA fans would be celebrating at the news after hearing that there will be at least three SEA teams at this year’s TI11, however many in the Dota 2 community also criticized Valve for its lack of clarity on the matter and its discreditation of Liquipedia.
With Fnatic receiving the final invitation, teams that will be playing in the TI11 SEA Regional Qualifiers can breathe a sigh of relief as the annual gatekeepers will not be joining them this year. With teams such as Team SMG, T1 and Talon, the SEA qualifiers is expected to be one of the stacked qualifiers this year.
