Cover-Credits:
The International 2022 (TI11) will soon begin as 30 teams from around the world have gathered in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region to prepare for the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year. However, 12 of those teams will be participating in the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) which will be starting this weekend on 8th October. The TI11 Group Stage only allows for 20 teams, meaning that 10 teams from the LCQ will not make it to the next stage.
With that being said, here is a preview of the teams that will be participating in the upcoming LCQ.
Twelve teams enter, only two teams will proceed to the group stage
Last Chance Qualifier Format & Dates
TI11’s Last Chance Qualifier will commence on 8th October and shall go on till 12th October in Singapore. The format of the qualifiers is very similar to the Group Stage, with 12 teams being divided into two groups of six teams. However, the top 4 teams will advance to the Upper Bracket Playoffs while the bottom will play in the Lower Bracket Playoffs.
The winners of both Upper Bracket & Lower Bracket Finals will earn a spot at the TI11 Group Stage.
Group A
Natus Vincere (NaVi)
NaVi had a difficult year for its organization, on and off the field. This is mainly due to the conflict that is still continuing in its home country of Ukraine and due to the amount of effort it required to create a decent line-up to keep with its competitors in the Eastern Europe (EEU) region.
After having a shaky Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, NaVi was looking average at best as the team placed in the bottom six of the PGL Arlington Major. However, veteran experience within both Volodymyr "Noone" Minenko and Alexey "Solo" Berezin might help the team to perform better during the LCQ.
Nouns
Nouns, or formerly known as 4 Zoomers, was performing decently well during the DPC season despite the rise of TSM and Soniqs in the North America (NA) region. However despite all of its efforts, the team was never able to qualify for both Majors during the season.
During the NA Regional Qualifiers, nouns was performing on a different level as the team nearly missed out on a direct invitation after its loss in the Grand Finals against Soniqs. With the LCQ beginning soon, nouns is a team to keep an eye on as the team might surprise a few people.
Polaris Esports
Polaris Esports had a rollercoaster of a season to say the least as the team earned promotion to Division I of the South East Asia (SEA) region in its first tour but then nearly missed out on a flight to the Stockholm Major after a tiebreaker loss to T1. Additionally, the team did not manage to remain in Division I at the end of the season as it was relegated back to Division II for the next DPC season.
However, the addition of Nikko "Force" Bilocura & Nico "eyyou" Barcelon proved to be the missing link that Polaris desperately needed all season. The team went on to grab second place at the GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Thailand 2022 and nearly missed out on a direct invitation after losing 3-2 to Talon Esports in the Grand Finals of the SEA Qualifiers. If Polaris is able to maintain its form going forward, the community may see a fourth SEA team at TI11.
Team Secret
It’s not surprising that Team Secret has had an average DPC season in the Western Europe (WEU) region as the team constantly placed 5th in all three tours in Division I of the WEU region. Furthermore, the team underwent a lot of roster changes as it looked to return to its former glory.
However, Team Secret had an increase in form after the recruitment of Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok for ESL One Malaysia and Riyahd Masters 2022, which saw the team earn back to back top three finishes. But in the end, Team Secret was unable to secure a direct invite to TI11’s Group Stage after a 3-0 defeat to Entity in the Grand Finals of the WEU Qualifiers. Despite its shaky performances many within the scene are expecting Secret to qualify from the LCQ.
Tempest
Tempest was formerly known as Lava during its first two tours of the South American (SEA) DPC before reforming its roster. The team did perform well during the season, but just like Team Secret it was unable to qualify for both Majors.
However, Tempest performed well enough to gain third place in the South America (SA) Qualifiers and this allowed the team to qualify for the LCQ. But will Tempest be able to continue its journey further ahead from the LCQ?
Vici Gaming
China is known for having an abundance of good teams, and Vici Gaming is no exception. However, Vici Gaming has had an underwhelming DPC season as the team was relegated to the second division of the Chinese DPC for the next season.
But, with the addition of Li "b a b" Kongbo and Pan "Fade" Yi, Vici Gaming was able to qualify for the LCQ after defeating Invictus Gaming 2-0 for the final slot. With only two slots left for TI11’s group stage, will Vici Gaming fight its way to TI11?
Group B
Infamous
Infamous had a decent year in the SA DPC, but the team was unable to qualify for both Majors due to Beastcoast’s reign in the region continuing to grow and Thunder Awaken’s increase in form.
Despite undergoing numerous roster changes, Infamous like many other teams was unable to secure a direct slot for TI11’s group stage after a 3-0 defeat to Hokori in the Grand Finals of the SA Qualifiers. Will Infamous be able to survive the LCQ? The community will soon find out.
T1
T1 had a decent start to the season, securing back to back top three finishes during the first two tours of the SEA DPC. However, the third tour turned out to be a disaster as the team placed fifth in Division I and lost to the newly promoted teams of Talon Esports & RSG.
The team knew something had to be changed in order to have a better chance at qualifying for TI11 via the Regional Qualifiers. Therefore, the team ended up recruiting the two-time TI winning duo of Anathan "ana" Pham and Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen. T1 did perform well during the SEA qualifiers, but the team ended up earning third place after losing to Polaris Esports. Despite the defeat, people are looking forward to seeing ana and Topson step up to help T1 advance into the group stages of TI11.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid had a good DPC season in the WEU region, securing back to back top three finishes in all three tours in Division I. However, it could not replicate its success at LAN tournaments as the team ended up being eliminated in the early stages of four different LAN tournaments throughout the season.
To make things worse, the team was unable to secure a direct invitation to TI11’s group stage after losing to Team Secret in the WEU Qualifiers, leading to it vying for the two remaining spots through the LCQ. Team Liquid is hoping to advance from the LCQ as Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen looks to earn a second TI under his belt before his reported retirement from the pro scene.
Virtus.pro
Like NaVi, the team was badly affected by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, but unlike its competitor the team faced heavy scrutiny after choosing to not comment on the issue. As a result it was forced to compete under a neutral tag under the name of Outsiders.
Virtus.pro had a decent DPC season despite being disqualified from the second tour. However, all of its effort ended up in vain as the team brutally missed out on a direct invitation to TI11 by 1 point. Furthermore, the team lost the EEU Qualifier Grand Finals to BetBoom Team 3-0 even though the team was undefeated until the Grand Finals. Despite all of these setbacks, the community is heavily favoring Virtus.pro to move on from the LCQ.
Wildcard Gaming
Wildcard Gaming has had a decent DPC season in NA. It managed to stay in Division I of the NA DPC for next season while also performing well despite there being solid teams like EG, Soniqs and TSM.
However, the team managed to qualify for the Last Chance Qualifiers after securing third place in the NA Qualifiers. Like its namesake, Wildcard Gaming is looking to become the wildcard of the qualifiers as it looks to secure a spot at TI11’s Group Stage.
Xtreme Gaming
Xtreme Gaming was promoted to Division I at the start of the China DPC season, but nobody expected the team to do well amongst the likes of RNG, PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming. Back to back top three finishes in the first division of all three tours saw Xtreme Gaming as a dark horse for the rest of the season. The team even opted to skip the PGL Arlington Major as one of its players' visa was denied multiple times. The team felt its time would be better spent preparing for the upcoming China Regional Qualifiers.
The time was put to good use but Xtreme Gaming ended up in the LCQ as it was defeated in the Grand Finals of the China Qualifiers by RNG. Many people within the Dota 2 community see the team as a heavy contender for one of the two remaining spots at TI11.
With only two teams being able to advance to the group stages of TI11, who do you think will qualify from the LCQ itself? The Last Chance Qualifiers will commence on 8th October and shall go on till 12th October.
