Team Zero shocked the Dota 2 world today by qualifying for The International 2024.
The Chinese region was given two qualification spots and had three strong teams in the race: G2.iG, LGD Gaming, and Azure Ray. Against these opponents, Team Zero looked helpless. But in the end, they qualified and they didn’t even drop to the lower bracket.
Team Zero’s Path To TI13
Team Zero’s roster is composed of the following players:
- Erika
- 7e
- Beyond
- Ponlo
- Zzq
Most of these players are relatively unknown to players outside of China because they’ve never won anything important. Only Erika and ponlo are considered top competitors.
Erika finished 5th – 6th at The International 2021. Ponlo played for a while in Europe and North America, for teams like Alliance and Quincy Crew. His best result was obtained in Tour 1 of DPC 2021 – 2022. That’s when his team, Quincy Crew, won the first division in North America.
Team Zero started the Chinese Qualifier with a match against Spiky Gaming, another underdog. The battle proved to be harder than expected by ponlo’s team eventually won 2 – 1.
In the second match, G2.iG looked unbeatable. But a unique play style saved Team Zero and allowed them to snowball out of control relatively quickly in two of the three games.
The next match was played against another favorite, Azure Ray. Against all odds, Team Zero won this match by picking Pangolier in two of the three games. Other important heroes for them were Muerta, Earth Spirit and Drow Ranger.
With this string of victories, Team Zero qualified for TI13 and will represent China alongside Xtreme Gaming.
[The International 2024 CN CQ]
Upper Bracket Final:
AR vs Team Zero(BO3)
Game 3: AR 1-2 TZ
We fall into the lower bracket and will play against the winner between IG and Team Turtle. pic.twitter.com/BoLwwkEwX0
— Azure Ray (@AzureRayDota) June 12, 2024
Lower Bracket Results
In the lower bracket of the Chinese Qualifier for TI13, LGD Gaming have already been eliminated by TEAM TURTLE. On the surface, it might seem that TURTLE are just another underdog. But in fact, they have some of the best players in China: Somnus, Yang, and Chalice.
This roster might easily win the next two matches, against G2.iG and Azure Ray. Whatever happens, what we know for sure is that China will have at least two strong representatives at The International in September.
The remaining matches of the qualifier will be played tomorrow. The first one starts at 7 AM EEST. So if you want to watch it, be sure to wake up early.
Header: Team Zero
