The favorites of the Last Chance Qualifier

VThe International 11 is less than three weeks away but before it starts, another important tournament will be played. This tournament will take place in Singapore and will tell us who are the final two competitors in TI11.

Contrary to what some people might think, the teams that will play in the Last Chance Qualifiers are not the leftovers. They’re some of the strongest competitors on the planet. There are lots of players in this race who have either won The International before, or at least a Dota 2 Major.

Favorite teams

The list of favorites is quite long because the Dota Pro Circuit format resulted in an unpleasant situation for some of the Chinese, Eastern European, and Western European teams. Even Southeast Asia has some representatives that could easily qualify for The International 2022 if they get a good week.

The teams that are most likely to finish in the top two are these:

• Team Secret
• Team Liquid
• Virtus.pro
• Xtreme Gaming
• T1
• Natus Vincere

The first four have roughly equal chances to qualify. The bottom two have much lower chances but might still make it if they play well.

In the case of Natus Vincere, Alexey “Solo” Berezin certainly has the experience required to lead his team to victory. And some of his teammates, such as Volodymyr “No[o]ne” Minenko, know what it’s like to win big competitions. The two of them won together around half a dozen Majors, so it wouldn’t be shocking if they won this one as well.

T1 are strong because they have some of the best SEA players and also two former OG members, Anathan “ana” Pham and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen. Both of them won The International twice, so they’re probably eager to get another opportunity.

Secret and Liquid need no introduction. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov won the first edition of The International with Na’Vi and became one of the most famous Dota 2 players in the world. For him to miss the tournament this year would be a very painful experience.

Team Liquid are in a great position to qualify because they have a great coach: William “Blitz” Lee and one of the best carry players on the planet: Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen.

Virtus.pro should have qualified for TI11 by simply winning their regional qualifier. But BetBoom Team and a phenomenal day and just crushed them in the Grand Final. This competitor is highly skilled and has a high chance of success in this race.

Xtreme Gaming are China’s number one representative. If Zhang “Paparazi” Chengjun has a good week, nothing will stop them.

Header: Valve Corporation