The International 2022: Last Chance Qualifier preview

The Last Chance Qualifier is an excellent opportunity for every team that failed to finish the Dota Pro Circuit in the top 12 and then also failed to win its regional qualifier for The International 11. Usually, Valve does not hold such a tournament ahead of TI, but this year they decided to do it.

This was arguably a great decision because there are many strong teams that simply have to compete against other formidable teams in their regional qualifier. And since only one of them can earn a TI ticket, the community and the other excellent teams get punished.

The Last Chance Qualifier doesn’t solve all the problems, but at least it offers two more teams the opportunity to participate in the tournament. An even better solution would be to reduce the number of DPC points for regional events, increase the ones offered at the Majors, and then give 24 teams (instead of 18 or 20) the chance to participate in the Dota 2 world championship.

Tournament details

The Last Chance Qualifier takes place between October 8-12. The tournament features 12 teams and has a very interesting format. The participants are divided into two groups of six. The top four teams in each group advance to the upper bracket while the bottom two go to the lower bracket.

Every match during the group stage is best-of-two. In the playoffs, the matches are best-of-three. When a lower bracket team loses, it gets eliminated. When an upper bracket team loses, it receives a second chance in the lower bracket.

There’s one qualification spot reserved for the upper bracket and one for the lower bracket. The losers of the first round of the upper bracket start competing only in the third round of the lower bracket. So essentially, an upper bracket team skips two matches, even if it loses its spot right away.

The Last Chance Qualifier takes place offline, in Singapore.

Participants

Here are the teams that will take part in the tournament:

Group A:

• Natus Vincere
• Nouns
• Polaris Esports
• Team Secret
• Tempest
• Vici Gaming

Group B:

• Infamous
• T1
• Team Liquid
• pro
• Wildcard Gaming
• Xtreme Gaming

The big favorites in group A are Team Secret, Vici Gaming, and Natus Vincere. In group B, Virtus.pro, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Liquid will likely be in the top three. Given that four upper bracket spots are offered to each group, it’s almost guaranteed that all of the important teams will start the playoffs in the upper bracket.

The weakest teams in group A seem to be Tempest and Polaris. In group B, the main lower bracket candidates are Wildcard Gaming and Infamous.

Header: Valve Corporation