The International 2022 North American Qualifier preview

The North American Qualifier for The International 2022 is scheduled to take place between September 8-12 and its results will determine who goes to TI11. They will also determine the two teams who will compete in the Last Chance Qualifier against the second and third place teams from all the other qualifiers.

Given how difficult the Last Chance Qualifier will be, every team wants to avoid it by winning the regional qualifier. But if they can’t do that, at least there is one chance left for them to go to TI11, even though the likelihood of success is very small. Against the power of China and Western Europe’s top teams, there can be no victory.

TI11 NA Qualifier Details

The tournament features 12 teams and all of them come from the region’s two DPC divisions. The format will be double-elimination but only eight of the 12 teams will start in the upper bracket. The other four will await their opponents in the lower bracket.

Every match is best-of-three, except for the Grand Final. For an upper bracket team, a perfect run would require four consecutive wins. For a lower bracket one, it would require six consecutive wins.

Here are the 12 participants:

• Soniqs
• Nouns
• Felt
• Alpha
• 5RATFORCESTAFF
• Wildcard Gaming
• Alpha
• The Cut
• US
• Team DogChamp
• Eternity
• Arkosh Gaming
• CDUB Esports

The top eight teams on this list will start in the upper bracket, while the bottom four will start in the lower bracket.

Favorites

Because of the overall competitive level of the region and the fact that both Evil Geniuses and TSM finished the season in the top 12, there will be very little opposition to Soniqs. If Quinn “Quinn” Callahan and Yawar “YawaR” Hassan play their usual game, Soniqs should win the tournament with ease.

Arguably, this team should have gotten a top 12 spot in Dota Pro Circuit, but a few mistakes here and there cost them a lot.

The only real question regarding the North American Qualifier for The International 11 is this: who will finish second and third?

The number of teams that have a realistic chance of securing a ticket for the Last Chance Qualifier is quite high. The first two competitors that come to mind are Nouns and Wildcard Gaming. In particular, Nouns have a roster full of strong players, one of whom competed in the Grand Final of The International 2016!

If David “Moo” Hull is in good shape, he will likely prove capable of taking his team to the Last Chance Qualifier. And if he gets the help he requires, Nouns may actually end up winning the whole NA Qualifier.

Header: Valve Corporation