Why TI12 needs last chance qualifiers

Dota 2 fans are making a plea to Valve to include LCQ again for Internationals 2023 given how entertaining, successful, and well-received TI11 Last Chance Qualifier was.

The Last Chance Qualifiers for The International 2023, the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year, is a hot topic in the community as the event slowly approaches. Valve has already revealed the location for The International 2023, but the publisher hasn’t mentioned any details about coveted Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ).

According to Valve, the Last Chance qualifier that was staged in TI11 was introduced for the 2022 DPC season. It was introduced to balance out qualification in light of any potential DPC point difference caused by the first Major’s absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Valve has not issued a formal statement on the subject, nor has it made it clear whether or not LCQ will return.

As the location of TI was revealed along with the LCQ last year, Dota 2 fans feared Valve might be planning to permanently axe the event this year since it wasn’t disclosed with the TI venue this year. This has sparked a surge of discontent among Dota 2 players, and many of them have taken to social media to demand that Valve make LCQ a regular fixture of The Internationals. Given the significance of LCQ on a multitude of levels, the requests of fans seem more than legitimate. Here are the main reasons why TI12 needs last-chance qualifiers:

More viewership for The Internationals and more entertainment for fans

As there aren’t many tournaments in Dota 2’s competitive calendar following the Bali Major, the Dota 2 community is anxiously anticipating the return of LCQ for the upcoming TI12. As there is a three-month gap between Bali Major and TI12, it makes sense to stage a mini-Major-style tournament to amuse the fans and make use of the available time.

As far as the popularity of the LCQ is concerned, all of the 2022 LCQ matches were actively covered by both professional studios and community casters, resulting in a total of more than 5.9 million hours watched and 280.2K average viewers for the Group Stage broadcasts. 

On the final day of the Group Stage, four simultaneous matches reached more than 552.7K Peak Viewers. It should be noted that the qualifying definitely lacked European viewers because the matches began early in the morning, according to CEST time. Still, the Virtus.pro and T1 match, which drew close to 379K PV, was the most-watched contest at the LCQ.

LCQ can bridge the competitive gap

While many professional players concur that the LCQ should be a regular part of the TI experience, the majority of Dota 2 fans share the same feeling. Some argue that LCQ is essential to bridging the competitive gap between different regions, while some feel it is unfair that The Internationals is so dependent on regional competition to decide its participation.

Pitting the Dota 2 teams against one another in a Major-grade event as their final chance to qualify for the greatest Dota event of the year is an intriguing option for deciding which two teams should represent their region at TI. The team that wins the LCQ has a high chance of picking up momentum and confidence, which turned out to be crucial for getting over the obstacle on the path to Aegis of Champion. The biggest examples of this are the TI11 LCQ champions, Team Secret and Team Liquid.

Team Secret missed all of Valve’s Dota 2 Majors last year, which is where the majority of the DPC points are given out. Liquid, on the other hand, was only one step away from competing in TI11 directly, but Entity’s fierce gameplay forced them to return to the Regional Qualifiers. In the WEU Regionals, Entity eliminated Secret and Liquid, leaving only one door open for them—the LCQ.

The two teams were forced to play in a situation they did not like to be in because of how stacked the LCQ was. Despite all the odds, Liquid and Secret cut their way from the LCQ to the Main Event’s upper bracket, where they went on to secure the top three at the finish line.

Dota 2 Pros are in favor of LCQ

Recently, Janne “Gorgc” Stefanovski, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, and Neta “33” Shapira got together on Gorgc’s stream to talk about the qualifiers for The International 2023.  The three players agreed that LCQ should be featured in the forthcoming TI after considering the extremely tough nature of Western Europe qualifiers. William “Blitz” Lee, the coach of Team Liquid, also engaged in the discussion and made a strong case that the LCQ for TI11 in 2022 is what brought the team’s current Dota 2 squad together.

Header: Valve