The International 2023 regional qualifiers spotlight; One spot for China

It is time for The International 2023 regional qualifiers to kick off in China with only one spot up for grabs. 

The International 2023 qualifiers are set to begin in just mere weeks. Only eight teams will qualify for TI through the Regional Qualifiers; two teams from South America and Western Europe, and only one from North America, Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia.

• Read Valve announces TI 2023 regional qualifiers dates and slot allocation

While some older fans might be surprised to see that SA received an extra slot instead of China, it might have something to do with the 'recent foul play' in the region.

Six months ago 46 players mainly from China received a ban from Valve and Perfect World as reported by Dota 2 official Weibo account. That was nearly the entire new generation of Chinese professional players. Of particular interest to fans and the community was that of former Team Knights and the players from EHOME -- both of which went to the Lima Major and were the first two teams to drop. 

• Read Former Team Knights and EHOME players among newest wave of bans by Valve

But it could also be the fact that China just hasn't been performing as the region once had. Only PSG.LGD has landed a spot via DPC points — which means only two from the region will be competing for the Aegis of Champions.

This will be the least amount of Chinese teams to represent the region at The International ever. 

For China, the battle begins August 17 — only about 9 days after the new patch was dropped.

• Read Dota 2 patch 7.34 brings a plethora of hero changes along with a massive change to Invoker

The first matches will be the brutal best-of-one elimination series

iG.VitalityvsLimit 03:00 CEST

Followed by the four upper bracket quarter-finals best-of-three series 

Team AstervsTeam Zero 04:00 CEST
Xtreme GamingvsAster.Aries 07:00 CEST
Invictus GamingvsHoly Grail 10:00 CEST
Azure RayvsTeam Bright 13:00 CEST

The International 2023 regional qualifier front runners:

Team Aster

Team Aster had been tinkering with their roster all season long in hopes of finding the right formula for The International 2023. They placed top 8 in Berlin with Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan standing in, but failing to seize a TI invite or impressive result at Bali Major, Team Aster went with a rather unexpected decision, replacing BoBoKa with Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi. 

• Read Team Aster swap BoBoKa out for Kaka

Xtreme Gaming

Xtreme Gaming lost Kaka to Team Aster earlier this month. So they have taken on free agent and highly decorated veteran Zhao "XinQ" Zixing into the fold. They are hoping to use his experience and insight into the game to make them a stand-out team. But then Zhang "Eurus/Paparazi" Chengjun officially moved into retirement following Riyadh Masters. 

• Read Paparazi灬's retirement is made official

Azure Ray 

Lu “Somnus/Maybe” Yao had retired (aka 'taken a break') from the competitive scene after Royal Never Give Up’s 13th-16th finish at The International 2022. But as with most retirements in Dota 2, it seems it was only a hiatus. The famed player returned, alongside former teammates Xu “fy” Linsen and Yang "Chalice" Shenyi to compete in Tour 3 of the 2022-23 DPC Season. Fy, Somnus, and Chalice last played together on the PSG.LGD roster that finished 2nd at TI8 and 3rd at TI9.

The International 2023 Regional Qualifiers: China

• All teams that participated in the final tour of the current DPC season that aren’t qualified for The International 2023 by finishing top 12 in DPC rankings are eligible to participate provided that they did not replace more than two players from their final tour roster.
   
  • Teams
    • Team Aster (DPC points 486)
    • Azure Ray (DPC points 400)
    • Invictus Gaming (DPC points 368)
    • Xtreme Gaming (DPC points 303)
    • Aster.Aries (DPC points 25) 
    • Holy Grail (Division II 1st place)
    • Team Zero  (Division II 2nd place)
    • Team Bright  (Division I 8th place)
    • Big Brain (Division II 4th place)
    • SuperNova (Division II 5th place)
    • Team Disillusion (Division II 6th place)
    • iG.Vitality (Division II 7th place)
    • Limit (Division II 8th place)
       
• The teams are seeded based on their current DPC points total followed by their standing in the final tour of the regional league.
   

• Playoffs
  • Double-elimination bracket
  • Grand Final is Bo5, Lower Bracket Round 1 are Bo1, all other matches are Bo3
  • One team qualifies for The International 2023
     
• Read Should Valve have dropped LCQ from The International?

The International 2023

The International returns to the US after four editions held around the world. TI7 was the last edition hosted by the Key Arena in Seattle, where Team Liquid lifted the Aegis of Champions. From there on, each year TI went to different parts of the globe. Key Arena, which now is Climate Pledge arena from Seattle will be the home for The International 2023. 

• Read The International is returning to Seattle

The International 2023: October 27-29

The eight teams that make it to The International 2023 (TI12) will play at the refurbished Key Arena, now Climate Pledge Arena, for a shot at the most wanted Dota 2 trophy, the Aegis of Champions.

Friday and Saturday will feature the upper bracket semifinals and finals, along with the first round of elimination matches. The top three teams will return to the arena on Sunday, October 29 for the lower bracket finals followed by the best-of-five grand finals.

• Read Valve announces changes to The International format and schedule