The International 2022 qualifiers; Navigating the rough SEA

SEA teams head into The International 2022 qualifiers and the forecast does not indicate smooth sailing for most. 

Things always ebb and flow in the SEA. Sometimes the tide rises for some as in the case with BOOM Esports who really have made waves on their journey to The International. Sometimes it recedes and teams are cast out into the depths for some teams such as TNC.

The SEA region has been anything but smooth sailing and calm this year. 

After a discrepancy in point reporting and a near miss on The International by Fnatic, things barely settled down in the region before the next wave came crashing to shore. 

• Read Fnatic Team Director Paolo Bago on the rankings overturn: “We were in a state where it felt surreal”

Several organizations in the region completely missed the team registration deadline —including TNC, Nigma Galaxy SEA, Army Geniuses, and Team SMG.

Teams had two choices. To revert to their previous/latest registered rosters or withdraw from the event. Most are heading into the qualifier with their prior lineup. Team SMG has opted out of the event. 

• Read Messy S(EA)cene; The International 2022 SEA qualifiers

The International 2022 SEA qualifiers

13 teams will go head-to-head between September 8thd through September 12th. Only one will claim a spot in the main event to join BOOM esports and Fnatic. Two more teams will fly to Singapore for the offline Last Chance Qualifier. 

At the forefront? A few stand out but eyes are mostly one particular team —and for good reason. 

T1 dropped their carry and mid-lane players  Kim "Gabbi" Santos and Karl "Karl" Baldovino just a few weeks ago and are bound for The International 2022 SEA qualifiers with two ringers —back-to-back TI champions Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen and Anathan "ana" Pham.

• Read Topson and ana join T1

But they aren't the only ones that are real contenders. 

Talon Esports is one that could easily give T1 a run for their money. Damien "kpii" Chok and crew had an amazing DPC storyline starting from division 2, promoting to division 1, getting second place in the region and earning a spot at the Arlington Major. The team is actually slightly ahead of T1 in DPC points.

Although they only placed 13-14th at PGL Arlington Major and 9-10th at ESL One Malaysia, kpii has reported that GosuGamers that they were just not disciplined enough, something that will need to change if they want to set foot on The International 2022 stage.

• Read kpii on Talon’s performance at ESL One Malaysia: “We were not disciplined enough

The International 2022 SEA qualifier teams

•  Talon Esports (DPC 300 points)
•  T1 (DPC 272 points)
• RSG  (DPC 100 points)
• Polaris Esports  (DPC 57 points)
• Nigma Galaxy SEA  (DPC 28 points)
• Neon Esports  (DPC 5 points)
• Execration  (Division II 1st place)
• Lilgun  (Division II 2nd place)
•  Army Geniuses (Division II 3rd place)
• Summit Gaming  (Division II 4th place)
•  Atlantis (Division II 5th place)
•  XERXIA (Division II 6th place)
• TNC Predator (Division II 7th place)

The International 2022 SEA first matches

Lower Bracket

• XERXIAvsTNC Predator September 13th at 03:00 CEST

Upper Bracket

•  Talon EsportsvsLilgun September 13th at 04:00 CEST
•  Nigma Galaxy SEAvsPolaris Esports September 13th at 07:00 CEST
•  RSGvsNeon Esports September 13th at 10:00 CEST
• ExecrationvsT1  September 13th at 13:00 CEST

The International 2022 SEA brackets

 

The International 2022 SEA qualifier format

• Double-elimination bracket
• Lower Bracket Round 1 is a 1 match series
•  All other series are Best-of-three
• Grand Final is Best-of-five
• Two teams proceed to the Last Chance Qualifier
• One team qualifies for The International 2022

The International 2022 qualifiers

At the end of the third tour, the top twelve teams by DPC points are directly qualified for The International 2022.

The remaining spots will be decided through regional qualifiers. All teams that participated in the third tour of the regional leagues have a chance to qualify through the regional qualifiers provided that they do not replace more than two players from their third tour's roster. As in the previous season, there will not be any Open Qualifiers. However, all Regional Leagues will have an Open Qualifier tournament for their Division II spots meaning that the third tour's open qualifiers will essentially act as TI Open Qualifiers.

In addition, on 22nd January 2022, it was announced that the second and third-place teams from each region's qualifiers will compete in the Last Chance Qualifier LAN event prior to The International to decide the final two qualification spots - thus expanding The International 2022 from 18 to 20 teams.

The International 2022

The International in Singapore will be the largest Dota tournament in history featuring 30 world-class teams battling out on the road to the Aegis of Champions across 4 consecutive weekends.

• Read more about the schedule and format changes for The International 2022. 

International 2022 is expected to be held in Singapore from October 8th (starting with the offline/LAN last chance qualifiers) to October 30th with the grand finals.