PSG Quest finished last in Group D at The International 2023 and headed home after just two days of matches in Seattle.
From all teams at The International 2023, PSG Quest had one of the most interesting trajectory to Seattle. From starting the Dota Pro Circuit year in the Western Europe Division 2 league under the Ooredoo Thunders to promoting to Division 1 in the most stacked region, getting signed by Quest and becoming a true contender at a Major slot, to partnering up with PSG on the eve of The International, the Middle East team has constantly improved despite always looking for an offlane player.
PSG Quest went through four offlane players this year, almost one per each DPC Tour and major event that they attended before heading to Seattle with former Entity player, Tobias "Tobi" Buchner. Tobi joined the team ahead of the WEU regional qualifiers for the pinnacle Dota 2 event of the year, but despite prevailing in the regional battle, a roster change so late in the season might have played a big factor in their group stage performance.
Based on DPC points, PSG Quest got seeded in Group D at TI12, along the defending champions Tundra Esports, the SA regional qualifiers winners Keyd Stars, the NA qualified via DPC points TSM and SEA’s best performing team this year, Talon Esports.
TI12 Group D
In what was an unexpected opening day of the group play, Talon lost both their series which gave a lot of hope to PSG Quest who closed day one with two draw results.
On the second day, they delivered perhaps the most entertaining series of the entire group stage, forcing Tundra two extremely long games. They pushed the reigning champions to their limits in a 87-minute first game and had the energy for another round of 68-minute battle in the second match, however, both games were lost and their fate was to be decided in a direct confrontation with Talon.
Both Talon and PSG Quest were fighting with elimination on the line, but coming after nearly three hours hard fought battle with Tundra, PSG Quest ran out of steam in what was their most important series. They got run over by Talon, who ensured their presence in the playoffs, while PSG Quest became the second team eliminated from The International 2023.
