We are a few weeks away from DOTA 2 world champions with the biggest event of the year The International 8 (TI8), with many regional Qualifier teams for this event.
Here and all the way through a full season of the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC), through four days of back-to-back Open Qualifiers and onto the Regional Qualifiers for The International 8 invitations.
From June 18-21, the China, CIS, and South America regions will compete; from June 22-25, Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America will compete. The format is a Round Robin of best-of-ones, with the bottom four teams eliminated. The top four will be seeded into a double elimination bracket featuring best-of-threes, with a best-of-five Grand Final for regions with only a single available invite.
Which teams are competing for invitations to TI8?
China
Number of Available Invites to TI8: 2
Teams:
- Invictus Gaming (direct invite)
- Team Serenity
- Keen Gaming
- CDEC Gaming
- iG Vitality
- For the Dream
- LGD.Forever Young
- Young Dumb
This region is stacked with big brand name teams. Invictus Gaming is the only team not to go through the Open Qualifiers, CDEC Gaming, iG Vitality, and LGD.Forever Young all stand out for their organizations, and Keen Gaming made impressive runs from OQs previously this season. After the first day of the group stage, For The Dream shares the top spot with Invictus Gaming with a 3-1 record.
CIS
Number of Available Invites to TI8: 1
Teams:
- Vega Squadron (direct invite)
- FlyToMoon (direct invite)
- Team Empire
- Double Dimension
- ESPADA
- Team Spirit
- 20 min afk les
- Gambit Esports
CIS Open Qualifiers were intense, and the Regional Qualifier should be doubly so as teams battle for only a single spot. Team Empire is looking quite strong, as is Team Spirit, already off to good starts in the group stage. FlyToMoon (who, along with Vega Squadron, got a direct invite to the Regionals) peaked late in the DPC season, but any team in this region could surprise and delight fans.
South America
Number of Available Invites to TI8: 1
Teams:
- SG e-sports
- paiN Gaming
- Infamous
- Torus Gaming
- Thunder Predator
- Midas Club
All six South American teams had to qualify through Open Qualifiers because this region saw so much roster-swapping after the winter lock. Some teams were plagued with internet issues during Open Qualifiers, and we can only hope that those are resolved heading into Regionals. PaiN Gaming could be the favorites here as they won fans over with their third-place finish at ESL One Birmingham 2018. Still, the other five teams should not be written off as this region’s seen multiple teams win Regional Qualifiers all season long.
SEA Southeast Asia
Number of Available Invites to TI8: 2
Teams:
- Fnatic (direct invite)
- TNC Pro Team (direct invite)
- BOOM ID (direct invite)
- TNC Tigers
- Alpha Red
- Entity Esports
- Battle Arena Elites
- Sterling Global Dragons
Fnatic and the two TNC teams may be most familiar to international audiences, and they should be expected to perform well.
Europe
Number of Available Invites to TI8: 1
Teams:
- Team Kinguin (direct invite)
- The Final Tribe (direct invite)
- Kingdra (direct invite)
- Team Singularity (direct invite)
- OG
- Wind and Rain
- BlinkPool
- Alliance
Europe had the most direct invitations to the Regionals: four. Team Kinguin, The Final Tribe, Kingdra, and Singularity Esports didn’t have to make OQ runs. Of those teams, The Final Tribe’s had the most recent international visibility, competing at the final DPC event, the China Dota2 Supermajor.
North America
Number of Available Invites to TI8: 3
Teams:
- OpTic Gaming (direct invite)
- Immortals (direct invite)
- Evil Geniuses
- compLexity Gaming
- Team Baidu
- Leviathan
- VGJ.Storm
North America was long thought to be the region that would have the most intense Regional Qualifier, but with three invitations available, the heat’s been turned down a little. OpTic Gaming, Evil Geniuses, and VGJ.Storm are the team names that were bandied about before the Open Qualifiers began. Will they all make it through to finish? We’ll know in a week.
The biggest event of the year The International 8 (TI8) set to be starting from 20 to 25 August.
