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The last Dota 2 qualifier tournament has concluded with the last name on the list, Forward Gaming. They have qualified for The International 2019 through North American qualifier. Forward Gaming, together with the likes of Natus Vincere, Royal Never Give Up, Chaos Esports, will have a try at the $28+ million tournament coming up this August.
The privileges
Winners of The International will have their names carved into the Aegis one whole year. That is the privilege one cannot simply resist. The prize money of The International is among the highest in the world of Esports. In fact, only the recent Fortnite World Cup tournament can rival The International in the prize pool.
Given that, all the teams in the world would want a bite in this delicious cake. The champion of The International 2018 got more than $11 million. Even the last finish teams like Pain Gaming or Invictus Gaming would have a consolation prize of $63,830. That was so much money in just one tournament.
The direct invite teams
The Dota 2’s most well-funded event of the year is up ahead. EPICENTER ended the Dota Pro Circuit 2019 with Team Secret sitting comfortably on top. Keen Gaming finished #12 to grab the last invitational ticket to The International 2019 through DPC ranking.
The International features 18 teams. To qualify for The International, Dota 2 teams can choose either of the 2 ways. They can earn DPC points by attending Valve’s events like Major or Minor tournaments. Top 12 DPC earners will get direct invites
The hard-fought qualifier teams
Qualifier tournaments are much more unpredictable than every other tournament. Here are the last chances to qualify for the most important tournament in the world of Dota 2. Only 18 teams each year can get a chance to fight for the precious Aegis.
The International qualifiers were open for registration earlier this month on July 03. Everyone had their own share of opportunity to qualify for The International. However, there were only 6 tickets remaining for each region. Dota 2 teams in SouthEast Asia, China, CIS, Europe, South America, and North America would battle it out for the last chance.
Southeast Asia - Mineski
Mineski was among the best SEA teams in 2018 with the TI winner Chai Yee “Mushi” Fung. However, things took a drastic turn and Mineski experienced various major roster changes. They are now no longer the Mineski they used to be in 2018. They were surpassed by their neighborhood TNC Predator and Fnatic and struggled among the less established team.
However, that turned out to be a blessing as TNC Predator and Fnatic had already qualified for The International 2019 through DPC. Fewer strong opponents meant better chance. They did right that, beating every single team in the qualifier to reach the grand final.
There they fought a hard battle against Team Jinesbrus, a stack of 3 Korean ex-members of Immortals or MVP.Phoenix. The series turned out to be a close affair when both teams fought tooth and nail and made it to the 5th game. In the end, with better experience and teamwork, Mineski beat Team Jinesbrus to qualify for The International 2019.
Right after that, the ex-Newbee team member of Mineski, Damien Sau-jing “kpii” Chok celebrated right away with a Tweet
she claimed she had a "weeb side" with the recent Tweet posting a song by Vocaloid Hatsune Miku
Resolut1on misses the ticket - Forward Gaming - North America Qualifier
Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok has fought alongside the likes of Arif "MSS" Anwar, Yawar "YawaR" Hassan, and Jingjun "Sneyking" Wu. They played under the banner of VGJ.Storm. The lineup made waves during their time around The International 2018. They qualified through the North American open qualifier. The most notable result they achieved was finishing top of group B with impressive results of 5 wins, 2 ties, and 1 loss.
However. VGJ.Storm quickly faltered in the playoffs. They dropped to the harsh lower bracket after losing to the eventual champion OG. The team would then face another demise by losing to Team Secret. Their journey ended here, finished 7-8th with $638,304 in prize money.
VGJ.Storm would then fight under a new banner, Forward Gaming. However, the team struggled to find back their good performance prior to TI 2018. With disappointing results, the star carry player Resolut1on decided to go inactive on March 24. He later transferred to J.Storm, maybe in an attempt to find the nostalgic VGJ.Storm.
The fated matchup
The International 2019 North American Qualifier brought Resolut1on against his former teammates in Forward Gaming. This time, they were no longer together. The ex-teammates of Resolut1on got better prepared and managed to close out the match at 3-1. Forward Gaming grabbed their last ticket to The International 2019. With that, Forward Gaming completed the participant list.
What is coming up?
The International 2019 will take place in this mid-August. The group stage will play out in 4 days from August 15 to 18. The main event will be longer between August 20 to 25. The tournament will be held on Chinese soil for the first time, as it moves to the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
The current prize pool of The International 2019 has surpassed $28 million. It is very likely the prize pool will continue the rise all the way past the $30 million benchmarks. The International 2019 will see some interesting matchups we expect the most
This promises to be one of the best events coming up this August.