The qualifiers for The International are finally done and 18 of the world's top Dota 2 teams are ready to battle and find out who is the best. The last set of qualifiers added four more after Mineski and Natus Vincere.
North America
In the NA scene, it was all Forward Gaming as the team showed how determined it was to be in TI9.
After the Group Stage, Forward Gaming had a 7-0 standing. This continued even in the Playoffs. In the first round, Forward Gaming went against Kookaburra. It was Forward Gaming all the way in the first game, with Kookaburra limited to two kills. The second game was largely the same as two of Forward Gaming's members had zero deaths. In the next match Forward Gaming faced off against beastcoast and the story was pretty much the same. Forward Gaming finished the match 2-0.
In the finals, it appeared that things might take a different turn as J.Storm surprisingly took the first win. All hopes were quickly dashed as Forward Gaming won the next three.
South America
Going down south, it appeared to be the same as Infamous took the top spot, albeit with a slight difference.
During the Group Stage, Infamous finished on top at 6-1, being defeated only by Thunder Predator. In the first round of the Playoffs, Infamous went against EgoBoys. The first game was surprisingly close, with the match eventually going to Infamous. However, in the second game it was Infamous all the way. For the second round, Infamous played against Pain Gaming. The first game took less than 20 minutes, with Infamous winning. The next two games were rather long, with Pain Gaming getting both wins. This resulted in Infamous going to the Lower Bracket.
Here Infamous again faced EgoBoys. The result was the same as the first match-up, as Infamous won 2-0 and proceed to the Finals.
Despite the expectations for the rematch, Infamous proved to be the better team and the one hungry enough to be in Ti9. Infamous won all three games in the Finals to claim the spot.
Europe
In this part of the world, the story was a bit different. The top four teams after the Group Stage were Hippomaniacs, The Final Tribe, Chaos Esports Club, and Aachen City Esports.
In the first match of the Playoffs, Hippomaniacs swept Aachen and moved to the next round. The other match was Final Tribe against Chaos, with the match going to Final Tribe. At the Upper Bracket Finals, Hippomaniacs initially had the lead before Final Tribe broke away to take the win. In the second game, it was all Hippomaniacs in a game that finished in almost 40 minutes. In the third game, Final Tribe dominated, with three of its members ending the game with double-digit kills.
Moving to the Lower Bracket, Aachen had no chance against Chaos with the match ending in Chaos' favor 2-0. In the next round, Chaos won the first game with Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen getting the most kills. Yes, that MATUMBAMAN. In the second game, Hippomaniacs initially had a chance, but Chaos broke away to take the win.
The Finals were a rematch between Final Tribe and Chaos. The entire series was all MATUMBAMAN, with the first game going to Chaos and MATUMBAMAN getting six kills and zero deaths. In the second game, MATUMBMAN picked Dazzle and ended the game with six kills. By the third game, it appeared that Final Tribe was unable to find an answer to MATUMBAMAN.
China
The final qualifier was played on the other side of the world in China. The region had some of the strongest teams in the likes of Royal Never Give Up, Newbee, Invictus Gaming, and EHOME.
After the Group Stage, the top four teams were Invictus, RNG, CDEC Gaming, and EHOME.
EHOME appeared to be back to form as it swept Invictus 2-0. In the other match, CDEC went against RNG with the match going in the former's favor 2-0. In the first game, CDEC took the lead with the game swinging midway in favor of EHOME. However CDEC regained the advantage to finish the game. The second contest was easier as CDEC limited EHOME to seven team kills.
In the Lower Bracket, RNG eliminated Invictus despite the latter being the team that finished on top after the Group Stage. Moving to the Lower Bracket Finals, RNG won the match 2-1.
As if to show what to expect at the TI, the Finals went the distance as CDED and RNG revealed just how determined each team was going into TI9. After a hard fought battle, the spot for the China Qualifier went to Royal Never Give Up.
