Here is a list of all Dota 2 teams that will attend ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. Click to learn more
ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 will be the first big Dota 2 tournament after the end of The International 12. The tournament will occur between 11 December and 17 December in Malaysia’s capital, but we won’t go into it because we will have a separate article. This one is dedicated to all teams that will attend ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, so let’s learn more about them.
All Teams That Will Attend ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023
Before revealing more details about the teams that will go to ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, we must mention that they are divided into two main categories. The first one consists of the directly invited teams, whereas the second group is related to those who had to qualify. Remember that there are 12 teams in total, and each one will do everything possible to win.
The Dota 2 roster changes post TI12 are still ongoing, so we may see a few changes to the teams’ current roster. With that said, let’s learn more about them.
Direct Invites
Even though we expected more than half of the Dota 2 teams at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 to be directly invited, this was not the case. Instead, only three squads received an invitation:
- LGD Gaming
- Azure Ray
- Gaimin Gladiators
While most people are probably not surprised that Gaimin Gladiators are here, a lot are wondering why there are 2 Chinese teams. An even more interesting question is why Team Spirit, the winner of TI12, is not at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. Well, TS was originally among the directly invited squads, but it had to pull out of the tournament due to health reasons.
Instead of Team Spirit, the organizers of ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 invited Azure Ray, the second-most successful Chinese Dota 2 team. Somnus and the rest will play alongside LGD Gaming, the second squad that received an invitation.
Many people expected one of the direct invites to go to a team from Southeast Asia because the tournament will take place in Malaysia. However, it seems like the organizers wanted to attract squads from other parts of the world.
Out of these 3, Gaimin Gladiators is clearly the favorite. The team from Western Europe won countless tournaments in 2023 and even reached the finals of The International 12. Sadly, Quinn and his allies could not win the last match because Team Spirit ripped through them.
Western Europe Qualifiers
Moving on from the teams with a direct invitation for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, we head over to the Western European qualifiers. These were, without a doubt, the most intriguing matches to watch because the teams here are on another level. We had the chance to watch numerous big names, but in the end, Team Liquid and Team Secret won the two slots.
Liquid has no problems and did not lose a single map, whereas Team Secret lost against OG in the Upper Bracket. The two had to go again in the Lower Bracket, but this time Team Secret was victorious.
Besides these two giants and OG, the WEU ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 also had Team Tickles, D2 Hustlers, Entity, and Alliance.
Eastern Europe Qualifiers
🔥MAINTAINING THE ROSTER IS PAYING OFF🔥
As we made it to ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 🥳#betboomteamdota pic.twitter.com/EJFHTq7ulE
— BetBoom Team (@BetBoomTeam) November 17, 2023
The situation in the Easter European qualifiers for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 was similar to the one in the West. There were a lot of big names here that had to give everything they had, but in the end, BetBoom Team and 9Pandas grabbed the two slots for the tournament.
BetBoom Team had no issue in the Upper Bracket, and it defeated VP in the final. Interestingly, Virtus.Pro also played in the Lower Bracket final against 9Pandas, but the team was unable to eliminate RAMZES666’s squad.
North America
WHAT A GAME. ⌐◨-◨ ⌐◨-◨ ⌐◨-◨
106 minutes, 96 total kills, and way too many Divine Rapiers.
We’re 2-0 up in the BO5 FINAL against TSM, just one map to go! pic.twitter.com/5S3XSr4uG4
— Nouns Esports ⌐◨-◨ (@nounsesports) November 19, 2023
Unlike the previous two Dota 2 regions, North America only got 1 slot for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. Normally, Shopify Rebellion would have been the big favorite, but since it wasn’t present, the battle was between nouns and TSM.
The epic bo5 final between the two was amazing to watch, and we saw 5 full games. Although most people expected nouns to win, TSM stole the show and the last spot for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
South America
SA also had one slot for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, similar to North America. However, unlike the other region, one team here was way better than the rest, so the qualifiers weren’t that exciting to watch.
As expected, Wawitas Sagares, the team that has the likes of DarMargo and Oscar, defeated the rest and grabbed the only slot. Interestingly, the team lost to Infinity in the UB Final but won the qualifying match to get the last slot.
MENA
KUALA LUMPUR LOCKED IN. WE ARE COMING FOR THE TROPHY! 🏆 🦅💚 #WeAreFalcons #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/0oqLXv8dpK
— Team Falcons (@FalconsEsport) November 18, 2023
The newest Dota 2 region also had its clash for ESL One Kuala Lumpur Major, and Team Falcons won the qualifiers. The newly formed squad was really dangerous, and it was able to deal with the likes of PSG Quest. It will be very interesting to see the team’s results against some of the best in the world.
China
Since LGD and Azure Ray received direct invites for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, it is no surprise that the last slot in China went to Invictus Gaming. The latter has a new roster that looks dangerous because the team only dropped 2 maps in the qualifiers. Team Aster, the other big Chinese powerhouse, failed to surprise its fans and lost early on.
Southeast Asia
See y’all in December 🫡 https://t.co/zihFSMQNvB
— BLACKLIST INTERNATIONAL 👑 (@BLACKLISTINTL) November 18, 2023
The last region that will be represented at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 is Southeast Asia. We had the chance to watch tons of big names here, including Aurora, Blacklist International, Geek Fam and Talon Esports. Most people expected the latter to take the slot, but this did not happen because Blacklist International defeated them and Geek Fam to secure the slot in Kuala Lumpur.
