All the biggest moments from the final day of TI11’s Last Chance Qualifier.
After four days of high-quality Dota 2, it is time to learn the names of the last two teams that will attend The International 11. The biggest Dota 2 event of the year starts in just a few days in Singapore.
Sadly, many of the favorites people expected to qualify for TI failed to live up to the expectations. Following yesterday’s action, T1 and Xtreme Gaming were eliminated from the event after losing their games. Topson and the rest couldn’t deal with Team Secret and Vici Gaming, whereas the Chinese were no match against Team Liquid.
That said, the last day of the qualifiers gave us the chance to watch three epic matches. So, let’s go through each one and see what happened.
Upper Bracket Final
The Final of the Upper Bracket was between Team Secret and Virtus.Pro, two of the best teams in this event. Secret is yet to lose a single series in this qualifiers, whereas VP sent Vici Gaming and Team Liquid to LB prior to securing a slot for this final.
Although we expected an epic three-game series, Team Secret was better and deserved to win the match. Speaking of the devil, the first map was a lot more interesting and close because it lasted more than 44 minutes. VP tried to use RAMZESS’s fast-farming skill and allowed him to play Luna, one of his favorite heroes. Sadly, he couldn’t shine because Secret countered him with Sniper.
The game was even for the first 30 minutes, even though VP had a slight edge. In fact, the Eastern European won a huge fight 32 minutes after the start, which allowed them to gain an even more impressive lead. That said, Secret secured a very important kill on Roshan when VP was ahead, which prevented them from pushing.
After turtling for a couple of minutes, the Western European team defeated its opponent in the first game of the match.
Game 2
After losing a game that VP should’ve won, the team didn’t have the needed motivation for game 2. Even though RAMZESS and the rest had a similar draft, Secret was the better team. Puppey and the rest gained a massive 10k lead just 26 minutes after the start. Unsurprisingly, the team didn’t let it slip and knocked their opponent to the Lower Bracket.
This victory allowed Secret to secure one of the two slots from these qualifiers. This also means that Puppey becomes the first all-timer. In other words, he qualified for every edition of The International and even won its first version.
Lower Bracket
The matches in the LB were as interesting as the series in the UB. That said, here is what happened.
Vici Gaming vs Team Liquid
The first series of the day in the LB put together Team Liquid and Vici Gaming. The two powerhouses found themselves here after losing their matches in the UP. Liquid failed to defeat VP, whereas Vici lost in the quarterfinals against the same opponent.
Game 1
Despite having Slark and DS, Liquid was unable to use their deadly draft as intended. The Chinese teams picked Primal Beast yet again and proved they are among the few teams in the pro scene that can utilize him properly.
Erika and the rest did not have the best start, but after Juggernaut got a few items, things changed. The hero had to go up against a very annoying draft that had a lot of disables, but even this was not enough to stop him. Vici Gaming slowly took control of the game because they had better heroes for teamfights.
After yet another fight that went in their favor, the team won the first map.
Game 2
Team Liquid was just one game away from elimination, so it decided to use its Sniper and Leshrac pick. Similar to the first game, Liquid took control early on. However, they didn’t make the same mistakes and kept the lead until the end.
With more than 31k net worth advantage and a 2-lane rax lead just 40 minutes after the start, Liquid won the second map. This allowed them to focus on the third game, which would decide whether they would have the chance to take revenge against VP.
Game 3
As expected, MATUMBAMAN picked his signature Lone Druid for the third match of the series. Vici tried to use Morphling and Lycan, but things didn’t work as planned. The Chinese squad was crushed in the laning stage and got just 3 kills in the entire game.
Speaking of the devil, Liquid needed just 22 minutes to win after ripping through their opponents in every team fight. This victory allowed them to play against VP for the last TI 11 slot.
Liquid vs Virtus.Pro
After watching the two series earlier this day, it was time to see the final match between Team Liquid and VP. The stakes were high because the winner would receive the last slot for TI 11, whereas the loser would go home.
Despite winning the first series between the two, VP wasn’t able to do the same when it mattered. VP tried a very aggressive lineup in the match’s first game that included Visage and Razor. These two heroes can do wonders in the mid-game, but Team Liquid didn’t allow them to use their potential.
The strange but effective combo between Venomancer and Lifestealer allowed the EU squad to have little to no problems. The team needed just 30 minutes to win the first map and focus on game 2.
Game 2
This was the most crucial game for Virtus.Pro of the year because the team had to win in order to keep its TI dream alive. So, as expected, the Eastern European team picked some of their best heroes, such as Morphling and Timbersaw. Even though their lanes seemed good, Team Liquid was again on another level.
VP’s draft was solid, but it had one major flaw – it focused on single-target damage. Unsurprisingly, Liquid took full advantage of the situation and got a draft that allowed them to push together and take teamfights. The Western European team won almost every fight, so VP had no other option but to use the GG call 30 minutes after the start.
Liquid’s victory means that a second Western European team (aside from Secret) will join The International. Besides these two, players will have the chance to watch Entity, OG, Tundra Esports, and Gaimin Gladiators.
TI 11 officially begins October 15, with the Group Stage. Be sure to stay tuned for more Dota 2 coverage, plus game guides, Dota 2 betting tips and more.
