The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier: does the region deserve the 4th slot at The International 2023 and who will take it?
Yuriy SheremetWe talk about the qualifying round for the main tournament of the year in Eastern Europe.
Eastern Europe is preparing for the Long Corner of the main tournament of the year - The International 2023. Although TI 12 will start in October, the Long Corner for the 12 teams from Eastern Europe will be on 22 August. The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier is an event that deserves attention no matter how you look at it. Or is it?
Intriguing qualifiers for the most prestigious tournament of the year, a single winner and a sea of Dota 2. Sounds promising, but what will it be like in reality? Puzzled by this question, we decided to talk about qualifiers for The International 2023 in Eastern Europe. Inside we discuss the 4 EEU slots, talk about the favourites and dark horses of the race and the most important information about the tournament.
The main things about The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier: list of participants, format, and dates
If you want to start something, start at the beginning. A minute of philosophy at EGamersWorld has passed, now to the main thing: format, participants, dates.
The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier will be held in the standard format for such events. The tournament will start with play-offs, without group stages and other "transit" rounds: the Double-Elimination grid offers bo3 matches up to the grand final, while the final match will be played to three wins.
In the race for a place at The International 2023 will fight 12 teams from Eastern Europe. The participants are not random - they all played in DPC leagues, but since they did not receive a direct invitation to the final championship of DPC-2023, they played poorly. They included:
- Outsiders (Vp)
- HYDRA
- One Move
- Natus Vincere
- Nemiga Gaming
- Team Sexy
- UALEIKUMNIHAO
- Matreshka
- StoRm
- MoneyMakers
- NAVI Junior
- SIBE Team
All this company will start their journey to The International on the 22nd of August. One of the teams will be happier already on the 26th.
Summarising the introductory information about The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier we get: 12 participants, Double-Elimination format, bo3 matches from 22nd to 26th of August, bo5 grand final, a slot for The International 2023 - one. But only, does Eastern Europe need it?
The team that qualified for The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier will be redundant at the year's main tournament
Competitive Dota 2 has changed a lot in recent seasons. Where once Western Europe and China ruled the roost, Eastern Europe has been at the forefront since around 2021.
After Team Spirit's victory at The International 10, local teams began to be treated with respect and description, but the status of strong competitors at international events was quickly lost. It was only regained at the end of 2023 and again thanks to Spirit's strength, but to be fair, the prerequisites were there even earlier.
Throughout the year, teams from Eastern Europe made their way to the most important tournaments of the season and in some places showed good results: 9 Pandas with a top-3 finish at Berlin Major, BB and top-2 at DreamLeague Season 20, and finally Team Spirit with the Riyadh Masters 2023 Champions Cup. The labour, it must be admitted, is impressive and well paid. All three have already made it to The International, clearing the way to the main tournament of the year for another team from Eastern Europe.
I can't remember the last time I saw 4 teams from Eastern Europe at The International. It's really a remarkable year for the region, but at the same time I'm still worried about the fate of the team that will qualify. The thing is that even within the region no one but the aforementioned BB, Spirit and 9 Pandas could compete with it. That is, there are actually 3 capable teams inside the region, and the team that passed The International 2023 through qualifications risks becoming a training target for the rest of the more internationally savvy clubs.
Perhaps the fears are irrational, but among all the participants of The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier there is not a single team that has proved itself on the international stage. It's time to get better, for if not now, when?
Is VP out of contention at The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier or not?
Continuing the topic of the 4 slots for Eastern Europe this season, it is impossible not to discuss who is the most suitable for the role of EEU's fourth fiddle at The International 2023. The most obvious option is VP.
The team had quite a productive year as a participant of this event. Three times the team finished in the top 4 in their home league, which even allowed them to score some (218) DPC points. Against the backdrop of VP's competitors at The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier, this is an impressive figure. But will the Vp have it easy? I highly doubt it.
The balance of power in Eastern Europe is a bit broken. While BB, Spirit and 9Pandas have constant gladiatorial battles, everything below is like a fighting pit: constant gnawing between weaker teams often leads to unforeseen circumstances. That's why Vp should be feared, as they'll be hampered by the rather stale Hydra, Nemiga and other near-TIR-1 teams.
The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier or two chances for NaVi
If VP is the favourite because of performance, NaVi can be called the arithmetic favourite. It's not about Natus Vincere's odds to win The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier, but about the number of teams the club has. NaVi has two.
NaVi and NaVi Junior will try to make it to The International 2023 and if either of them succeeds, the club is only on the plus side. There is, of course, the question of the reality of the scenario.
NaVi's main team starts its way through qualifications from the upper play-offs grid, while the "youth" will have to start from the bottom. The latter are at risk of ceasing to exist as a business unit, as they are out of the second division of the DPC. For them, qualification is especially important, but the prospects for success are very dim.
In any case, the endeavours of NaVi and their little brother will be The International heresy to watch. We are waiting for the "new era".
What in the end
The battles within The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier should be The International interesting due to the lack of clear favourites. The nominal leader of the qualifiers in the form of Vp can easily blow away any team from the top division, and the chance to see a "dark horse" win here is much higher than in other regions. All of the above is possible due to the absence of top division teams at the qualifiers.
So it turns out that at The International 2023 any teams from Eastern Europe Qualifier will be superfluous, but the qualifiers themselves will be a great spectacle. Join EGamersWorld in watching The International 2023 - Eastern Europe Qualifier.
See you soon.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.