The International 4 American qualifiers, set to begin on May 12th at 12:00 EDT, will consist of eleven teams duking it out to find out who is worthy of entering the most prestigious eSports tournament of all time; The International. The format of the qualifiers will be similar to last years, where each team plays another once to determine which teams advance. The top four teams move on to a double elimination second round, with first and second place starting in the upper bracket. The Grand Finals will be a best-of-five as the top two teams will be invited to Seattle. The winner will receive a direct invite to the event, while the defeated will have to compete against the other runner-ups of the regional finals for the final spot in The International.
The Teams
Sneaky Nyx Assassins
No Earthspirit
Union Gaming
Shadows of the Past
eHug
Team Liquid
CNB eSports Club
TOP5
Isurus Gaming
Revenge Gaming
North American Rejects
Author's predictions for top four finishes
Most of the teams in the American qualifiers are on even footing in terms of skill and team work. Some teams boast well known former professional players, while other teams have been recently formed or have unstable rosters. Below are some of the teams that might have a leg up over their fellow American compatriots.
Sneaky Nyx Assassins consists of two former Team Liquid players from their TI3 roster that hope to qualify for TI4 and reclaim their former glory. They have been playing decently in the American scene, defeating most of their opponents with superior technique and experience. They also have the privilege of having two players with previous experience in The International, an advantage that may prove very valuable in their journey through the American Qualifiers. Will ixmike and FLUFF return to Seattle this year?
Team Liquid has seen better days. After their 7th/8th place finish in The International Team, they were hailed as the great hope of America for future tournaments to come. However, Evil Geniuses has since taken that throne from them, handing them a cringe-worthy string of losses. With the resignation of several of their players and the acquisition of Jimmy "DeMoN" Ho, they have attempted to make a comeback in the qualifiers this year. Although they may lack their former strength, expect Team Liquid to put on a strong performance in the qualifier stages.
North American Rejects, aptly named due to their individual histories, was recently formed with a single, passionate goal in their minds; The International 4. All former professional players for famous teams like Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and Dignitas, they have all recently fallen on hard times. Despite lacking their formers sponsors, fanbase and teammates, these team-less players have united to form NAR, and to show the world that there is still a fire burning within them that can lead them to success once again.
Revenge is the dark horse of these qualifiers, led by their captain Freddy "Smash" Sina. Despite initially losing their invite to the qualifiers for attempting to make roster changes, they were recently re-invited when they agreed to return to their original roster. Althought they have had less than stellar recent performances, Revenge is one of the few American teams that has managed to take games off Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid. Look for Revenge to pull off upsets in an exciting manner.
Casting information and roster
The casting crew for the American qualifiers will include several familiar names of the casting scene, coming from studios such as BeyondTheSummit, DotaCinema and HighGroundTV.
To be more specific, this is the American casting roster :
- Aaron "Ayesee" Chambers
- Ioannis "Fogged" Loucas
- Troels "syndereN" Nielsen
- David "LD" Gorman
- David "GoDz" Parker
- Shannon "SUNSfan" Scotten
- Andrew "Zyori" Campbell
- Bryan "kpoptosis" Herren
- Cameron "Basskip" Scott
- Travis "Maut" Bueno
- Ben "Merlini" Wu
For more information about The International qualifiers, visit our coverage hub here!
For details about the TI4 Compendium, check out our article about the item!
Head over to our wiki page for The International 2014!
> More featured articles
> Bet on matches in May, win luckboxes
