The first day of the NA/SA regional qualifiers for The International 2017 has come to an end as the teams begin to get into the thick of things in the group stage.
There are times when the group stage is taken less seriously, being dismissed as a 'warm up' for the main brackets and only serves for seeding purposes according to some. The TI7 regional qualifiers are not one of those times. With everything on the line, each match can make or break a team's morale, path and career.
Out of ten teams clamoring for a spot in each of the regional playoffs, five teams in NA and only four in SA will have a fighting chance after the group stage is done tonight. The other teams will be left to pack up their dreams early.
North America TI7 regional qualifiers
After a full day of back to back group stage games, the North American region is quickly shaping up as expected. The frontrunners are Team NP and Digital Chaos tied for the first place spot with four wins and only one loss under their belt. compLexity put a kink in Digital Chaos' perfect run and Team Freedom took a surprising game off of Team NP. Freedom's new roster is tied with Planet Odd for the second slot - both with only one loss a piece as well.
Two of the three qualified teams - Starboyz from the Champions Cup and Overpower from the open qualifiers #2 have yet to secure a win. Their future is looking quite bleak as the bottom five teams will be eliminated by the end of the group stage tonight.
Getting things started for today, Team Freedom will square off against compLexity while Team Red take on Planet Odd at 19:00 CEST.
NA regional qualifiers format:
Phase one:
10 teams - Round Robin group, bo1
1st place qualify to TI 7
2nd to 5th place advance to phase two
Phase two:
4 teams - Double Elimination bracket, bo3 series
Grand finals are bo5, winner qualify to TI 7
When things are all said and done, two North American teams will be awarded a place among the best at TI7.
South America TI7 regional qualifiers
Meanwhile, over the south of America only three teams were given a free pass into the regional qualifiers and seven teams had to battle it out of their spot. Leading the pack is Midas Club Elite who seized the first qualifier spot. The team from Brazil have had a smooth, flawless run through the group thus far with five wins to their name. The race for second is incredibly tight with four teams each sitting with three wins and only one loss - making for some hefty competition coming into the second day.
At the bottom of the ladder sits Colombia - unable to clinch a victory and five tough games coming up ahead.
Starting things off today at 18:00 CEST, Infamous and Union Gaming will go head to head while two Brazilian teams - SG esports and Stars eSports will lock horns.
SA regional qualifiers format:
Phase one:
10 teams - Round Robin group, bo1
Top 4 advance in phase two
Phase two:
4 teams - Double Elimination bracket, bo3 series
Grand finals are bo5 - winners qualify to TI7
When the dust settles only one South American team will proudly represent their region on the TI7 stage.
TI7 Regional qualifiers broadcast:
Matches will be broadcast live in English:
Beyond the Summit stream 1
Beyond the Summit stream 2
Beyond the Summit stream 3
Beyond the Summit stream 4
Beyond the Summit stream 5
Beyond the Summit stream 6
MoonDuckTV stream 1
MoonDuckTV stream 2
Shaneomad stream
The International 2017 Coverage HUB
Click here for results, VODs and all the other information
