Team SMG cruise through the upper brackets to secure their place at The International 2023.
Team SMG's qualification to TI2023 signals the return of both Volodymyr "No[o]ne-" Minenko and Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng on The International stage. They both last competed at the pinnacle of all Dota 2 events in 2019. No[o]ne- took a disappointing 9-12th place with Virtus.pro (if we aren't counting the Last Chance Qualifiers, of course) while MidOne took an impressive 4th place with Team Secret.
Joining forces seems to have been the key to success for these two veterans. Team SMG had been struggling all season. The best they were able to do this season was 3rd place in Tour 2 for Division I of the DPC. Then the Ukrainian player joined and Team SMG became a scary force.
With clean execution and drafts, Team SMG cruised through the upper brackets to land their spot in the Grand Finals.
Bleed Esports had looked a bit more revitalized —until they met with SMG in the upper bracket finals. The fully stacked Filipino squad was no match for SMG (and the internet provider) and took a 2:0 loss and a trip to the lower brackets. There, they overwhelmed Geek Fam to set the stage for a rematch against SMG.
Unfortunately for them, history did repeat itself.
With blazing-fast games two one-sided SMG ran through them once again for a two-game lead. Blacklist fought hard with their backs against the wall and took the third game from SMG. The Filipino squad made things very awkward and difficult for the Malaysian team but in the end it didn't matter.
Team SMG were able to overpower Blacklist with a 3:0 sweep for the ticket to Seattle.
The International 2023 Teams
(DPC Rank #1) WEU
(DPC Rank #2) WEU
(DPC Rank #3) WEU
(DPC Rank #4) EEU
(DPC Rank #5) SA
(DPC Rank #6) CN
(DPC Rank #7) NA
(DPC Rank #8) SEA
(DPC Rank #9) SA
(DPC Rank #10) EEU
(DPC Rank #11) NA
(DPC Rank #12) EEU
(Regional Qualifier) CN
(Regional Qualifier) NA
(Regional Qualifier) EEU
(Regional Qualifier) SA
(Regional Qualifier) SA
(Regional Qualifier) SEA
(Regional Qualifier) WEU
TBD (Regional Qualifier) WEU
The International 2023
The International returns to the US after four editions held around the world. TI7 was the last edition hosted by the Key Arena in Seattle, where Team Liquid lifted the Aegis of Champions. From there on, each year TI went to different parts of the globe. Key Arena, which now is Climate Pledge arena from Seattle will be the home for The International 2023.
The International 2023: October 27-29
The eight teams that make it to The International 2023 (TI12) will play at the refurbished Key Arena, now Climate Pledge Arena, for a shot at the most wanted Dota 2 trophy, the Aegis of Champions.
Friday and Saturday will feature the upper bracket semifinals, finals, and the first round of elimination matches. The top three teams will return to the arena on Sunday, October 29 for the lower bracket finals followed by the best-of-five grand finals
