Team SMG secure Mind Control for backup as Offlaner Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee continues to struggle to obtain his visa for TI2023.
Thai offlaner Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee has been unable to secure his Visa for TI12.
In his stead, Team SMG has turned to previous TI champion offlaner Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov on loan from Nigma. They will however, continue their attempts to bring Masaros to Seattle.
Team SMG regrets to inform that our player Masaros has not been successful at acquiring his USA visa despite multiple attempts.
Whilst we continue to pursue visas for our core player, Mind_ContRoL will stand in as backup for Team SMG during the tournament while we await further updates from the embassy. We'd like to thank Nigma Galaxy for their assistance despite such short notice, and the fans for their continued support.
~Team SMG Facebook
Team SMG qualified for the event after sweeping through Blacklist International 3:0 in the regionals.
This will be the first TI for MC in four years. He last took 2nd place at The International 2019 with Team Liquid when they fell to OG 1:3.
Team SMG's qualification to TI2023 also 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.
The International 2023
Unlike previous years, The International for this year is split into two distinct phases; the group stage and playoffs (until top 8) are announced as under the phase The Road to The International, while the playoffs for the remaining 8 teams are announced as The International itself.
The prize pool is barely $3,000,000 with less than one week before group stage kicks off.
TI12 schedule
Road to The International
- Group Stage: October 12-15
- Playoffs: October 20-22
The International itself
- Finals weekend: October 27-29
