The TI6 Main Qualifiers ended today and we finally know all the teams that will participate at the main event in the Seattle KeyArena between the 8th and the 13th of August. Let’s have a look at which squads made it to the top of each region.
Europe
2015 has been the year of Evil Geniuses and the rise to the top of North American Dota2, winning a streak of major tournaments including the Asia Dota2 Championships and TI5. Europe comes out on top in 2016, with teams from the old continent winning all three Majors and good part of the premiere tournaments. That is why, out of the six direct invites to TI6, three have been given to European teams: OG, Team Liquid and Na’vi.
All the squads in the European Qualifier played at a very high level and there have been many upsets. In the end, Team Secret made it to the top of the round robin table and qualified directly, while Alliance and Escape had to go through the double elimination bracket together with Fantastic Five and Ad Finem. Alliance won the second stage of the tournament with a convincing 3-1 against Escape, so they too will go directly to the main event in Seattle, while Escape will be one of the four teams that will take part in the Wildcard Tournament.
Americas
Evil Geniuses was most likely going to be invited directly to TI6, but swapping Bulba for Team Secret’ Universe (previously an EG player for three years) after the roster-lock made it impossible for Valve to consider them for an invite. No teams have been invited from the Americas.
No surprises in the Americas Main Qualifiers. Evil Geniuses steamrolled through the Open Qualifiers and proceeded to win the round robin stage losing only one game against Complexity, which they beat immediately after in the tie-breaker for first place. Complexity and Digital Chaos played in the grand finals of the double elimination bracket, a series that kept the fans of both teams holding their breaths for five amazing games: Digital Chaos took a strong lead winning both the first two matches, just to be equalised 2-2 after Complexity refused to be beaten that easily. In the final game Digital Chaos won after a hour long match an qualified to the main event, leaving Complexity to the insidious Wildcard Tournament.
South-East Asia
The South Korean team MVP Phoenix has been directly invited after a number of high quality showings in premiere tournaments from TI5 onwards. Their hyper aggressive play style and unpredictable movements make them one of the most feared teams in the world at the moment.
Against every expectations, the SEA region has seen plenty of upsets. TNC Gaming, a team coming from the Open Qualifiers, convincingly won the round robin stage in a tie-breaker against the much more experienced team Fnatic. Fnatic proceeded to win the bracket in a straightforward series against Execration 3-1 and qualify for TI6, while Execration will have to get first or second place in the Wildcard Tournament in order to have a shot at TI6.
China
After an unprecedented period of decline in 2015, the Chinese Dota2 scene picked itself up and came back swinging. LGD Gaming and Newbee have been directly invited, and there are no surprises there: LGD has been a powerhouse in China for the past four years and Newbee is having an incredible time in 2016, winning 29 matches in a row setting the record for the longest win streak in the history of Dota2.
We are still waiting for the final of the loser bracket and the grand finals of the double elimination bracket of the Chinese Qualifier to know which teams from China will play at TI6. Keep an eye on this page for an update later today.
UPDATE:
Wings Gaming won the Chinese Qualifier round robin thanks to their ruthless aggressive play and confirmed themselves as one of the emerging best Chinese teams at the moment. In the double elimination bracket EHOME and Vici Gaming Reborn battled it out in an amazing five games series, with VG.R bringing it home in a really close final game 3-2. EHOME is considered to be one of the favourites teams in the Wildcard Tournament and they might really likely make it to the main event.
All the teams participating to The International 2016 are now officially defined:
Direct invites: OG, Team Liquid, NA’VI, LGD Gaming, Newbee and MVP Phoenix.
Qualified: Team Secret, Alliance, Evil Geniuses, Digital Chaos, Wings Gaming, Vici Gaming Reborn, TNC Gaming and Fnatic.
Wildcard Tournament: Escape, Complexity, EHOME, Execration.
Stay tuned for more Dota2 news.
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