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TI11 Last Chance Qualifiers

It’s the final countdown (cue epic cheesy synth and guitar riffs)! Dota 2 fans the world over will be glued to their screens this weekend as four days of epic action will determine which 2 of the 12 competing teams will emerge from the last chance saloon with a place at The International 11.

Things will kick off with the group stage, where two groups of 6 teams will battle it out in single-round best-of-two round robin matches, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the play-off stages. The knockout stages will feature a double-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches, with two lucky teams booking their place at The International “proper”.

As for the groups themselves, there are a couple of big names in Group A, namely Team Secret and Natus Vincere who will no doubt fancy their chances of success here. 

Whilst Team Secret’s days of dominance from a couple of years ago are now behind them, they are still quite formidable opponents, as evidenced by their recent solid showings at ESL One Malaysia 2022 and Riyadh Masters 2022. What’s more, with Michał “Nisha” Jankowski’s consistency, as well as Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok and Baqyt “Zayac” Emiljanov improving significantly since making their debut in Malaysia, they should have enough experience and quality to get out of this group without any problems.

Speaking of experience, Navi are also more than capable of giving their opponents a run for their money as their roster contains quite a few former Virtus.Pro legends. 

However, both of these teams could have their work cut out for them against newcomers, nouns. The Americans really made their mark on their competitive debut by bringing home the bacon at BTS Pro Series Season 11: Americas in and have consistently performed solidly since then. With two potential big scalps here, they could see this is an ideal opportunity to show what they are capable of on the big stage.

As for Group B, it’s looking like a three-horse race between Xtreme Gaming, Virtus.Pro and T1 to emerge as top dog. Although it’s quite difficult to evaluate their season so far, as they’ve missed out on two majors due to COVID restrictions back in China and visa issues, Xtreme Gaming are being touted as the favourites to emerge victorious in the LCQFs.

However, T1 could throw a spanner in the works, especially if Topson turns up and will also fancy their chances of reaching TI11, as will seasoned veterans, Virtus.Pro. However, it’s worth noting that Virtus’ players have form for buckling when the going gets tough and results don’t go their way which could prove costly at the business end of this tournament.

Whatever happens, we’re set for some thrilling esports action over the coming days.

Japanese Grand Prix

Calling all you F1 fans out there! Strap yourselves in for a rollercoaster ride this weekend as this week’s Formula 1 action takes us to the Land of the Rising Sun and Suzuka Circuit for this season’s Japanese Grand Prix, which makes a return to the calendar after being cancelled last year due to COVID restrictions.

This race has proven to be decisive in numerous title races down the years, such as the epic duels between Aryton Senna and Alain Prost in the late 80s, as well as the truly unforgettable dramatic showdown between then Williams teammates Damon Hill and Jacques Villenevue back in 1996, and fans will be hoping for similar fireworks this time.

However, it goes without saying that this year’s fight for the driver’s title is going to match up to the blasts from the past we mentioned above. Reigning champion Max Verstappen goes into this race with a commanding 112 point lead over his nearest challenger, Charles LeClerc and barring a miracle, it’s only a matter of time before he’s crowned champion once again.

If this race goes the distance, Verstappen finishes first and sets the fastest lap, then it’s game over as far as the title race goes. In fact, if quite a few things go the Dutchman’s way (i.e. the race goes the distance, he sets the fastest lap LeClerc and Perez finish 10th and 9th or lower respectively), he could even finish as low as 6th and claim the title.

However, just because the title race has turned into showjumping, it doesn’t mean that this season can’t still produce drama as last weekend’s Singapore GP highlighted. Not only was Verstappen’s frankly unreal winning streak brought to an end, as he had to settle for a 7th place finish, with no fewer than 6 drivers being forced to retire over the course of the race after the start of the race had been delayed by over an hour due to torrential rain.

It was Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who took the chequered flag last weekend as he managed to fend off a valiant challenge from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to close the gap on the Frenchman to 2 points in the Driver’s Championship standings.

Speaking of Leclerc, it’s been a somewhat frustrating season for the Frenchman and Ferrari as a mixture of reliability issues, poor tactics and driver errors have cost The Prancing Horse very dearly at times this season. With that in mind, Leclerc and Co. could use what’s left of the season to build momentum going into next year so they can fulfil the promise they showed earlier in 2022.

Will Leclerc manage to postpone Verstappen’s celebrations for one more race or will the Dutchman by flying to “Title City” this weekend?