Twelve teams’ got their last shot at qualify for the International 2022 (TI11) in Singapore. The TI11 LCQ only offers two qualifying slots, and the competition is comparable to the recent majors. Today, we are looking into TI11 Last Chance Qualifier Group A teams and match-up.
TI11 Last Chance Qualifier Group A Favorites
For a qualifier, the TI11 LCQ features a full-fledged group stage and playoffs, which ultimately highlight the stakes of this qualifier. Group Stage is split into two groups of six teams, where teams play single round-robin best-of-two matches. The top four teams advance to the upper bracket of playoffs, while the bottom two seeds of respective groups still proceed to the lower bracket. The Playoffs include a double-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches, and two teams qualify for TI11.
In this article, we will feature TI11 LCQ Group A teams: Natus Vincere, nouns, Polaris Esports, Team Secret, Tempest, and Vici Gaming.
The TI11 LCQ has several prominent powerhouses on its playing field, such as Team Secret and Natus Vincere. Team Secret may not be in its prime but is still well-established because of Michał “Nisha” Jankowski’s consistency as a carry player. The new inclusions, Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok and Baqyt “Zayac” Emiljanov have proven to be a significant improvement since their debut in ESL One Malaysia 2022.
Natus Vincere from the Eastern Europe region is also a strong contender, to give its opponents a run for their money. After all, Navi does rock a seasoned stack of players to play in the TI11 LCQ with former Virtus.pro veterans.
Let’s dig in, and set our expectations.
NaVi vs nouns
Although we did label NaVi as one of the big shots, nouns are another consistent team from North America. While nouns are by no means on par with Evil Geniuses or TeamSoloMid, they are still a staple in NA, and had notable performances this year.
It should be slightly challenging to overwhelm nouns compared to the rest of its competition. For instance, Tempest from South America is relatively new among these contestants, a child’s play if you will.
I do expect a Natus Vincere victory, but the match may drag out longer then expected. To that end, Midnite offers a lucrative x1.89 on a NaVi win.
Team Secret vs Vici Gaming
Much has changed from Team Secret’s dominance, and we absolutely can’t claim that Secret can guarantee a victory over VG. While VG may seem like a pushover in China’s competition, we must acknowledge that this is the same region that had back-to-back grand finals in past TI.
Nevertheless, expect the odds to be in favor of Team Secret just for popularity’s sake, but don’t expect VG to give up their point so easily. On paper, Secret hasn’t been as wild as they would like, especially their play style. Surely their hero pool can be quite diverse, but their playstyle and timing have become predictable.
Team Secret will encounter Tempest as well during the first day of TI11 LCQ. We can expect no hiccups for the Western European giant, and you can certainly go add them to your accumulator.
Nouns vs Polaris Esports
Polaris once held quite a following after their explosive debut into Southeast Asia’s Division 1 bracket. However, that momentum quickly fell off past the recent Tours, putting Polaris among the unimpressive candidates from SEA.
Their only redemption was during TI11 Regional Qualifier when they shockingly defeat T1 to claim second place. While most might assume that beating T1 with the duo two-time champs is an amazing feat, let’s not forget that T1 delivered very poor drafts during the regional qualifier.
Up against nouns, which have become more consistent in Division 1 since they first appeared two years ago, Polaris is in an uphill battle against a more promising veteran from North America. Hence, it wouldn’t be too surprising if nouns come out on top of the SEA squad. The odds for this match are not active yet.
Regardless of the TI11 Last Chance Qualifier’s group stage outcome, we can expect everyone in playoffs for one last hurrah. Thus, the groups are by no means a testament to whether these teams will qualify for TI11 yet.
After all, there are bigger fishes to face from Group B after these group stage matches.
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