Dota 2: Last Chance Qualifier Day 1 Recap

Last Chance Qualifiers are the final chance teams get before the TI. With International 2022 just around the corner, the most significant event will occur a few days from now. Held in Singapore, this will be the most intriguing tournament of the year and include the best teams in the globe.

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Even though we know the names of most teams, there are a couple of options that we haven’t figured out yet. Thankfully, after the end of these qualifiers, we will know every team that will participate in the tournament.

TI 11 will have a total of 20 teams and we already know the names of 18 of them. Unsurprisingly, the last 2 ones will be determined after the end of the quals, so let’s check what happened during day 1. As you can probably guess, both groups had tons of epic games.

Group A

nouns vs Natus Vincere

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The first group in the qualifiers allowed us to watch many exciting matches. The day kicked off with one of the most anticipated series of the day between nouns and Natus Vincere. Both teams are among the favorites to finish in the top 4, so people were eager to see what would happen.

Even though most experts predicted that nouns would win, Natus Vincere played two perfect games and won the match. Interestingly, the CIS powerhouse used Silencer, Pangolier, and Sven in both games. The three cores allowed the team to control the match and didn’t give their opponents any chance of winning.

The second game between the two was more interesting because nouns won the mid-lane with their Templar Assassin. However, the hero could not deal with Sven and Void’s Chronosphere, which is why nouns lost the map.

Team Secret vs Vici Gaming

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Team Secret and Vici Gaming are among the most dominant names in modern Dota 2, so every clash between them is entertaining to watch. Unsurprisingly, both are among the favorites, so the outcome of this match was important. That said, the match ended in a draw after both teams won one map.

The series started well for Puppey and the rest because Secret got to play some of their signature heroes. Even though Vici used the Drow and Visage draft, they were crushed in the laning stage, which didn’t allow them to bounce back. Secret needed just 31 minutes and won the map.

Having said that, the second game of the match was incredibly fun and was one of the longest ones of the day. Even though Secret had Invoker and Void, Vici Gaming used their classic Mars, CK, and TA draft that won them countless games before. It wasn’t easy, but the Chinese eventually became too strong and won several fights. 

Secret tried to bounce back and not let their opponents win, but their efforts were futile. In the end, Vici won and secured a draw against one of the big favorites.  

Group B

T1 vs Liquid

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The second match, many of us were eager to see put together T1 (ana and Topson’s current squad) and Team Liquid. Unsurprisingly, both are among the main favorites and had to win this series to continue forward.

To be honest, most of us expected Team Liquid to win, so we weren’t surprised when the series ended in their favor. The first game was way more interesting because it lasted 40 minutes and allowed us to see loads of fantastic heroes. Sadly, T1’s tactic with LC and Gyro didn’t pay off because Liqud’s Terrorblade had a massive lead.

After losing the first game, Team Liquid had no problems in the second one .T1’s draft was strange, to say the least, which allowed Liquid’s Storm bomb combo with Storm Spirit and Naix to have no problems. The team won the laning stage and continued to dominate in the next fights. Needless to say, this was enough for the Western European team to win.

Xtreme Gaming vs Team Liquid

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Another series that many fans wanted to check put together one of the best teams in China right now and Team Liquid. These two were the two main competitors in Group B, so fans expected an epic match. Fortunately, they weren’t disappointed because the series ended in a draw.

Interestingly, Xtreme Gaming used their Leshrac and IO combo in both games, whereas their opponents experimented with a lot of things. That said, Paparazzi’s Morphling in the first game of the series allowed Xtreme Gaming to win after 55 minutes of play. We expected the Drow and Visage combo to be too strong, but the Chinese knew how to counter it.

Speaking of countering, Liquid got Morphling for themselves, and to make sure that he wouldn’t die, they also got Elder Titan. Since Morphling had no counters, MATUMBAMAN eventually became the strongest hero in the game and allowed his team to win.

Xtreme Gaming vs Virtus.Pro

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The last series from Group B that everyone wanted to watch was between two of the best teams in China and Eastern Europe. Xtreme Gaming had one win and one draw before this, and the same applies to VP. The latter defeated Infamous and got a draw against Wildcard Gaming. 

The EEU powerhouse tried using their infamous Troll Warlord to win the match, but things didn’t go as planned. Xtreme Gaming decided to roll out the classic Shadow Fiend, Slardar, and Dazzle combo that provides tons of minus armor. It seems like these three heroes were enough to counter VP’s entire draft because the Chinese won after just 42 minutes.

Game 2 was more interesting because VP picked a lot of heroes with big ultimates. Xtreme Gaming tried the same with their Tide and ES combo, but VP’s draft was better. The team slowly took control of the match and even secured a Roshan 33 minutes after the start.

Xtreme Gaming did everything in its power to delay the game and give their Morphing a chance to win. However, VP’s draft was too strong, and the EEU team won the map. This allowed them to secure a second draw.

Last Chance Qualifier – Other results

There were a couple of other matches worth watching, such as the one between Secret and nouns. Even though fans thought that Puppey and the rest would win, the NA squad got a crucial draw. This keeps their chances of qualifying for in the top 4.