It’s been a long wait, but it’s finally over – The International 2019 lineup is complete.
Teams from around the world will be competing for one of the biggest rewards in esports. With the prize money currently sitting at over $29.5 million and rising, we are hyped for the start of TI.
Read on and find out who has made it through from the Regional Qualifiers to join the other 12 teams. Also, find out if we predicted the Regional Qualifier results correctly…
Europe: Chaos Esports Club
Did we predict this one correctly? Yes!
The first region on our list is Europe. Those of you immersed in the Dota 2 pro scene will no doubt have noticed that Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen recently left Team Liquid. We covered this at The Game Haus as it happened, but new details have come to light courtesy of fellow Dota 2 pro, Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka.
In a recent YouTube video, JerAx said, in no uncertain terms, that MATUMBAMAN was actually kicked from Team Liquid. The whole affair came as a huge disappointment to fans of MATU, who expected not to see him at TI.
Well, those same fans were in for a treat when MATUMBAMAN subsequently enrolled with Chaos Esports Club. With MATU leading the charge, Chaos went on to dazzle in the European Regional Qualifiers. They subsequently qualified for one of the remaining six spots. We’re desperately hoping for a Chaos vs Liquid showdown on the main stage.
North America: Forward Gaming
Did we predict this one correctly? Yes!
While Forward Gaming as a Dota 2 organization is relatively new to the scene, having been founded in late 2018, they do boast some veteran talent. Seasoned professionals with TI experience like Johan “pieliedie” Åström and Quinn “CCnC” Callahan make up their roster. They were certainly the favorites going into the North American Regional Qualifiers.
In the grand final of the NA Qualifiers, Forward Gaming faced off against J.Storm. Another relatively new organization, J.Storm also features veteran talent like Clinton “Fear” Loomis. Showing their pedigree, J.Storm took the first game in the best of five. However, Forward Gaming was not to be beaten. Galvanized by the early defeat, they fought back to take the series 3 – 1.
South America: Infamous Gaming
Did we predict this one correctly? Yes!
We’ll be the first to admit that this prediction was a stab in the dark. If, like us, you’re not up to speed on your South American Dota, then you can be forgiven for not having heard of Infamous Gaming before. However, they do actually have International experience under their belt. The team qualified for TI 2017 but were unable to place higher than 13th.
Since that early exit, they have reshuffled their roster pretty comprehensively. They now enter TI 2019 with a largely Peruvian lineup. The exception being Adrian “Wisper” Cespedes Dobles, the first player from Bolivia to ever qualify for TI.
The roster shuffle has obviously done some good. Infamous Gaming qualified 1st in the South American Regional Qualifiers and now form part of The International 2019 lineup.
Southeast Asia: Mineski
Did we predict this one correctly? Yes!
Despite not having achieved much mainstream success, Mineski has been around in the Dota 2 pro scene for some time. One of their first major tournaments was The International 2011 where they finished 9-12th. At the time, this wasn’t enough to earn them any prize money, but it did kick-start their career on the pro scene.
At The International 2018, they once again finished 9-12th. However, due to the increase in the tournament’s popularity and mainstream appeal, this was enough to net them some decent prizemoney. $382,983, to be exact.
Now, for the second year in a row Mineski have qualified for TI. They are now ready to give it their all on the main stage against the giants of the esports scene.
China: Royal Never Give Up
Did we predict this one correctly? No.
We thought for sure it was going to be CDEC on this one.
It was a close one, though. Royal Never Give Up faced off against CDEC in the China Regional Qualifiers Grand Final. While we would have loved those extra 500 Battle Pass points, the best team on the day won it.
You might recognize talent such as Tue “ah fu” Soon Chuan among their squad. As a support player, ah fu actually served time at fellow Chinese Dota team, LFY. During his time with the squad, they placed an incredible 3rd at The International 2017. This was a year when Chinese teams dominated the podium positions, and only Team Liquid could keep them from winning the tournament.
While the organization might be less than a year old, RNG might be a team to watch in The International 2019 lineup.
CIS: Natus Vincere
Did we predict this one correctly? No.
And we’re a little bit ashamed.
We’re sure if you’d asked most people who their favorite team was about eight years ago, they’d have told you Na’Vi. They leaped to fame as the winners of the first ever International tournament back in 2011.
The team boasted household names like Danil “Dendi” Ishutin and Clement “Puppey” Ivanov – a then-iconic pairing. It was these pros that brought us the unforgettable (and quite broken) Fountain Hook.
Now, however, there’s no sign of these legends in Na’Vi. Puppey now captains the dominant Team Secret and Dendi is a successful Dota 2 streamer. The team brings a whole new roster to The International 2019 and we wish them every success.
We think everyone is a closet Na’Vi fan, so we’re sure a lot of people are very happy to see the organization represented at The International this year.
Final Thoughts
Now that The International 2019 lineup is complete we can finally start looking forward to the tournament. We can also start making those predictions in the compendium. If you asked us, we’d say Team Secret are strong contenders to take the Aegis this year. However, as we all know, anything can happen in the game of Dota 2.
Image courtesy of Valve
Did your favorite team fail to make it through the Regional Qualifiers? Want to share your predictions with fellow esports enthusiasts? Why not do so in the comments below? They’re there for a reason, guys.
Follow us
Featured image courtesy of Valve.
You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports content.
Follow Matt on Twitter @MattyMead2006.
From Our Haus to Yours.