The International 10: Teams missing the tournament this year

The International 10 started on October 7. The tournament features 18 teams that have earned their place by hard work and stable play during the DPC cycle or by triumph at the Regional Qualifiers. Many were dissatisfied with such a system, as due to it, several weak teams qualified for the TI10. They will most likely leave the main tournament, without a fight at all. At the same time, experienced and strong teams, that often showed excellent performance in the international arena, stayed at home. It happened because these teams showed poor results over the past year and didn't manage to score the required number of DPS points. It's hard to say whether it's fair or not. However, the teams that could qualify for The International 10, but didn't manage to do it are worth mentioning.

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The Russian team Virtus.pro was considered one of the strongest in the world for three years. They won plenty of various tournaments, but not The International. In 2017 and 2018, Virtus.pro had the 5-6 place in the struggle for Aegis, and in 2019, it got only into the top-12, which was its biggest failure in history. After that, the players decided to split to get to the cherished goal on their own. However, none of the players of the Virtus.pro qualified for The International.

RAMZES666 played in Evil Geniuses in the 3rd position for a while, then returned to his native region and played first for Just Error and later for Natus Vincere. But it didn't help Roman to qualify for the Int and left him without a team at all. Now he is considered a free agent, so it is still unclear where RAMZES666 will play next season. As it became known to Cybersport.Metaratings.ru, the new star Dota 2 team, which gathers around RAMZES666 and RodjER, will soon appear in the CIS.

No[o]ne tried to restore the Virtus.pro team to its former glory, but in the end, nothing came of it. After the disbandment of the team, he was a free agent for a long time and played only for Just Error. Before the Qualifiers for The International 10, Vladimir joined Natus Vincere, just as RAMZES666. But unlike his friend, he stayed in the team, which recently announced its new lineup. We will be able to watch the game of No[o]ne among the Black and Yellow next season.

9pasha joined Natus Vincere immediately after the Virtus.pro disbandment. The organization wanted to build the lineup around him, and Pavel played the role of captain. That lineup lasted a little bit more than a year in various forms, but it wasn't able to achieve success even within the CIS. After that, 9pasha was inactive and played only in stacks without a claim to big esports. In August 2021, Pavel joined HellRaisers, which failed at the Int Qualifiers and now tries to re-build the successful lineup. So far, the team is doing so-so, and Pavel is only getting his form back.

RodjER tried to reanimate his career in several teams. First, it was Winstrike Team, and then HellRaisers. Both teams did not succeed and eventually disbanded. After that, Vladimir joined a promising stack called FlyToMoon. At the suggestion of RodjER, all players moved under the aegis of Natus Vincere. For almost a year, the team fought and tried to get the invite to The International 10. As we all know, this path was unsuccessful, and Vladimir left the team of those born to win. Now he is officially a free agent.

Solo, just as No[o]ne, continued to play in Virtus.pro for a long time, but the guys didn't manage to return to Tier 1 level again, which is why the organization dismissed the players. After that, Alexey played in Just Error, and after the failure of the new star lineup, he gathered a stack of promising players and called it NoTechies. As time went on, the team's results worsened, and the players around Solo became less promising. But Alexey didn't give up, continued to select new players, and participated in almost all the tournaments he could. In September, Alexey was invited to play in Natus Vincere with No[o]ne.

If someone missed it, on September 20, the Nigma team and the Galaxy Racer esports club announced a merger. Now the team of KuroKy and all Galaxy Racer lineups will perform under the common tag — Nigma Galaxy. It's a very catchy and cool name. The team's logo, by the way, has also changed. The main goal of the new organization will be the development and popularization of the esports industry in the countries of the Middle East and the Maghreb. It sounds very ambitious, and Kuro and co can only be congratulated. It's just a pity that they are still missing The International 10.

The current Nigma Galaxy took second place at the last Int (2019), losing to OG in the grand finals with a score of 1-3. The team's results have gone down in two years. During the online era, Nigma still sometimes showed a good game, but it never managed to become the winner of a major tournament. During the first DPC season, the situation only worsened. For the vice-champions of the Int, constantly losing to outsiders is abnormal. At the same time, the team managed to take third place in its region and get into the Wild Card of the Singapore Major. MinD_ContRoL didn't join the team because of coronavirus, and Nigma became the first team that left the tournament.

Before the second DPC season, Nigma decided to change its approach to the game. WW3 was kicked out of the team and replaced with a Russian player — ILTW. The decision immediately bore fruit.

I just try to share the experience of playing at a high level, achieving the best result, and unlocking the potential [with iLTW]. This guy has huge potential. I can say that his career is just beginning, though, in the past, he has played for OG and several teams from the CIS. He is still very young and can prove himself great in the future. He is fond of the game, devoted to it. ILTW can become one of the strongest Dota 2 players, but all depends only on him," said the Nigma Galaxy captain Kuro "KuroKy

Salehi

Though the team again took third place during the DPC season, this time everything was different. In the Wild Card of the Kiev Major, Nigma smashed everyone and then did the same at the group stage. As a result, Nigma took sixth place at WePlay AniMajor 2021, but this wasn't enough to get an invite to the Int. Kuro and co had to play at Regional Qualifiers.

During the Qualifiers, Nigma played very well and went quite far, taking third place. Unfortunately for the team, OG and Tundra Esports proved to be stronger. And the Nigma lineup didn't qualify for The International for the first time in a long period, which shocked the team and game fans. Now it is unclear whether there will be any replacements in the team. It is possible that ILTW will be kicked out of the Nigma Galaxy and someone else will be taken in his place. But we will find out only at the beginning of the next DPC season. In any case, we wish Kuro and his team good luck, as real legends of competitive Dota play in this team.

We cannot say that Tundra Esports players are stars who must be at The International 10. Nevertheless, the guys showed good results throughout the entire DPC cycle and were able to gain a foothold in the first division. And during the Qualifiers for The International 10, Tundra Esports was able to play at its maximum and showed an incredible game. The team lost to OG in the grand final with a score of 2-3. Tundra had every chance to get to the Int, but the opponent was stronger.

It may seem that Tundra Esports just got lucky on the Qualifiers, but in fact, it is a very weak team. However, this is definitely not right. Most recently, Tundra became the ESL One Fall 2021 champion and then took third place at the OGA Dota PIT Invitational. So it's not a weak team. It could show a cool game at the TI10, so it's a pity that the guys couldn't get to the main tournament of the year. Tundra decided to stay on the same roster, so there will be no replacements between seasons. We will see the team ready for everything again after The International 10.

I have never won anything as big as this tournament. Now I feel very cool, especially after that unfortunate defeat in the Qualifiers for The International 10. Now I'm sure we can go a long way if we stay together and keep working hard. I believe in each of my teammates and myself. I think we have a great future ahead of us," said

Oliver Skiter Lepko

It's always cool when the CIS represents several teams on the Int. This time there were only two bands at The International 10: Virtus.pro and Team Spirit. Natus Vincere could have easily become the third team, but during the DPC cycle, the organization made several wrong decisions and ended up with nothing before the TI10. At the same time, NAVI is one of the most iconic teams in the history of Dota, and it is loved not only in the CIS but in other regions. So it is a pity that those born to win could not reach the TI10.

TNC Predator players should be most offended that they could not qualify for The International 10. The first tournament after TI9 was MDL Chengdu Major, where TNC Predator took first place and earned a bunch of DPC points. Their number was definitely enough to get a direct invite to The International 10. So the team could no longer play at all and would still have qualified for the Int. However, the pandemic began, and the TI10 was postponed. And when the new DPC season started, all the previous points were reset. Roughly speaking, TNC Predator was robbed of all earned DPC points, and, consequently, an invite to the Int. This, of course, is unfair.

In the new season, TNC Predator played much worse and failed to qualify for The International 10, even through Regional Qualifiers. Because of this, the esports organization disbanded the Dota lineup.

Over the past three or four years, we have come quite a long way. Since September 15, 2021, all TNC Predator players have become free agents. The organization and the players made this decision together when they concluded that it would be better for all participants in terms of individual growth.

TNC Predator representatives

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Vikin.gg is another European team that could potentially be stronger than many of the participants of The International 10. This team appeared during the online era and showed very cool results, beating the most famous teams. However, when the DPC cycle began and the opponents became more serious, the Vikin.gg players started to play worse than before. As a result, the team failed both DPC seasons and then the Qualifiers for The International 10. Immediately after that, the Vikin.gg esports organization has announced the disbandment of the Dota 2 lineup. It's sad because this team could become a dark horse on the upcoming Int and surprise us.