The International 10: American Region

[Mary C]

The International 10: American Region

Evil Geniuses
Quincy Crew
Beastcoast
Thunder Predator
Team Undying
SG Esports

 

Evil Geniuses 

Team EG or as other people call them, the 3rd Placer Curse, has far more than lived up to the high expectations. 

They successfully placed top 2 in both North American regional leagues this year to qualify for the Singapore and Anime Majors, where they then managed to finish 2nd place at both. They have not played a single official match since their AniMajor final loss to PSG.LGD, so it is hard to know whether they are still playing at the same level, but that does not mean that they are not on their best playing shape for TI10 because you do not become the number one ranked DPC team of the year by being inconsistent. 

Abed is only 21 but already has a long professional career behind him, and after years on lower-profile teams, he is finally getting a chance to achieve the results worthy of his outstanding midlane talent. 

Arteezy and Cr1t are both still performing at the same elite level which they have each consistently shown throughout their long tenures with the organization. 

The forever bronze medalists (Evil Geniuses) have indeed broken their third-place curse, having now reached three grand finals in a row. Evil Geniuses will be a definite favorite at TI10. 

 

 

 

Quincy Crew 

The North American Dota has historically been a case of Evil Geniuses and then everyone else, and that there was no team that has able to contest against EG for a very long time, and that is until Quincy Crew was formed. 

During 2020s online season, Quincy Crew made the most of EG being frequently absent and totally stomped the rest in their regional competition. They ended the calendar 12 months with an implausible 155-forty-five win/loss record, triumphing 8 consecutive tournaments and in no way completing underneath 2nd place at any of the online events they competed in. With the return of the DPC this year, they maintained their magnificent form, completing 2nd place in the first regional league only after a tie-breaker loss to their arch-rivals EG. 

Quincy Crew surged in the second half of the DPC, however, besting EG to place 1st in their regional league and then finishing in a strong 5th-6th place at the AniMajor. All of which pushed the squad into a commendable 4th place on the DPC leaderboard. 

It is difficult to not want this team to succeed, for they have their own convincing individual storylines. YawaR is constantly needed to live in his TI-winning sibling's shadow. MSS has been going to Internationals since TI4 while never getting a top situation. SVG, the previous EG mentor, may at last end their rule as NA's ideal. Lelis, the missing fixing, shot Quincy to progress with his appearance last year. And afterwards Quinn, who in spite of his notorious egomania, is in any case plainly the most skilled midlaner to emerge from the locale since SumaiL. 

Quincy Crew probably looks better than any other team. Any of these players have previously entered The International; however, with the field of competition getting tougher each year, they will still face a tough challenge. Quincy Crew is nevertheless a consistent performer which will likely spoil things for more than a few of those aiming for the ultimate prize. 

  

 

 

Beastcoast 

This group of players are the same five which competed under the banner of Infamous at TI9, achieving the shock result of being the first South American team to ever reach top 8 at the International. None before them had even reached top 12. After then being picked up by Beastcoast, they went on to follow that historic first with a pair of consecutive 7th – 8th place finishes at the Chengdu and Leipzig Majors – announcing loud and clear that they, together with South America as a whole, were here to play. Beastcoast had a fairly unremarkable pandemic season, but with the return of the DPC, they stepped back up as expected and finished top of their first regional league. 

In their second regional league, they finished 2nd, so they were seeded into the group stage for the AniMajor, but their much-anticipated return to LAN was a huge disappointment – ending in a dismal 3-11 win/loss record and a premature elimination before even reaching the playoffs. 

Over their years spent playing together, Beastcoast has developed and perfected their preferred strategies usually involving playing aggressively behind Chris Luck’s explosive midlane performances and backed up by Scofield’s potent support rotations all while K1 deploys his famous farming efficiency on high impact carries. However, the squad’s longevity may well be their downfall as their predictability now means that their opponents have clearly gotten comfortable with how to play against them. 

People should keep an eye on Beastcoast as they can upset any team with their surprisingly aggressive plays. 

 

 

 

Thunder Predator  

The Peruvians qualified for the Singapore Major by finishing second in the first South American DPC league and then stunned the Dota 2 world by winning the tournament's group stage with a commanding 12-2 win/loss record against some of the best teams in the world. The prolonged separation of different regions had developed several distinct metagames, but when these differing strategies clashed, the aggression-focused style of Thunder Predator emerged victorious. Unfortunately, they ran into a brick wall in the higher bracket when Team Secret meticulously dismantled their strategy. They went on to thrash both Team Aster and Virtus.pro in a stunning lower bracket run before being knocked out in 5-6th place by eventual champions Invictus Gaming. 

Despite their great performance at the first major, Thunder Predator narrowly missed out on qualification to the second, having to watch the AniMajor from home nervously hoping that their DPC rivals would fail to earn enough points to outstand them. Ultimately, they managed to barely retain their place within the top twelve spots on the leaderboard, securing their all-important direct invite to TI. 

Most of the members of this squad have been active in the South American scene for several years, and TI10 represents the big break they have all been waiting for. Their recent form has certainly been concerning, but if Thunder Predator can recapture the magic they found earlier this year, then the potential for another big upset story is definitely there. 

 

 

 

SG Esports 

After almost an extended time of inactivity, the Brazilian association revive their Dota group toward the finish of 2020 in anticipation of the new DPC system. SG completed their first regional league in third spot, completing simply behind the Thunder Predator crew who then, at that point, proceeded to turn up large at the Singapore Major. The second regional league anyway was significantly more frustrating for them, finishing in a sixth spot, yet fortunately they figured out how to get back to shape with perfect timing for the South American TI qualifiers. 

We have just seen them play in two occasions against global competition this year, a similar TI-prep competitions which Thunder Predator went to this late spring. SG had the option to beat them at both of these, contributing towards their higher ranking on this list, but they actually did not beat them. They finished ESL One Fall dead last in their group and only avoided another last-place finish at the DotaPIT Invitational after beating Thunder Predator in the lower bracket. Across both tournaments, SG failed to win a single series aside from this one BO3 against their regional rivals, which bodes poorly for their chances at TI. 

  

Having previously been the first team from the region to reach the top 8 in a 2017 Major Kiev, SG was of course the original South American Dark Horse. In fact, both their Midlaner 4dr and Offlaner Tavo are veterans of this long-standing old team. The Brazilians return to this tournament with little or no expectation from the majority. SG's track record suggests they are definitely an underdog, but after all, every dog has his day. 

 

 

 

Team Undying 

Team Undying has come the closest of any team in North America to threatening the Evil Geniuses/Quincy Crew stranglehold over their area since joining in January. In fact, they are the only NA team to beat either of those two in a series in 2021, and they placed third in both of their regional divisions this year. Team Undying have firmly established themselves as North America's third best team by following up their amazing league achievements with a pair of recent online tournament victories as well as cruising to victory in their TI qualification without losing a single game. MoonMeander has not been at the top level of Dota in over four years, which is hilarious for a man who made his name by telling people to go on his level. Until today, the infamous North American trashtalker makes his first appearance at The International since TI6. Moon has been patiently grinding his way through the NA scene in a protracted drive to construct his own top-level team, and he appears to have finally accomplished his goal. 

The team's roster is made up of a diverse group of players from all over the world, with a good mix of experience and fresh skill. After years of working their way up through middling teams, Bryle and SabeRLight make their TI debuts while Timado makes his long-awaited comeback to The International — his first since TI7 as a teenager. Moon's co-captain DuBu, on the other hand, has more TI appearances than the rest of his teammates combined, providing invaluable experience for the team to unite around. 

It will be fascinating to witness Undying in play against non-NA teams after being successfully gatekept from international competition by their powerhouse regional opponents. However, it is worth mentioning that their two losses in that double-elimination tournament were both narrow 2-1 loses to PSG. The ultimate grand finalist teams were LGD and Team Spirit. So, the lackluster placing was not necessarily a terrible reflection of their performance. We have not seen Team Undying achieve the kind of accomplishments that would support a higher grade, but if they genuinely are the best, we will give them a higher rating. We have also not seen Team Undying produce the kind of performances that would merit a higher ranking, but if they are actually chasing down heavyweights like EG, they may be a serious contender.