Will Elephant Qualify for The International 10?

The China Qualifier for The International 10 is scheduled to take place between July 7^th – 10^th. The tournament features 10 teams and only one of them will get the opportunity to take part in the upcoming $40 million tournament. In theory, that team should be Elephant, but Eurus and his crew had an awful year so far and missed both DPC Majors. So how will they do against EHOME, RNG, and the rest of their regional rivals?

The International 10: China Qualifier Details

The International 10: China Qualifier uses a double-elimination format. However, this format is rather strange. Eight of the 10 teams start in the Upper Bracket while the other 2 wait in the Lower Bracket. The seeding takes into account DPC points, whether the team comes from the Upper or Lower Division, how many roster changes a team made in recent months, and so on. Every match is Bo3 apart from the Grand Final (Bo5).

Participants

The 10 teams featured by the Chinese Qualifier for TI 10 are the following:

Elephant
EHOME
Phoenix Gaming
Royal Never Give Up
LBZS
Sparking Arrow Gaming
Aries
Team MagMa
CDEC
Xtreme Gaming

Favorites and Other Important Competitors

Here’s a brief analysis of the most important participants at this tournament.

Elephant

Elephant’s roster is so strong that it’s surreal that this team has to prove itself in a tournament of this competitive level. Until around 5 weeks ago, the situation was slightly different because the position 5 player, RedPanda, was considerably less experienced than the other 4. But since he got replaced by Super, Elephant looks unstoppable. With this kind of roster you would expect them to get a top 3 result at The International. But first they need to win the local event against tier 2 opponents and other teams of far lesser skill.

Elephant’s main problem is that the Chinese region is full of formidable teams. Because of this, and also because of their own mistakes, they finished both seasons in 5^th place and missed the Majors. Financially, I don’t think they suffered too much because of this. But they did suffer from a qualification points perspective. No Major, no points. No points, no top 12. No top 12, no direct invite to TI 10.

The roster is made up of former TI finalists and Major winners. Everyone in the team is an absolute legend, not just regionally but globally as well. So there’s absolutely no excuse in case of a failure. I’m pretty sure that the investors have made a huge bet simply because they anticipate that the team will qualify for TI 10 and get a portion of the $40 million it offers in prizes. Otherwise, their decision to create and finance this team may have been a reckless one. Although to be fair, we don’t know how much money the organization makes just by selling T-Shirts and other products to fans.

EHOME

EHOME is another team that could win the Chinese Qualifier for The International 10. With Sylar as their position 1 carry, EHOME is guaranteed to have a shot at victory. This player finished 3 times in the top 3 at The International, so I’m pretty sure he’ll want to return for another round.

EHOME’s results in 2021 are similar to Elephant’s but slightly worse. The team finished both seasons in 6^th place. Of course, I’m talking about China’s Upper Division. The only time we saw EHOME shine this year was at FMWH Dota2 Championship Season 3, where they defeated PSG.LGD, Elephant and other important Chinese teams before claiming the title.

RNG

With Super transferred to Elephant and a long string of poor results in recent months, RNG has 0 chances of qualifying for The International 10. But they’re still an important team that could pose a serious threat to some of the other competitors.

Overall, RNG finished Season 1 of DPC 2021 in 2^nd place (but in the Lower Division!) and Season 2 in 7^th place.

CDEC

CDEC is a famous name when it comes to TI Qualifiers. However, this is not the CDEC of old. Just some roster playing under its banner. And its results this year have not been great so far: 3^rd place in the Lower Division followed by another 5^th place in the Lower Division.

MagMa

MagMa started the year in the Upper Division but lost almost every single match and relegated. So in Season 2 they played in the Lower Division, where they finished 4^th. This team is far from amazing and has 0 chances of qualifying for TI 10. But we might see it cause a few upsets.

Phoenix Gaming

Phoenix Gaming finished Season 2 in 1^st place (in the Lower Division, of course), which makes it an interesting competitor in this race. The skill difference between them and the likes of Elephant is astronomical, so I don’t expect any miracles. However, it is likely that we will see this crew finish in the top 4.

Photo credit: Valve