While the first two days of the tournament were relatively stagnant, with plenty of series ending in draws, every Dota 2 team competing in The International 2022’s Last Chance Qualifiers came out with their guns blazing for the playoffs. And although Tempest, Infamous, nouns, and Polaris Esports bid farewell to Singapore, the dreams of qualifying for TI11 are still alive for the eight remaining teams.
The day started off with the upper bracket matches all being played in quick succession, with every single series between the top eight teams out of the group stage running the full three games—meaning the lower bracket participants had some waiting to do.
The International 2022 LCQ: Day three recap
The upper bracket
Teams that finished the groups with a top-four standing were awarded an upper-bracket slot. Based on the group stage results, the following teams were matched in the quarterfinals.
- NAVI vs. T1
- Team Secret vs. Xtreme Gaming
- Virtus Pro vs. Vici Gaming
- Team Liquid vs. Polaris Esports
NAVI vs. T1: T1 2-1
NAVI were the best-performing team in the group stage, while T1 struggled to find their footing on the first day. Though T1 bounced back on day two of The International 2022 LCQ, securing an upper bracket spot, it was clear that the SEA representative had troubles when it came to closing out matches.
NAVI secured the first game of the series, with Noone and V-Tune performing exceptionally on Ember Spirit and Drow Ranger, respectively. Though the match could’ve been considered even until the 22-minute mark, T1 slowly lost control of the game and the last teamfight of the match at 40 minutes.
In the second and third matches of the series, T1 busted out the Morphling. The hero was in the hands of ana and then Topson, respectively, both snowballing on two different occasions. With Morphling spiraling out of control, T1 reverse swept NAVI with two quick 30-minute-long victories and moved onto the semifinals.
Team Secret vs. Xtreme Gaming: Team Secret 2-1
Team Secret’s series against Xtreme Gaming was potentially one of the most anticipated matchups in the LCQ. Both were considered favorites going into the group stage and neither could show their true potential. The two teams finished groups with a record of six wins and four losses, and the series could’ve gone either way.
The first match of the series lasted 60 minutes, and most of it was Team Secret trying to stand against the endless pressure of Xtreme Gaming’s Death Prophet and Terrorblade. Played by Paparazi and lou, respectively, the two had a total of 24 kills and three deaths to their name. Xtreme was able to overcome Secret’s resistance at the 50-minute mark, wrapping the game up in 10 minutes.
The second and third matches of the series were somewhat similar to the viewers who just watched T1 beat NAVI. Zayac, Crystallis, and Resolut1on were on another level in the last two matches and Team Secret made quick work of Xtreme Gaming, winning the series 2-1.
Virtus Pro vs. Vici Gaming: VP 2-1
The series between Virtus Pro and Vici Gaming was one of the longest on day three. Though the match started off with Vici’s quick victory as bab and Xm took over, it was a different story in the last two games.
Vici Gaming went with teamfight-oriented drafts in games two and three, and it took over 50 minutes for VP to tear down Vici’s defenses. During the second game, VP were actually on the verge of defeat, but RAMZES666 pulled the match back together with his Spectre.
During the third match, RAMZES666 was accompanied by gpk and yamich from the start and the trio paved the way for a 2-1 victory.
Team Liquid vs. Polaris Esports: Team Liquid 2-1
The Liquid and Polaris Esports series was the only one that didn’t end in a reverse sweep for the upper bracket.
While the first match was rather one-sided for Liquid, the reverse was true for Polaris Esports in game two. With the series tied 1-1, the stakes were high in the third game. Liquid went with a carry Pudge strategy and Sniper as their second core, while Polaris settled for a more teamfight-focused draft. Liquid shut down Polaris’ strategy before it could fully come online and moved on in the upper bracket with a solid performance by MATUMBAMAN and m1CKe.
The lower bracket
NAVI vs. Tempest: NAVI 2-0
Only a couple of hours after getting knocked out of the upper bracket, NAVI found themselves in a lower bracket elimination match against Tempest.
It was clear from the first match of the series that NAVI wanted to get through the round as quickly as possible. With Noone and V-Tune snowballing in the first game, NAVI won it in 33 minutes.
Though Tempest put up a fight in the second game, it wasn’t enough to stop Noone’s Ember Spirit, which was out of control throughout the match.
Xtreme Gaming vs. Infamous: Xtreme Gaming 2-1
Halfway into the third day, Infamous decided that it could be time for an upset.
Like NAVI, Xtreme Gaming were also considered one of the heavy favorites coming into the LCQ, and it was clear in their picks that they wanted the games to end quickly.
Their strategy backfired in the first match, however, as Infamous steamrolled over Xtreme Gaming in 32 minutes. Parker, Michael, and Leostyle played some of their best Dota 2 in the tournament, making sure Xtreme Gaming didn’t have an opportunity to come back.
With Infamous looking ready to crush Xtreme’s dreams, the South American Dota region’s hope depended on a Huskar draft that needed to start snowballing early to take over the game. Xtreme Gaming kept their defenses up and the match was the most back and forth in the playoff stage. Despite having the advantage in the late game, Infamous lost the match due to a couple of misplays.
Xtreme Gaming had adapted to the series by the third game and the Chinese representatives put on a solid performance, giving no breathing room to Infamous and winning the series 2-1.
Vici Gaming vs. nouns: Vici Gaming 2-0
The last two series of the day featured the two NA representatives. Despite placing fifth in the groups, nouns took games off some of the top teams like Secret while also beating Vici Gaming 2-0 in the group stage.
Considering nouns had that prior victory over Vici Gaming, it was Vici who had to play catch up—or so the fans thought since the complete opposite happened. Vici took no prisoners, and despite nouns’ best attempts to push the series to a third match, Vici moved on to the fourth day with a quick 2-0 victory.
Polaris Esports vs. Wildcard: Wildcard 2-0
After nouns were out of the picture, NA’s hopes in the LCQ depended on Wildcard Gaming. Compared to nouns, Wildcard had a less impressive group stage, finishing last in their group. With Polaris coming out of a fierce series against Liquid, the SEA team was the clear favorite in this showdown.
Fitting to its name, Wildcard showed that they’re capable of causing great upsets. In the first match, the team picked a more teamfight-oriented lineup with Shadow Fiend, Axe, and Naga Siren. Combined with an Ursa, Wildcard ensured that Polaris couldn’t come online. Apart from slight glimmers of hope, Polaris were on the back foot the whole match.
It was pretty much the same story in the second match, but Wildcard accomplished the same with a more burst-heavy lineup this time. With Zeus and Morphling taking over the early game, Polaris lacked the damage to keep up and eventually gave up.
The International 2022 Last Chance Qualifiers will continue with the lower bracket round two, upper bracket semifinals, and lower bracket quarterfinals on day four, Oct. 11.
