Iceiceice gets to participate in The International 2022, though not in a way he was expecting

The road to Dota 2’s The International is a bumpy one. Throughout the year, teams have their mettle tested and some simply fall short of making it to TI, the biggest event for the game. Directly qualifying for the tournament isn’t the only way one can participate in the event, however, which is the case for Daryl “iceiceice” Koh.

Iceiceice has been away from home in search of the Aegis the past two years, and he landed a spot on Team Secret at the end of 2021. Iceiceice’s Secret stint came to an end in August after the squad failed to qualify for the Arlington Major. While the veteran found a new place on Team SMG alongside MidOne, the team failed to sign up its roster ahead of the TI11 qualifiers, causing them to get disqualified. 

Team SMG’s dreams of participating in The International 2022 may have ended before they could even start, but iceiceice is currently at the event—not as a competitor but as a staff member.

Iceiceice was seen checking in participants to the event in a staff shirt and greeting the camera with his iconic smile in a video shared by dota2updates on Twitter. SEA’s world-traveling offlaner has been a part of the competition ever since its first iteration and placed top 12 with Evil Geniuses at TI10. 

Despite being seen in a staff shirt, there’s also a decent chance that iceiceice might be involved with panels or further production elements in TI11. Pros of his caliber often continue to be a part of TI and other Major events to provide their valuable insight since they have great experience in playing Dota 2 at the highest level.

Iceiceice might be at TI11, but missing the event as a player updated his overall TI-attendance card to nine out of 11, which is still an impressive rate considering there’s only a single all-timer left.