Underdogs triumph in WEU qualifiers to grab region’s last spot in Dota 2’s TI12

Titans have fallen as underdogs have risen to the occasion in the Western European qualifiers for Dota 2’s The International 2023. Today’s lower bracket finals featured two young teams, Luna Galaxy and Quest Esports, matched against each other—and Quest claimed the region’s last available seat at TI12.

Quest were one of the most unique teams in the qualifiers since they started the 2023 season in division two. The team battled their way to division one but missed out on attending the Berlin Major after a tiebreaker series against OG.

Following that devastating loss, Quest shuffled its roster, inviting Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf to the offlane position. Just when the team started showing signs of promise by placing fourth at the Bali Major, though, the two parted ways due to contractual issues.

Related: ATF departs Quest Dota 2 after ‘unacceptable’ contract offer days before Riyadh Masters

With less than a month until the TI12 qualifiers, Quest brought in a new offlaner, Tobias “Tobi” Buchner. Making a major roster change right before the qualifiers raised questions about the team as fans weren’t sure if they could achieve great chemistry on such short notice.

Tobi is Quest’s third offlaner in 2023, a position they have been unable to achieve stability in. But the former Entity offlaner has turned out to be just what Quest needed and the team started the qualifiers with a decent bracket position.

The bracket suddenly looked grim, however, since Quest were sent to the lower bracket in the second round by Luna Galaxy. This early loss meant Quest would need to face the likes of OG and Secret, two of the most popular squads in the qualifiers.

Quest masterfully pushed through the heavy hitters in two three-game series, ultimately facing Luna Galaxy again in the finals. This time, however, Quest were prepared, and the young roster snatched the last remaining WEU seat at TI12.

Related: Dota 2’s The International 2023: Location, dates, tickets, and more

After starting the year in the second division, Quest’s roster full of promising talent will get to experience the most prestigious stage on Dota 2’s competitive calendar later this year.