The star-studded roster of T1 was not enough to qualify for The International 11 following its third-place finish in The International 2022: Southeast Asia Qualifier this past weekend.
Captained by Filipino DOTA 2 sensation Carlo “Kuku” Palad, T1 made headlines around the world when it signed former OG members and two-time The International winners Anathan “ana” Pham and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen to its roster.
The signing, which required T1 to let go of two Filipino players in Kim “Gabbi” Santos and Karl “Karl” Baldovino, was the biggest signing that the DOTA 2 Southeast Asian region has ever seen, and yet it was still not enough to get them into TI 11.
After defeating Filipino squad Execration via sweep in its opening match in the upper bracket, T1 went on to trample RSG in the upper bracket semifinals with a sweep before falling short against Talon Esports by 0-2.
The heartbreaking defeat sent T1 crashing to the lower bracket finals against Filipino squad Polaris where they suffered yet another defeat, 1-2, ending their campaign TI 11 SEA Qualifier with a top three finish.
Touted as the grandest stage of competitive Esports, TI will take place in Singapore from 15 to 30 October.
The prize pool of the tournament is drawn from a percentage of DOTA 2 Battle Pass sales and has so far garnered $11.5 million — or roughly P655.6 million.
Still, T1’s hope in the TI 11 is not yet over.
Since it placed in the top 3 during the SEA Qualifier, T1 will compete in what would be a brutal Last Chance Qualifier set from 8 to 12 October in Singapore.
The LCQ will have participants from DOTA 2 regions across the world that also had a Top 2 to 3 finishes in their respective regional qualifiers.
A total of 12 teams will see battle in the LCQ but only two squads will qualify for TI 11.
