Teams Competing in Qualifiers Without Invitation to International 7
Teams that did not receive an invitation to Valve’s flagship event, International 7, are now participating in qualifiers to secure a spot at the prestigious tournament. The journey begins with open qualifiers, which are open to all, and winners proceed to regional qualifiers.
Open qualifiers mainly consist of amateur teams, but in recent times, there have been mixteams with established commentators from the competitive circuit of Dota 2. While this is generally not a problem, it can lead to unnecessary issues when top talent, who are most likely to be part of the broadcasting team, participate in the qualifiers.
Issue with Commentators Participating in Qualifiers
During the open qualifiers for the Kiev Major, Vegetables Esports Club (Veggies), a team with well-known commentators and analysts, came close to reaching the regional qualifiers. However, this caused a dilemma for the players on Veggies, as they had also agreed to commentate the very same qualifier they were about to qualify for. Ultimately, they made the decision to forfeit the final game, allowing another team to advance.
The concept of commentators playing Dota 2 in a competitive setting may be entertaining, but it can potentially compromise the competitive integrity of the qualifiers. Defeated teams are unlikely to share the same sentiment.
Keywords: International 7, Dota 2, qualifiers, teams, mixteams, commentators, Veggies, competitive integrity, broadcasting team, Kiev Major