Following the results of the regional qualifiers, the 2022 Last Chance Qualifier for TI11 is just around the corner. From October 8th to 12th, a total of 12 teams will battle out in Singapore for the last two spots in the biggest event of the Dota 2 calendar. That includes two teams from China, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, South America, and North America, who finished 2nd and 3rd in the regional qualifiers.
Matches have already been announced for the first round of the tournament. Also, the Dota 2 TI11’s LCQ opening odds are already up at ggbet, and we know the favorites. Below, we will go through them and analyze all the contenders for the upcoming event. But before we dive into analysis, let us explain how the whole thing works at Last Chance Qualifier 2022.
Tournament Format
Commencing on October 8, twelve Dota 2 squads, divided into two groups of six, will compete in a single round-robin format of the Group Stage. The first six teams are NaVi, nouns, Secret, Tempest, ViCi, and Polaris. In addition, the six participants from Group B include T1, Outsiders, Wildcard, Xtreme, Infamous, and Liquid.
There is a team from each region in both groups. All matches are played in Best of 2. Top-placed four teams from each group will get to the upper bracket of the Playoff knockouts, while the rest qualify for the lower bracket.
The knockout and deciding phase of LCQ will take place from October 10 to 12, with only two best teams advancing to TI11. It is a double-bracket elimination format at the Best of 3. Let’s take a closer look at the main favorites next.
Top Favorites
There is no surprise that the TI11’s LCQ odds favor the teams from Europe and Asia. These regions consistently prove to be the Dota 2 strong favorites, so everyone expects them to be ahead once again.
Team Secret
Secret enters as the favorites at +187 in odds of winning the entire event. The Europeans have been on a tear for much of the 2022 season. Their most prominent result was a third-placed finish at the ESL One Malaysia 2022, which included wins over Entity, Thunder and a 2-1 over OG in the contest’s Semifinals.
The trajectory for the second half of the season has been positive too. Team Secret is the highest-ranked squad in the ESL standings in the LCQ, which comes with decent betting odds.
Outsiders
Virtus.Pro or Outsiders enters the event with +162 odds of winning. They were the dominant force in the Eastern European qualifier after showing impressive numbers in the Groups. However, BetBoom came out of the lower bracket to win the Grand Final and qualify for The International 2022 instead.
That is why the Russian team will have more than enough motivation to make up for their mistake. They have all the chances to finish in the top two, providing good value further down the odds.
Xtreme Gaming
Continuing with the major contenders, we need to mention that China is another Dota 2 powerhouse. Particularly, Xtreme Gaming is definitely a strong squad of the TI11’s LCQ that enters at +120 odds of winning.
The Chinese powerhouse had some impressive wins in the regional qualifiers but ultimately lost only to Royal Never Give Up in the Grand Final. Thus, if Xtreme can show its performance from the regionals, it could be a very promising sign of winning the entire tournament and qualifying for TI11.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid’s dominance is well documented in the Western Europe qualifier: the team finished third and was only behind Entity and Secret. With such impressive results, we like to see Liquid at +300 odds for Last Chance Qualifier.
It seems like their active roster is capable of outperforming expectations and raising the bar when it matters the most. More so, this team has much experience under its belt in terms of total offline events played. Thus, if Liquid can find an extra step for the upcoming qualifier, nothing is impossible.
Sleeper Picks at LCQ
With a field of twelve squads, there are bound to be some teams that put together a Cinderella run. Therefore, you should not ignore dark horses, either. We see several names that could outperform expectations at LCQ.
Polaris Esports is a definite longshot to take a chance on +1000 as a sleeper in LCQ. They were one game away from qualifying for the TI11 in the SEA regionals and could fight for a top two finish.
Another team that could make a Cinderella run is the Ukrainian team, Natus Vincere. They finished third in the regional qualifiers, with plenty of good moments in it. With that said, it would be a good run for them after signing No[o]ne and Swedenstrong.
Even though we don’t expect much from the rest of the field, you never know what will happen.
