Will NAVI be able to take away a slot at The International from Team Spirit? Preview of qualifiers for the CIS

Team Spirit is the main contender for the slot

Team Spirit is the undisputed favorite of the qualifiers. The team is in great shape. And thanks to a trip to the Kiev Major, where Spirit passed the group stage and made it to the playoffs, she must have matured and gained useful experience in matches against top teams from different regions. After the group stage, we complained about certain draft problems with Team Spirit. But the team, unlike all rivals in qualification, had the opportunity to test strategies in real conditions and now must clearly understand what really works or does not work in the current meta. In addition, the team must have spied interesting ideas from representatives of other regions.

Team Spirit took cards from PSG.LGD and Evil Geniuses, fought on equal terms with Nigma and Vici Gaming – after such a thing, it’s hard to believe that the team can get overwhelmed in a duel with Winstrike Team… In addition, despite the youth of most of the roster participants, TS has an experienced captain and coach who will be able to tune the squad for fights both from a tactical and psychological point of view. In the second season, Team Spirit showed that the teams from the CIS are no longer so scary for her, the main thing is that this sound faith in her own strength does not grow into foolish self-confidence. If TS plays calmly and shows the same level of play as in Kiev, it will be almost impossible to stop the team. Parimatch analysts think so too, who consider Spirit to be the favorite in the match against Winstrike.

The odds are taken from the site of the Parimatch betting company and are relevant at the time of publication of the material.

• Team Spirit (1.20) – Winstrike (4.20)

NAVI is the main mystery of the qualifiers

What to expect from Natus Vincere in the qualifiers, perhaps, no one knows. The club has assembled a stellar line-up that looks promising on paper. However, the problems that were in the team earlier – not the best atmosphere and the lack of an adequate level of coordination – are unlikely to be corrected in a month. The failures of the previous roster, despite the departure of two players, probably still put pressure on NAVI. In addition Roman RAMZES666 Kushnarev in the second season he performed rather faded in third position, and the same Vladimir No[o]ne Minenko, although he remains one of the best mid lagers in the CIS, is far from his optimal form. Plus, as Inmate correctly noted, this is not the most convenient patch for Minenko right now: his signature Queen of Pain, Shadow Fiend and Storm Spirit do not fit the current meta so well.

Partial reunification of the former players of the “gold” squad Virtus.procertainly an interesting event, however, as experience has shown Just Error, it does not have to lead such a composition to results. You can bet on the high personal performance of NAVI players, but is it that much or is it higher than that of other qualifying participants? RAMZES666 hardly looks stronger offlane than Collapse or AfterLife… And similar comparisons can be made with all the players of the former VP roster.

The strong point of NAVI may be the effect of surprise, because the team has not played a single official game in the current roster. The team probably arranged training sessions not with direct competitors for the slot, but with rosters from Europe and other regions (during the Major). Therefore, how and with what NAVI will play remains a mystery to their opponents. In addition, all members of the team have extensive experience in performing at major tournaments and in important matches. Consequently, no one will have knees trembling. Although one should not forget about emotional instability: a defeat in the upper bracket can demoralize the team and drastically reduce its chances of further success. However, it is probably not worth waiting for defeat in the first fight: EXTREMUM completely failed the second season of the DPC and looked frankly weak, so for NAVI the qualifiers will probably start with a victory. Analysts of the bookmaker Parimatch agree with this.

• NAVI (1.22) – EXTREMUM (4.00)

HellRaisers – a dark horse

HellRaiserslike NAVI, they have a very strong line-up on paper, but the roster has not yet been able to realize its potential. The failure in the first season prevented the team from reaching the top division. In the second season, HR did not have any particular problems, and they took first place. However, we rarely saw the team in matches with really strong opponents, so it is difficult to judge its readiness to oppose the same NAVI or Team Spirit. In the Pinnacle Cup playoffs, the HR roster faced off against two representatives of the first division – Spirit and Winstrike – and lost to both. For the recently concluded ESL One Summer, the team could not qualify at all, losing to the Fishman roster in the open qualifier.

At the same time, HR support Ilya lil me alone Ilyyuk said that the team shows itself well in clanwar against top teams. Cooman even stated that if the lineup got to the Major in Kiev, he could show himself well. However, in practice, HR has not yet been able to back up these claims. The HellRaisers participants also have a decent experience of playing in important matches and a high level of personal performance, but the team itself is progressing extremely slowly. Nevertheless, HR, of course, should be attributed to the possible, albeit not the most obvious, contenders for the slot. But the team will not have time to swing: in the very first round of the playoffs, it will meet with AS Monaco Gambit, which, despite the replacements in the roster, is still a dangerous contender. Parimatch analysts believe that HR will be extremely difficult in the first fight and it is definitely not worth counting on an easy victory for the lil me alone team.

• HellRaisers (2.48) – AS Monaco Gambit (1.50)

AS Monaco Gambit – on moral and strong-willed

Too much has already been said about the position of AS Monaco Gambit at the end of the season. Taking into account the current circumstances, the team performed with dignity in the Wild Card stage of the Major, imposing a struggle on the top teams and taking the card away from the same Team Secret. However, after the tournament, the Gambit roster was replaced: 633, which was perhaps the weakest link, left the roster, and eine came in its place. Only after this rearrangement the game of AS Monaco Gambit did not get better.

The team was not at all convincing at ESL One Summer. The defeat against OG can still be somehow explained, but the failure in the match with ViKin.gg, which ended in a 0:17 defeat on the second map, is not the best sign for the fans. The only thing that pleased the performance at ESL One Summer was the preparation with Arc Warden, which they began to forget about on the professional stage. Kyyalbek dream ‘Tayirov reminded Tundra very well of this character’s existence. Otherwise, it is noticeable that AS Monaco Gambit is still in search of its own game and comfortable strategies. However, now there is no time for this, especially considering the format of the qualifiers. AS Monaco Gambit can hardly boast of a selection of the strongest performers or an arsenal of signature strategies. Perhaps the main strength of the team is sports anger and a desire to prove to former teammates that they were wrong, as OG once did. The game, despite the circumstances, may well help the team to catch its wave during the qualifiers. But the first opponent of AS Monaco Gambit will not be easy. However, Parimatch analysts believe Immersion’s roster can handle HR.

• AS Monaco Gambit (1.50) – HellRaisers (2.48)

PuckChamp – Young and Hot

PuckChamp left a good impression in the second season of the DPC. The victory over NAVI in the decisive match of the first division certainly gave the roster a boost of self-confidence. The team has interesting drafts – just what the Techies draft is worth, which NAVI fell for. In addition, the team has an experienced coach in the person ArtStylewho knows how to motivate the teams and maintain a comfortable atmosphere in them.

On the other hand, after defeating NAVI, the team was unable to consolidate its success: PuckChamp failed the qualifiers for ESL One Summer and was eliminated from the Pinnacle Cup in the very first round of the playoffs. Yes, the team can definitely surprise in qualifying for TI10, largely thanks to unexpected and risky ideas, but whether this will be enough in a match against the conditional Team Spirit is a big question. But the team is capable of starting the qualifiers with a victory, even though PuckChamp in the first round of the playoffs meets Unique, which it recently lost. Parimatch analysts believe that this will be an equal confrontation, but it is PuckChamp that evokes a little more confidence.

• PuckChamp (1.80) – Team Unique (1.95)

NoTechies and all-all-all – supporting actors

Despite the fact that nine more teams will participate in the qualifiers from the CIS, they can hardly be seriously considered as contenders for the slot. Rebuilt squads from scratch Dendi and Solo did not show themselves in the second season of the DPC, failing the tournament. Other participants in the second season are also unlikely to be able to count on success due to their instability and the lack of serious experience in most teams in matches with top rivals.

As for the other teams from the first division, everything is pretty predictable. EXTREMUM lost all DPC matches, and recently also rearranged the roster by taking Blizzy in place Shachlo… Winstrike, who performed well in the lower division in the first season, was unable to maintain the same level in the battle with the top teams in the region. Team Unique, of course, looks much more interesting than the groups described above, but its bright performances alternate with failures. At ESL One Summer, the team lost to Alliance and ViKin.gg, and the last one – as many as three times during the tournament, taking into account the qualifiers. Consequently, Team Unique is not yet ready to fight seriously against teams of higher level. Yes, the team can surprise in a single match and unexpectedly knock out the conditional NAVI or AS Monaco Gambit from qualifications, but it still cannot go all the way through the qualifiers.

• NoTechies (1.95) – B8 (1.80);
• Nemiga (1.22) – Trident Clan (4.00).