A comeback that took seven years to make

Mineski-Dota has finally secured their much-awaited return to the grand stages of The International today after seven long years of waiting.

Although their direct invitation to The International was practically secured, the Southeast Asian Dota 2 squad still entered the China Dota 2 Supermajor, the last Major tournament of the Dota Pro Circuit, with a slim possibility of being eliminated from the Dota Pro Circuit’s top eight.

There were four top four placement scenarios in the China Dota 2 Supermajor that could have potentially ousted Mineski-Dota from their top five place in the Dota Pro Circuit ranking, and ultimately negated their chances of receiving a direct invitation to this year’s grand Dota 2 world championship.

The first scenario was if Vici Gaming finished fourth, Newbee placed third, VGJ.Thunder ended up second, and TNC Pro Team took it all. The second scenario was basically the same from fourth to second place, except The Final Tribe at the first place. The third and fourth scenarios was the same from fourth to third place, but considered OpTic Gaming as the second placers, instead of VGJ.Thunder, and TNC Pro Team at first place. Finally, the last scenario, wherein The Final Tribe finished at first the tournament with the fourth to third placings similar to the third scenario.

If any of other team was able to secure a podium finish, aside from those mentioned, the Southeast Asian powerhouse will automatically guarantee a direct invite to The International 2018. This was what happened exactly during the first day of China Dota 2 Supermajor’s playoff when Team Liquid and Team Secret won their upper bracket games to secure 5th-6th place.

The victories of Team Liquid and Team Secret secured them to a fight for the third place finish. This blocks all the possibilities of Mineski-Dota being thrown off their current Dota Pro Circuit ranking, as well as other teams’ chances of securing the hefty amount of Dota Pro Circuit points provided by the China Dota 2 Supermajor.

The Dota Pro Circuit points consumed by Team Secret and Team Liquid with their battle for third place has lowered the amount of points required for teams to get a direct invitation for The International 2018 to 2272. With 3150 points on hand, Mineski-Dota was able to secure their comeback to The International as a direct invitee.

Mineski-Dota continues their China Dota 2 Supermajor journey tomorrow, as they face off against PSG.LGD in the upper bracket.