The road to Bucharest — T1

Having visited the American region, we move to another end of the world – Southeast Asia. The region, which likes Dota in all its forms. The region from which two teams will perform at the anniversary The International 10.

We will open the new geographic point on the map of the TI10 participants with the first team in the region. This is T1 and their road to Bucharest.

The team’s portfolio

Before entering one train to Bucharest with T1, we offer to take a look at what differs this team and why they deserve to play at the main tournament of the year. We have prepared a brief report of the main aspects of the team to do so.

• The date of the club’s foundation: August 22, 2019;
• The roster for The International: 23savege, Karl, Kuku, Xepher, Whitemon;
• The region: Southeast Asia;
• How the team made it to The International: the 6th place in the DPC rating;
• The main achievements: the 1st place at Dota Pro Circuit 2021: Season 2 – Southeast Asia Upper Division, the 1st place at ESL One Summer 2021, the 3rd place at Dota Pro Circuit 2021: Season 1 – Southeast Asia Upper Division, the 3rd place at WePlay AniMajor.

We have learned about the brief report, so let’s take a closer look at T1.

The first appearance

T1 appeared on the competitive Dota 2 scene on August 22, 2019. Many years before that, T1 had been demonstrating its mastership in another MOBA – League of Legends.

Having achieved all the heights and become the three-time world champions there, the organization decided that the moment to conquer the new field had come. It was Dota 2.

The first member of the recently-created team was the veteran of the Korean Dota 2 scene – Forev. He was joined by Pieliedie, Febby, Xemistry, and Skadilicious later.

T1 appeared at a few tournaments where their results could not be called successful until the end of the year. In the season 2020, the work on forming the new battle-worthy roster started.

The pandemic and the preparation for DPC 2021

In 2020, the world dived deep in the depth of the pandemic and it was a critical event for the majority of teams. In such conditions, many clubs were unable to hold their rosters and the top competitive Dota 2 teams were starving.

But it is chaos for one and it is harmony for another. In this condition, T1 received a very important resource – time.

The absence of big tournaments and The International allowed them to use a slow approach to the formation of the roster and the creation of the synergy inside the team. T1 spent one year on it.

T1 made, at least, 11 replacements on the roster in 2020. Obviously, the results matched the situation.

T1 was playing tier-2/3 tournaments but did not achieve success even there. The main achievements of the year included the victory at Hephaestus Cup and SES Dota Invitational 2020. Things went worse at the more prestigious tournaments: the 4th place ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League, the 5th-6th place at ESL One Thailand 2020: Asia, the 3rd place at BTS Pro Series Season 4: Southeast Asia.

T1 probably had to stay in the tier-2 scene for long but the club’s power and accurate management allowed them to enter the elite community quickly. It happened with the start of the season in 2021.

The first DPC season 2021

Valve revealed the new DPC system in 2021, which had to elevate the regional Dota scene and slowly withdraw the discipline from anabiosis. It was a real present for T1.

Having completed the roster, which included JaCkky, Karl, Kuku, Xepher, and Whitemoon, T1 proceeded to the first serious challenge in the history of the Dota 2 branch.

There was serious stagnation in the SEA region, so nothing stopped T1 from receiving a direct invitation to the elite division. Just like Fnatic, TNC, and BOOM, they received a direct invite.

The even more important thing was that 3 teams from Southeast Asia will play at the first Major of the season. There was no better opportunity to enter the list of the best teams in the world faster.

The debut DPC season could hardly be called successful for T1. The team was playing ordinary but it did not stop them to hold the 3rd place and go to the Wild Card of the Singapore Major.

They went there somehow, having done 2 substitutions. One was forced, Kuku had a positive COVID-19 test, and the other one was not forced – JaCkky failed a trial period and was replaced on 23savage.

The first attempt stuck in T1’s throat so bad. T1 played at its first Major struggling and without its headliner in the face of Kuku.

The result was the 13th-16th place at One Esports Singapore Major 2021. There was a lot of work for T1 ahead.

The second DPC season 2021

The experience earned during the first season helped T1 a lot in the second one. It was clear during the regular season.

In the second half of the year, T1 finished first in the upper division. Now, they had to play in the playoffs of the Kyiv Major where they were able to demonstrate what they were capable of.

And it appeared that they were capable of many things.

Having started the tournament in the upper bracket, they defeated Team Aster, the first team of China, without problems, and then, they dealt with Quincy Crew, the first team of North America. Frightening PSG.LGD stopped T1 from making it to the final of the second Major and they were beaten in the lower bracket by EG.

As a result, T1 placed 3rd in Kyiv, which guaranteed them a spot in The International through the DPC rating where the Korean club held the 6th place.

But T1’s road did not stop on it in 2021. The team decided to play at as many commercial tournaments as possible before The International 10.

T1 even achieved victory at the first one, which was ESL One Summer 2021. There was the 4th place at BTS Pro Series Season 7: Southeast Asia, ESL One Fall 2021, and OGA Dota PIT Invitational later.

The International 10 will be the next tournament where we will see T1. Let’s see if the first team of SEA surprises or disappoints us in Bucharest.

See you on EGamersWorld.