The worst possible outcome ensues for SEA teams on the first day of Bali Major as they net zero wins in their home turf.
It has been a difficult year of Dota for Southeast Asian (SEA) teams and their fans. With nothing to show for besides a third place finish by Talon Esports at Lima Major, SEA is perhaps the weakest region in 2023. Bali Major is the last chance for the SEA region to turn things around for the better. Unfortunately, the first day of the group stage on June 29 went awry with SEA teams netting zero wins.
Both Execration and Blacklist International conceded 2-0s today to Invictus Gaming and Team Liquid respectively. Worse, Bleed Esports lost two series to Quest Esports and PSG LGD. The region as a whole went a grand total of 0-8 on the opening day of Bali Major. As it stands, all SEA teams are sitting at the bottom of the group stage standings.
The SEA struggle
Currently, Talon Esports is the only SEA team that will likely secure direct placement at The International 2023 (TI12). Even so, there is still a small chance that they might not make it depending on how Bali Major goes. Since they are not in the tournament, Talon is stuck with their 1,120 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points. The current DPC standings show that the cutoff for direct TI12 invite is at 760 points with BetBoom Team on the line. Assuming BetBoom exits early, Execration and Bleed need to get at least a 7th-8th place finish to even have a chance for an invite. Blacklist, on the other hand, has to secure fourth place.
These predictions have not considered results by Team Aster, nouns and Invictus Gaming which could affect how things play out. Either way, all SEA teams face a worrisome situation in securing their spots for TI12. In fact, there is a possibility that no SEA teams will receive direct invites to TI12. This will occur if all SEA teams at Bali Major do not meet their minimum placement requirements while Team Aster and nouns reach grand finals.
Bali Major Results and Effect on DPC Standings
The following table estimates where each team at Bali Major (excluding Talon Esports and TSM) will end up on the DPC ranking based on the tournament results. Data by Liquipedia.
| Teams | Current DPC Points | 7th-8th | 5th-6th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st |
| Team Liquid | 1600 | 1900 | 2000 | 2050 | 2100 | 2150 | 2200 |
| Gaimin Gladiators | 1540 | 1840 | 1940 | 1990 | 2040 | 2090 | 2140 |
| Evil Geniuses | 1470 | 1770 | 1870 | 1920 | 1970 | 2020 | 2070 |
| Shopify Rebellion | 1170 | 1470 | 1570 | 1620 | 1670 | 1720 | 1770 |
| Tundra Esports | 1160 | 1460 | 1560 | 1610 | 1660 | 1710 | 1760 |
| Talon Esports | 1120 | 1120 | 1120 | 1120 | 1120 | 1120 | 1120 |
| 9Pandas | 1096 | 1396 | 1496 | 1546 | 1596 | 1646 | 1696 |
| Team Spirit | 1020 | 1320 | 1420 | 1470 | 1520 | 1570 | 1620 |
| TSM | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 | 900 |
| PSG.LGD | 884 | 1184 | 1284 | 1334 | 1384 | 1434 | 1484 |
| beastcoast | 800 | 1100 | 1200 | 1250 | 1300 | 1350 | 1400 |
| BetBoom Team | 760 | 1060 | 1160 | 1210 | 1260 | 1310 | 1360 |
| Execration | 740 | 1040 | 1140 | 1190 | 1240 | 1290 | 1340 |
| Team Aster | 608 | 908 | 1008 | 1058 | 1108 | 1158 | 1208 |
| nouns | 580 | 880 | 980 | 1030 | 1080 | 1130 | 1180 |
| Bleed Esports | 500 | 800 | 900 | 950 | 1000 | 1050 | 1100 |
| Invictus Gaming | 460 | 760 | 860 | 910 | 960 | 1010 | 1060 |
| Blacklist International | 380 | 680 | 780 | 830 | 880 | 930 | 980 |
| Quest Esports | 232 | 532 | 632 | 682 | 732 | 782 | 832 |
| Azure Ray | 100 | 400 | 500 | 550 | 600 | 650 | 700 |
Still a lot of games left for SEA to turn things around at Bali Major
Bali Major may look bleak for SEA fans right now. However, it is only the first day of Bali Major. There are plenty of games left to be played and SEA teams still have plenty opportunity to rally and get some wins in. So don’t lose hope just yet!
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