No more missed registration deadlines! Team SMG ran and conquered under gunfire, qualifying to TI for the very first time.
Team SMG has finally done it! Since its inception in 2021, Team SMG has failed to qualify for The International (TI) every year. In fact, in 2022, they did not even participate in the Regional Qualifier due to a human error. However, this time, they made sure to register and win all of the Southeast Asian Regional Qualifiers for TI12.
Team SMG's complete Dota 2 roster for TI12:
- Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng
- Volodymyr "No[o]ne" Minenko
- Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee
- Tue "ah fu" Soon Chuan
- Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla
A stunning 3-0 performance over Blacklist Rivalry
Team SMG clearly found Blacklist Rivalry's Achilles heel by defeating them five games in a row. In the upper bracket final on August 30, SMG dropped Blacklist to the lower bracket 2-0. At the lower bracket, Blacklist proceeded to defeat Geek Fam 2-0 before reuniting with SMG once again at the grand final.
After a massive win over Geek Fam, Blacklist seemed like they were in a good position to take some games from SMG. Unfortunately, they took an even bigger beating instead. SMG took the first game in just 23 minutes with a final score of 26-13. They then gave Blacklist a complete shellacking with a 28-3 score through a horrifying 36-minute game.
In the third game, Blacklist looked like they were about to take their revenge. They had an 11k gold advantage over SMG in the first 30 minutes. However, they fumbled during a critical fight at the Roshan pit which cost any edge they had. Blacklist continued to spiral downwards in the next 10 minutes. Had they won, it would have spelled the beginning of a possible reverse sweep. Alas, SMG were the ones who came out on top.
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The very first TI for Team SMG
Team SMG had been running under gunfire for the past two TIs since they first became a team. They placed 7th-8th in the 2021 Regional Qualifier and missed the registration deadline for the 2022 Regional Qualifier. However, this time they were able to outclass all their opponents by breezing through the upper bracket.
All of SMG's players, apart from Jaunuel who was at TI last year (2022) under Fnatic, are experiencing their firsts as well. It is the first time since 2019 that MidOne, No[o]ne, and ah fu are playing at TI. As for Masaros, it is his very first time ever. Thrilled is an understatement.
We'll have the full TI12 lineup tomorrow as the TI12 Regional Qualifiers conclude. Stay tuned to esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates.
