In what could only be considered as a display of just how far ahead of everyone else they are in the region, top dogs Undying easily took the last TI10 NA spot.
North American Dota 2 did not hold room for much surprises when it came to the level of teams and the outcomes, but the recently concluded regional qualifiers for TI10 were exciting to watch nonetheless. After a grueling four days of matches between the region’s top 11 teams, Undying, the new team on the scene that wowed everyone in their performance in the DPC, won the qualifiers in a sweep against 4 Zoomers. Undying takes the third and final NA spot at TI10, following in the steps of Quincy Crew and Evil Geniuses.
Here are some of the highlights of the North American regional qualifiers and the background on the teams leading up to the big event.
Aui and Arkosh developing a new meta
One of the more interesting teams in the NA regional qualifiers is Jake “SirActionSlacks” Kanner’s team, the mysterious Arkosh Gaming. The team was created with the goal of increasing interest in the North American Dota 2 scene, and consisted of anonymous players playing under Satanism-themed in-game names – position 1 Pale Horse, mid-laner Canus Vulpus, off-laner Gremlo, soft support Crow and hard support G.O.A.T. They were also notable in their DPC matches thanks to how frequently they thrash-talked their opponents in the game.
Entering the regional qualifiers in the upper bracket, the roster was notable for one big change – coming in for the hard support position is Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling, the former TI winner with Evil Geniuses back in 2015. It was in these matches that Aui_2000 tried a new approach for the hard support position, which was rushing a Helm of the Dominator regardless of the hero he picked. While their run ended in the third round of the lower bracket against Black N Yellow, his playstyle and hero picks were some of the most memorable in the Arkosh Gaming matches.
EternaLEnVy once again denied of his anime ending
The NA region of professional Dota 2 is probably the leader when it comes to roster drama, and the weeks leading to the qualifier was the biggest proof of that. Black N Yellow, whose original roster consisted of position 1 Luke “YamSun” Wang, mid-laner Eric “Ryoya” Dong, off-laner Daniel “zero” Yun, soft support Francis “FLee” Lee and hard support Andrew “Jubei” Evelyn, was one of the new contenders for North American DPC Season 1. Black N Yellow would prove themselves in these qualifiers, as they managed to move to the Season 2’s Upper Division alongside future TI10 regional qualifier winners Undying.
Despite these early victories, a rift between the team’s core members would come from one of the most divisive pros in the scene. Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao, who last played for a professional team in September of 2020, was brought in to play the role of position 1. Coming with him was Jose Esau “esK” Perez Coronel, who will take the role of mid-laner. The roster change comes from Ryoya and FLee leaving for different teams; YamSun moves from position to soft support, covering Ryoya’s departure.
Though the team managed to hold their own in the Season 2 of the DPC (placing 6th in the Upper Division), EternaLEnVy found himself in a rather precarious position: zero kicked him before the regional qualifiers due to internal conflicts, leaving him without a team.
However, EternaLEnVy would not be denied his chance in this upcoming TI qualifiers, and he found himself in another team: the long-standing S A D B O Y S, who were renamed bumble bEE’s for the qualifier. Their run in the lower bracket was admirable to say the least: after getting knocked down by Black N Yellow in a vicious upper bracket match fueled by much vitriol, the bumble bEE’s collected win after win in entertaining fashion.
Following wins against Team Dogchamp (2-0), simply TOOBASED (2-1) and a revenge win against Black N Yellow (2-1), they found themselves in the lower bracket finals against second-seeded 4 Zoomers. The matches were close, but in the end the young crew led by Nico “Gunnar” Lopez proved too much for the scene veteran EternaLEnVy, and the bumble bEE’s fell two games to one.
Undying’s perfect run to TI10
It speaks to the disparity of the region that Undying have finished their upper bracket run without dropping a single game, sweeping the grand finals 3-0 shortly thereafter. The team’s roster, which is comprised of both seasoned veterans and young talent, consists of position 1 Enzo “Timado” Gianoli O’Connor, mid-laner Jonathan Bryle “Bryle” Santos de Guia, off-laner Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek, soft support David “MoonMeander” Tan and hard support Kim “DuBu” Doo-young.
After three straight decisive victories against The Cut, Black N Yellow and 4 Zoomers, Undying chilled in their top spot for a bit before facing 4 Zoomers once again in the NA Regional Qualifiers Grand Final. The zoomers held on valiantly but their efforts were not enough in the end to stop the onslaught of Undying. The top seed team proved their salt with creative drafts and incredibly smart plays, led by the prolific MoonMeander and carried hard by the two cores Timado and Bryle. Undying ended the third game in 33 minutes, securing their victory and a spot at TI10.
