posted by Stache,
Valve revealed the direct invites for The International 5 last night in a live countdown releasing one team every 15 minutes. Once again, this year will see four regional qualifiers, but in an exciting new addition is that there will also be four regional open qualifiers! Find out who got Valve's stamp of approval inside. Was it Rave or Team Malaysia? Team Empire or NiP?


UPDATE: The last directly invited team is my Team Malaysia*. While their team is relatively new, their players are not. Many are former my Orange Esports* players having earned their keep through previous TI’s and many years of playing Dota. These players won’t be scared to take on the best and with so many good teams that’ll be something everyone needs.

TI-5 will see the TI-4 champions have a shot at defending their title as cn Newbee is the next invite! Newbee has underperformed so far in 2015, but looked really strong in post-TI4 2014 when they won several tournaments towards the end of the year. While they’re not one of the hottest teams so far this year, since their founding they've been one of the strongest teams when under pressure. A new patch and a championship to defend, will NewBee be the first team to win The International twice?

The International 5 invitees are currently being announced. Vici Gaming is the first team invited. From here on out Valve will be announcing a new invitee every 15 mintues.

Europe, the Americas, China and South East Asia will have a group with 9 qualifiers invitees. Perhaps even bigger is that the 10 spot in the qualifiers will be open to everyone! So get your team together... you might be the next Aegis winners.


Your TI5 Invited Teams

and why they are worthy


cn Vici Gaming is a powerhouse of the global Dota scene. Their silver at Dota 2 Asian Championships led into a a seemingly unstoppable Starladder performance. To date, they are seen as one of the widespread favorites to take home the Aegis this year. Despite their recent roster switch (de Dominik 'Black^' Reitmeier for cn Chen 'Hao' Zhihao), few people will be suprised that VG is the first invite.



us Evil Geniuses has long held a place as one of the strongest teams in modern Dota and the most consistent team in the West. Since the last TI (where they took home bronze), EG has been reliably strong. They proved this as they claimed first place at DAC. Their only major defeat came at joinDota MLG, at the hands of ru Team Empire... and even then they remained ahead of the bulk of their competition with a solid second place.



eu Team Secret is a Western superstar team that may have experienced lackluster performance at the most recent Starseries, but more than made up for it with one of the longest undefeated streaks in competitive Dota history during one of the largest tournaments to date. After going undefeated in the DAC groupstages, Secret took home third place. To mark their strength, Secret has qualified for every tournament that they've decided to enter to date.



cn Invictus Gaming is without a doubt one of the strongest teams in China, having finished second at the recent Starladder series. Neck to neck with their current regional rivals, VG, any savvy viewer would expect them to tag along to Seattle this summer. While losing out to Rave at DAC, the ongoing Red Bull Battleground has certainly proven not many teams are prepared to face them.



cn PSG.LGD plans to show the giants of China and the World that they aren't rolling over to the powerhouses listed above. LGD has managed to beat out both VG and IG in i-League season two for first place and while their performance is largely regional, they have had a strong showing across the last season. Their return to The International is a welcome one.



world Cloud9 fans will no longer be in the fog as to whether or not their favorite team is invited as they join the list of invitees! While C9 hasn’t managed any big tournament wins they’ve show amazing tenacity for making it to the finals… And then finish second. While they have only three event wins since last year's TI, they have been in the money in 15 of their 20 events. Will they be able to break their streak and take home the gold at TI-5?




ru Team Empire joins our list of contenders of a fresh tournament win from MLG Columbus. They also won a joinDota Masters and Starseries XI earlier this year. Since last season, they suffered from periods of underperformance due to roster changes; however, now that they’ve been stable for a while they are indeed a top TI contender!



ru Virtus.Pro* has certainly proven they’re a strong team, having recently finished second in Starseries XI and qualifying for ESL One Frankfurt. VP have shown many strengths over the last year, notably consistency, and with Valve turning the Dota scene into four major tournaments, consistent competitiveness is valuable.



cn Newbee is the next invite! Newbee has underperformed so far in 2015, but looked really strong in post-TI4 2014 when they won several tournaments towards the end of the year. While they’re not one of the hottest teams so far this year, since their founding they've been one of the strongest teams when under pressure. A new patch and a championship to defend, will NewBee be the first team to win The International twice?



my Team Malaysia* takes the last direct invite. While they are relatively new, their players are not. Many are former my Orange Esports* players having earned their keep through previous TI’s and many years of playing Dota. These players won’t be scared to take on the best and with so many good teams that’ll be something everyone needs.


Americas Qualifiers


[blockquote]
us ROOT Gaming*
us Champions of Summer's Rift*
pe Not Today*
us Leviathan
world Team Tinker*
ca Void Boys*
us compLexity Gaming
us North American Rejects*
us Wheel Whreck While Whistling
Americas Open Winner
[/blockquote]

China Qualifiers


[blockquote]
cn TongFu*
cn CDEC Gaming
cn Newbee.Young
cn HyperGloryTeam*
cn TongFu.OldBoys*
cn Energy Pacemaker*
cn Vici Gaming Reborn*
cn EHOME
cn TongFu.WanZhou*
China Open Winner
[/blockquote]

Europe Qualifiers


[blockquote]
ru Vega Squadron *
eu Burden United
ua Natus Vincere
by Power Rangers*
se Ninjas in Pyjamas*
se Alliance
gr London Conspiracy*
ru HellRaisers
fi STARK*
Europe Open Winner
[/blockquote]

SEA Qualifiers


[blockquote]
sg 5eva*
my Mineski
au Can't Say Wips*
ph Rave*
ph TNC Predator
kr MVP Phoenix*
th Motivade.Trust Gaming
my G-Guard*
kr MVP HOT6*
SEA Open Winner
[/blockquote]

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    Stache

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