NB: This are predictions on who Valve is going to give a direct invite to, focusing on the Western Region. This is assuming a sixteen team tournament, with twelve direct invites- six each for East and West. Based off data in the files here, we also assume four qualifying spots, one for China, Europe, SEA and The Americas.
The first two direct invites were most likely locked in last year, being TI3 champions
Alliance and runners-up 
Natus Vincere. Both teams will be heading into TI4 with unchanged rosters and looking in dangerous form - Alliance are recovering well from a shaky period around the turn of the year, while Na'Vi have claimed two Starladder titles and the ASUS ROG DreamLeague Kick-Off season trophy. There's not too much to say here with both nailed on to be taking part, so turning our focus to the rest of the west- where do the slots go? Europe seems a likely destination to take the majority of spots, offering the strongest competitive scene and larger depth in its squads. It does feel like two more slots are going to European squads, but which ones?
Both finalists from last years International are certain to return this year
The first is most likely going to be
Team Empire, who have been on an incredible tier since the addition of Roman 'Resolut1on' Fominok, rounding out what was already an extremely skilled roster. They've claimed the CIS Carnage title and currently top the table in Starladder IX StarSeries, MLG T.K.O and jDL Europe while also having qualified top in the D2CL and being unbeaten in ASUS ROG DreamLeague Season 1. They have rapidly established themselves as a devastating force in Europe, holding victories over all the major squads as part of a 48-11 win record since the dawn of 6.80. They are undoubtedly one of the elite teams in the world right now and I would find it very surprising if Valve doesn't give them an invite spot. Likely to join them are 
Fnatic, one of the most consistent and solid performers in the European scene. Always a daunting task for any team, they boast a very strong LAN record having made the finals of DreamLeague, D2L and EMS One Fall in recent months. Offering one of the most stable rosters filled with talented players, it seems that 
Tal 'Fly' Azik and company will be on the plane to Seattle.North America will almost certainly be represented at TI4 and I don't think there can be any argument that
Evil Geniuses are going to the taking part, due to their stunning performances since forming as S A D B O Y S before being picked up by EG. Having already won ESP Shock Therapy and the SXSW Monster Invitational, the squad have proven that they can win both in an online and LAN environment. With the experience of Clinton 'Fear' Loomis and breakout star 
Artour 'Arteezy' Bababev at the forefront, they will be a match for anybody and have proven their dominance over the rest of their North American rivals. It seems unfathomable that they will not get a direct invite.
Evil Geniuses proved their credentials at the Monster Energy Invitational (Image Credit: evilgeniuses.gg)
For the rest of North America however, there is no other squad that seems deserving of getting an automatic spot. The trio of
eHug, Team Dog and Team Liquid haven't done enough in recent months, with the latter having well publicised issues from Brian 'FLUFFNSTUFF' Lee's blogpost. We can expect to see them in a qualifier, most likely alongside South American teams 
CNB eSports Club (Formerly Swagenteiger) and 
Revenge, possibly joined by some of the other American teams, such as Osiris and Dignotoss.Rounding out the Western direct invites is likely to be MLG Columbus champions
Cloud9, who have been consistently in the top tier of Western Dota since forming and took down the aforementioned MLG Columbus. They've also made the final at every LAN event they've participated in so far, showing how strong they are in offline events - it's easy to forget that online events can be a struggle with players scattered across two continents for them. Undoubtedly one of the more popular teams in the pro scene, they seem odds-on to secure an invite from Valve. That however, leaves a lot of notable teams on the sidelines.
MLG Columbus champions Cloud9 will look to pick up another trophy
The biggest team who seem unlikely to get a direct invite has to be
Sigma.int who have struggled with poor form in recent months, particularly with the 6.80 patch. Despite recent issues, they are undoubtedly still a strong squad and will be part of qualifiers. Realistically, they will be joined by the stalwart CIS trio of 
Power Rangers, RoX.Kis and Virtus Pro who are all capable of putting a beating on many teams when they're in form, but often struggle for consistency and miss out on qualification for big LAN events. Other teams who may get a chance in qualifiers are 
Meet Your Makers and Relax, while there is always the opportunity for teams to put together a strong run in events like Starladder StarSeries to stake a late claim. A lot also depends on the format however and how many teams Valve decide to give a shot.So that concludes our look at who Valve seem set to invite to Seattle in just a few months times. Do you agree, or do you feel Valve are going to look elsewhere? Be sure to join in the discussion, and check back soon as we turn our gaze to the Eastern scene.
Do you agree with our predictions? What do you think?
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