Teams to watch in The Kiev Major Open qualifiers

posted by Abelle,

The road to the Kiev Major is a tough one, but it’s even tougher for teams trying to make it there through the open qualifiers. Here’s a look at some big names that will be duking it out in opens starting tomorrow. EHOME

EHOME have had a pretty rough go of things lately, most recently finishing 11th-12th in the DAC China qualifier. The reason they’re in open qualifiers now is a roster change in which

Zhi Cheng 'LaNm' Zhang returned to the team, though LaNm never actually left the organization.

He was listed as a coach on EHOME’s latest roster announcement, but in fact he had taken personal time off to be with his wife while she gave birth to their second daughter. In a video interview on EHOME’s youtube channel, LaNm says he had planned to return to his coaching role, but the team was lacking in leadership and the decision was made to have him return to playing.

They haven’t played an official match since LaNm’s return, but with a team full of proven strong players and TI on the horizon to motivate them, EHOME stand a strong chance of at least making it to regional qualifiers, or perhaps even the Major itself.

compLexity
They would have been an automatic regional qualifier invite, but due to the late departure of

Mihai 'canceL' Vasile, coL will play Kiev Major open qualifiers. They’ve enlisted the help of

Eric 'Ryoya' Dong for the event, and the midlaner moved into the coL house almost two weeks ago to bootcamp with the team.

Welcoming @747dota to the #coLDota house. We will be working with Eric through the upcoming #KievMajor. pic.twitter.com/d1FqVkB3Fm— compLexity Gaming (@compLexityLive) February 23, 2017

The original regional qualifier invite list included

Team Red* and

Team WanteD*, but the list has since been adjusted to include only

Team Freedom*,

Team NP and

Digital Chaos*. In addition to this, there are four open qualifier spots for NA teams in the regional qualifier, meaning that coL should easily make it through.

Vegetables Esports
“The world-renowned bunch of Dota 2 personalities not good enough to play professionally” (source) has returned with another open qualifier roster. Perhaps the field of NA Dota teams has thinned enough to finally allow this team a chance to prove themselves in regional qualifiers, but only time will tell. After

Vegetables Esports Club* made it to 2nd place in the first Boston Major Americas open qualifier (losing to Prodota in the final), their chances are looking pretty darn good this time around.

VEG locked in for NA Open Quals. In position order: myself, @CCnCDotA2, @DotACapitalist, @Blitz_DotA, @wilsonwteng, https://t.co/8GtavedLCY— Ben Wu (@MerliniDota) March 2, 2017

Newbee.B
The boss is back with a slightly modified roster, ready to take on Chinese open qualifiers.

Bi 'axx' Xia has been moved to the sub role while EHOME sub Old eleven has been “temporarily loaned” to Newbee for this event. The team may not be a very "serious" roster and is unlikely to qualify for the Major itself, but with a lineup like theirs, they could prove to be a dangerous obstacle on other teams’ paths to regionals.

Newbee.B Squad for the Kiev @DotaMajor qualifiers pic.twitter.com/ia4uVfcSrV— Newbee (@NewbeeCN) March 5, 2017

Infamous/Not Today
We’re grouping these two SA team together because with just two teams directly invited to the South American regional qualifier and eight open qualifier slots available, neither of them should have a problem reaching regionals.

Both teams contain former members of the

unknown team that competed at The Frankfurt Major —

Alexis 'Greedy' Ventura and

Christian 'Accel' Cruz on

Infamous and

Alonso 'kotaro' Leon Arango on Not Today. In fact, one of these teams may end up being the one to qualify for the main event in Kiev, after all is said and done.

EuropeCISNorth America

Virtus.proChampion's Cup Winner

Team Kinguin*

Chip+4*Open Qualifier #1

Danish Bears*

Natus VincereOpen Qualifier #1

Alliance

Team SpiritOpen Qualifier #2Champion's Cup Winner

EffectOpen Qualifier #2Open Qualifier #1Open Qualifier #1

Team WanteD*Open Qualifier #2Open Qualifier #2

Team Red*ChinaSEASouth America

Vici Gaming Potential

ExecrationOpen Qualifier #1

Invictus Gaming

Rex Regum QeonOpen Qualifier #1

PSG.LGD

Geek FamOpen Qualifier #1

CDEC Gaming

TNC PredatorOpen Qualifier #1

LGD.Forever Young

MineskiOpen Qualifier #2Champion's Cup WinnerChampion's Cup WinnerOpen Qualifier #2Open Qualifier #1Open Qualifier #1Open Qualifier #2Open Qualifier #2Open Qualifier #2Open Qualifier #2