The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier: will Puppey be able to update his record?

The summer season of regional qualifications for The International 2023, the Dota 2 World Championship, is slowly coming to an end. The winners of China and North America, Azure Ray and nouns, will soon be joined by Eastern Europe and South America. After that, the qualifiers will head to Western Europe and Southeast Asia.

The race for the two slots at The International 2023 Long Circuit will get underway in Western Europe the day after tomorrow. The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier is scheduled to start on the 27th of August.

In this review we will tell you all the details of the Western Europe Qualifiers for The International 2023. You will find out why you should watch The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier, which of the participants are the main contenders for two trips to the World Championship, as well as which of the teams can still surprise with their performance.

The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier: list of participants, format and dates

With the decline of China in recent years, Western Europe has firmly established itself as the strongest professional region in Dota 2. This region has a large number of worthy teams that can put up a fight for prizes at the international level. From Western Europe, Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, the reigning three-time Major tournament champions, and Tundra Esports, the reigning champions of The International, have already travelled to The International 2023.

This year, Valve, the developers of Dota 2, have allocated two slots for regional qualification in Western Europe for the year's main event. Eleven teams will compete for the coveted two spots at The International 2023, with seeding based on the number of DPC points earned and their final position in the Western Europe Division 1 and Division 2.

The list of participants of The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier:

• Quest Esports
• OG
• Entity
• Level UP
• Luna Galaxy
• Nigma Galaxy
• Team Secret
• KZ Team
• Into The Breach
• Ancient Tribe
• Alliance

The above mentioned participants will meet in the Double-Elimination grid and will fight in bo3 matches. The Grand Final of the Qualifier is scheduled in bo5 format. The International 2023 - Western America Qualifier will take place from 27th to 31st of August this year. Among all the teams, we can distinguish the favourites as well as the teams that can surprise.

Quest Esports is the main favourite to win the qualifier for The International 2023

The main discovery and surprise on the Western European Dota 2 scene was the breakthrough of Quest Esports. The team realised their potential perfectly in the final third of the season. Quest Esports started the season with a victory in DPC WEU 2023 Tour 1: Division II. The Arab-European squad won and advanced to the first division, where at first things were not so smooth, because in the second round Quest Esports took the fifth place, which can be considered a good result for the debutants of the DPC season.

Quest Esports became the talk of the town when they won bronze at DPC WEU 2023 Tour 3: Division I and travelled to Bali Major 2023, where they finished in fourth place for $50,000. The team also travelled to the Riyadh Masters 2023 in Saudi Arabia, where they made it to the Riyadh Masters 2023 MENA Qualifier. The 7th-8th places earned the players $500,000. Not a bad end to the season, isn't it? If we take away from the fact that Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators and Tundra Esports are already at The International 2023, Quest Esports can be safely called the strongest qualification team and the main contender for one of the two slots at the World Championship.

Will Puppey be able to maintain his status as the only and last player to play in all The International tournaments?

The International has a rather interesting storyline for Team Secret. The team can't find their game in the regular season, but at The International they show a completely different game. In addition, it should be noted that Puppey is the only and the last player who played in all the tournaments of The International series. Before that, he was accompanied by KuroKy.

All season Secret have been balancing between the first and second divisions of Western Europe, and the only reasonable result purely financially can be called 9-12th place at the Riyadh Masters 2023. The European club received $300,000 in prize money for their performance in Saudi Arabia. Will the legendary player once again try his luck at the main event in Dota 2? We'll find out very soon.

Potential Dark Horses of The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier

The International 2023 - Western Europe Qualifier can be almost half of the participants if you want to. But we will focus on OG, Entity and Nigma Galaxy.

OG have been on the decline in their playing form for a long time. They were recently joined on a permanent basis by the legendary Ceb, who as a stand-in failed to help the team achieve great results at the Riyadh Masters 2023. Back then, the two-time champions of The International finished in 13th-14th place. The team has some strong and big-name players, and with the right circumstances and desire, they can surprise.

The Entity team is also not shining with results in the current season. The team consistently does not rise above the fourth place. Although this team can surprise and cause problems to the famous rivals, but expect from them a confident run on the top grid is clearly not worth it.

The Arabian squad Nigma Galaxy this season is also dropping down to the second division and rising back up to the first. On the international scene, KuroKy and his teammates can't boast of good achievements. But recently Nigma managed to qualify for BetBoom Dacha, beating teams like Level UP and KZ Team. They are unlikely to beat someone of Quest Esports' level, but they will have a chance in the lower bracket.

Conclusion

The confrontation in Western Europe is a great end to the qualification cycle for The International 2023. There will be a lot of matches against big-name teams and a small The International ring, although it is clear that Quest Esports and Team Secret have the best chances of success. But there are also enough participants who can surprise or cause problems to their stronger colleagues. We advise you not to miss such an exciting spectacle.