Four teams have now qualified for the ESL One Mumbai Dota 2 tournament this coming April by making it through the event’s international qualifiers.
Those four teams are Keen Gaming from China, TNC Predator from Southeast Asia, J Storm from North America, and The Pango from Europe. There will also be one more qualifier team — this time from India itself — that will be determined on March 3.
They will be joining the four teams who were previously invited directly to the event — Ninjas in Pyjamas, Alliance, and Gambit Esports — as well as three more invited teams that have yet to be announced.
Keen Gaming defeated the rising Chinese team Royal Never Give Up in two straight matches — including a 3-0 sweep in the qualifier finals — to secure their slot in ESL One Mumbai.
Meanwhile, TNC Predator went relatively unchallenged — as they did not face any teams quite on the same tier as them — on their way to book their spot from the Southeast Asian qualifier.
The Pango also went somewhat unopposed in the European qualifier, as the other teams who would have taken the spot from them have either been directly invited already — as is the case with Alliance and Gambit Esports — or have withdrawn, like Natus Vincere.
The North American qualifiers were arguably more stacked, as it featured teams such as the talent-loaded J Storm, rising Team Team, and Flying Penguins — led by Jacky “EternalEnvy” Mao. In the end, J Storm’s much more talented and experienced lineup secured their ticket to Mumbai by sweeping Flying Penguins in the qualifier finals.
ESL One Mumbai — the first major Dota 2 event to be held in India — will take place at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai from April 16 to 21 and will feature a $300 thousand prize pool.
