Polaris Esports vs Natus Vincere Prediction: the Philippines Can Put Up a Fight

The International 2022: Last Chance Qualifier is a qualifying tournament for The International 2022, the upcoming main event of the year in the cybersports discipline Dota 2. Twelve teams worldwide will compete for two slots in the main tournament. Last Chance Qualifier, like the entire tournament, The International 2022 takes place in LAN format in Singapore. Dota 2 fans need to be patient and get ready for the action. 

The "last chance" qualifier for The International 2022 begins on Saturday, October 8. Polaris Esports and Natus Vincere will face off in the second round of group-stage games.

The International 2022: Last Chance Qualifier is the first international test for a young Philippine team. Few people believed that Polaris Esports could overcome regional qualifications. The Filipinos were one step away from the main stage of TI11 and the only team in all regions where the finalist did not come out with a 0-3 defeat but fought back and finished 2-3. It's hard to summarize how the players felt after such an upsetting defeat; maybe it would have been much easier to bounce back from the 0-3 loss, which became iconic for all regions.

After their disappointing summer tour in the regional DPC league's first division, Polaris Esports worked on their mistakes. After battling in the elite of the Asian Dota scene, the team played two tournaments: a closed qualification for ESL One Malaysia 2022 and the GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Thailand 2022 Asian laning tournament. Notably, Polaris Esports was knocked out of stuff for the ESL One Malaysia 2022 tournament by Talon Esports (1-2). That game was for a slot in the main event, and Polaris Esports won even the first card, but 23savage and Co. pulled themselves together and capped off that encounter. In the second tournament, Polaris Esports made it to the grand final, beating BOOM Esports (2-3) but couldn't win. The TI11 regional qualifiers also had successes that I wrote about at the beginning of this preview, but the Filipinos also came up short. I dare to believe that in the "last chance" qualification tournament for The International 2022, the Polaris Esports team can surprise.

Polaris Esports is a Filipino team that was formed in September 2021. From the start, the team has established themselves as militant and severe because the fourth place in the first division of the spring regional DPC league speaks volumes. Of course, the pack was focused on making it to TI11. They started in Division 2, which they won safely after the first winter round, while also playing in several Tier 3 tournaments, which they won. But the team failed in the summer round, becoming eighth in the elite and thus dropping out of the ranks of the strongest Asian teams.

Since the participation of Natus Vincere at The International 2019, this Ukrainian organization has finally assembled a fighting lineup in Dota 2. Many people were unfamiliar with the appearance of such a player as swedenstrong in the team, but as time has shown and the third summer regional DPC league, he has few equals in the CIS at the position of four.

At the end of the first winter tour of the regional DPC league team Natus Vincere was the fifth, then in the spring there was the shortest league, but even there NaVi players could not cling to the top three and settled for 4th-6th place. In the summer, with the arrival of swedenstrong, the team blossomed and sensationally became second in the summer tour, finally getting a slot in the majors. In the United States, Natus Vincere did not show any worthwhile play and settled for only 13-14th place at the PGL Arlington Major 2022.

In the TI11 regional qualification the team led by Solo came in third, as many experts expected. What are NaVi's chances of qualifying for the Last Chance Qualifier? Not great, but if they get off to a good start and find their game, they can go far.

Against Polaris Esports will be a difficult encounter, which the team from the CIS can not be up to "teeth". Their style of play is similar to NaVi's, but it should be understood that the opponents are equal on paper, it is not necessary to believe in the "born to win" just because of the historically strong tag.

For this match, we offer the following options: Draw, TO (99.5), and TO (48.5) on map 1.