This article is part of our Dota 2 series.
To the surprise of many, the Southeast Asian region didn't receive a single direct invite to the Kiev Major. The two teams considered invite-worthy from the region, Faceless and TNC, both found themselves punching their ticket to Kiev via the main online qualifier on Monday.
Faceless ended up with the first SEA invite slot after two best-of-three series that went all three games. Their road started with a hard-fought victory over TNC, their most difficult rival in the qualifiers. They moved on to face Mineski, who despite taking Game 1 of the series proved to be too weak to stop Faceless. That win gave Faceless their spot at Kiev, where they will be looking for some redemption after their appearance at the Boston Major ended with a 9th-16th place finish. Since then Faceless has terrorized the SEA region, a concept not foreign to the history of the organization. They secured the SEA qualifier for the Dota 2 Asia Championships, and took first place in the second season of the Mr. Cat Invitational. Outside of SEA, Faceless secured a respectable third place finish at Dota Pit Season 5. Although their history against international competition has been rough, if Faceless can play like they did at Dota Pit they should be able to improve on their last Major finish.
After both Mineski and TNC found themselves in the lower bracket following losses to Faceless, the two teams wound up eventually facing each other for the final SEA invitation to Kiev. The series that ensued was an extremely fitting way to end the qualifiers. Mineski and TNC traded blows in a pair of intense back and forth games, highlighted by an insane Game 2. Mineski put up a valiant effort, managing to pull of an incredible win in Game 2, but their hopes for Kiev were dashed in a one-sided third game. TNC secured the second invitation for the SEA region, joining Faceless on the road to Kiev. TNC's recent results are impressive, including a first-place finish at the World Electronic Sports Games and 3rd- 4th at StarLadder iLeague Season 3, but after failing to qualify for the Boston Major it remains to be seen if they can deliver against the world's best teams.
Kiev Major SEA Qualifier = Team Faceless & TNC Pro TeamSource: @wykrhm#Dota2Malaysia#KievMajor@twt_dotapic.twitter.com/WEegnk6plN
— Diari.Dota2.Malaysia (@diari_dota2) March 13, 2017
