Bali Major represents the last chance for many of the teams to lock themselves in for The International 2023 via Dota Pro Circuit points and some look like they came fully prepared to make the most of this opportunity.
Quest Esports
In terms of performance through the group stage, there is no doubt that Quest Esports have taken the spotlight.
Quest have started the DPC year in Division II of the Western European regional league. They were playing under the Ooredoo Thunders at that time and in the first Tour they promoted to Division I.
They came really close to qualifying for the Berlin Major in the Spring Tour, but finished in fifth place after losing a tiebreaker with OG for the final spot at the major and that triggered a roster change that seems to work wonders for them.
Ahead of the Summer Tour, Ooredoo Thunders became Quest Esports and welcomed to their ranks Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, who joined on loan from Nigma Galaxy. His addition made a world of difference for the team. With ATF in the offlane, Quest secured a spot at the last major of the year by placing third in the most stacked regional league, and went on to deliver the biggest upset so far in Bali by placing first in Group B.
Their group was arguably the toughest one, featuring Gaimin Gladiators, the back-to-back major Champions, who got pushed to their limits by Quest on the very first day of the Bali Major. Game one of their direct confrontation became the third longest game in Dota 2 history going on for over two hours.
It took 136 minutes for Quest to win a game versus the strongest team of the 2023 DPC season and they’ve done that by displaying incredible discipline, coordination and strong nerves. Based on their whole group stage run, Quest Esports are definitely the team to follow in the playoffs. They already showed that they have the tools to deliver the biggest underdog story in Bali.
Given their start from Division II, where there are no DPC points up for grabs, Quest are in dire need of a top two finish in Bali to hope for a direct invite at TI, so their quest for Seattle is far from being over.
BetBoom Team
When this roster formed, at the beginning of this year’s DPC, many predicted them to be the biggest team of the year. However, despite meeting all expectations in the Eastern European regional league in the first tour with a spotless 7-0 performance, BetBoom struggled on LAN for the entire year. They were eliminated in the group stages of both previous majors.
Coming into the final tour with little to show, BetBoom didn’t make any roster change, but instead they addressed some of the problems with more role swaps.
Two months ago, Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko and Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko switched positions. Right after this move, the team placed second at DreamLeague Season 20 and now came in second in Group B at the Bali Major.
Their group stage run gives BetBoom the opportunity to salvage it all in the playoffs, where they secured an upper bracket seed. A top eight finish in Bali, which means a victory in the first round of the playoffs, would guarantee them a ticket to Seattle, and that’s all that matters now, at the end of the DPC season.
