They faced tough competition in the qualifier, defeating formidable opponents like Nigma Galaxy and Team Secret along the way.

Qualifying for TI through the Dota Pro Circuit is no easy feat with more than 10 teams vying for just one or two spots.

Historically two teams have managed to qualify for TI through qualifiers in consecutive years; Mousesports from 2012 to 2014 and Ehome in 2015 and 2016.

Now Entity joins this group thanks to their performance.

WHAT. A. RUN.

We've had a tough year but what counts is that we made it to The International 2023 after an INSANE performance in the WEU Regional Qualifiers!

Thanks to everyone who is cheering for us and

SEE YOU IN SEATTLE! #TI12 #OneEntity pic.twitter.com/51Ga4sZG2S

— Entity (@EntityDota) August 30, 2023

Entity started off by facing Nigma Galaxy in a match that ended with them emerging as the victors with a score of 2-1.

In the bracket they continued their winning streak by defeating Team Secret after two maps.

However, Entity faced a challenge in the bracket finals when they encountered Luna Galaxy an underdog team that put up a tough fight.

The encounter lasted over an hour and pushed Entity to their limits.

Despite LGs efforts Entity ultimately secured one of the sought after spots for Western European Dota 2 region, at TI12.

With Entity’s credentials, fans can eagerly anticipate the participation of prodigy player Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov in this years Dota 2 tournament.

Watson created ripples throughout the 2023 DPC season showcasing dominance in the rankings.

Notably he is also the first player from Kazakhstan to secure a qualification for TI, which adds a layer of significance to Entity’s accomplishment.

Entity’s remarkable journey, through the TI12 qualifiers has sent shockwaves across the European Dota 2 scene establishing them as a presence to be reckoned with at The International 2023.

The European qualifiers will resume tomorrow featuring three remaining teams vying for a TI spot.

Team Secret ($2.75) will clash with Quest Esports ($1.40), with the winner advancing to the final match of the European West Qualifier against Luna Galaxy, where the winner of that clash will qualify for The International 2023.

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Execration and TSM have met four times this year, most recently in April, during Berlin Major 2023, when they parted ways with a 1-1 draw. Three of the four meetings ended in a tie – the only exception was TSM’s victory at DreamLeague Season 19, two weeks before the Berlin Major.

Based purely on their head-to-head record, TSM and Execration look evenly matched, but according to the top Dota 2 betting sites, this is TSM’s game to lose. This doesn’t make much sense, considering TSM haven’t played a single official match since June.

On the other hand, Execration are not in the best form. They attended the Bali Major earlier this month and crashed out in 15-16th place without a single victory (0-5-3), which looks concerning. But even though Execration crumbled in Bali, they should do fine against the rusty TSM.

Team Liquid are priced at $7.50 to win Riyadh Masters 2023, behind only Tundra Esports ($4.00) and Gaimin Gladiators ($3.00). While Liquid look a great bet to reach the final ($3.75), there is a good chance Entity will make them work for the win in this clash.

Opening matches of Majors tend to be much closer, and that trend is especially noticeable this season. At the Dota 2 Bali Major, half of the first-round games ended in a draw; in Berlin, 43.75% (7/16). That wouldn’t be a good enough reason to bet against Liquid, but Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi and his crew are known to play down to their opponent’s level, which makes Entity with a +1.5 map advantage a solid choice.

9Pandas placed fifth-sixth at Bali Major 2023 at the start of July and will now look to build on that success in Ryidah as one of the live outsiders to make a deep run. In Bali, the Russians didn’t disappoint with their performances, and while their run through the group stage (3-2-2) wasn’t too impressive, 9Pandas left a strong statement with their games against Team Aster (2-1), beastcoast (2-1), and Team Liquid (1-2).

OG didn’t attend the Bali Major and were last seen competing in June at DreamLeague Season 20, where Tommy “Taiga” Le and co. placed 13th-16th. Still, this is a good team, and with Sébastien “Ceb” Debs back on the roster, OG are capable of competing for at least a top-eight finish.

9Pandas look much better on paper than OG, but 9Pandas are also known to stumble in best-of-two series, which could make this game a bit closer than expected. A draw seems like the most likely outcome, but we’re getting far more value backing OG to win in the three-way market.

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Tundra Esports are the only team from the region that did not make any roster changes ahead of the 2023 season. That makes sense, considering Tundra has just won The International, so they have no reason to look for ways to improve.

Their next opponents, OG, have made one roster change, signing Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin as a replacement for Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, who left to play for Nigma Galaxy. DM joins OG from Virtus.pro (Outsiders) is an excellent carry player who, like ATF, has a big champion pool and is capable of carrying games.

With the roster changes, OG didn’t lose any quality and should be very competitive in 2023. They’re still weaker than Tundra (3-5 in head-to-head), but $3.40 with Dota 2 betting sites seems a bit too generous. At the offered Dota 2 betting odds, and considering this is a clash between two of Europe’s top teams, over 2.5 maps makes the most sense.

Team Liquid had a slot to fill up following Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen’s retirement and ended up signing Micha? “Nisha” Jankowski, who joined Liquid two months after leading Team Secret to The International 2022 finals. Besides signing Nisha, Liquid also had to move players around, appointing Michael “miCKe” Vu to the no.1 spot to make room for the new mid laner.

The move shows Liquid’s roster’s flexibility, but it also makes us believe that they will be just as strong as last season. Losing MATUMBAMAN is a big deal, but with Nisha joining the roster, Liquid should be one of the top four teams in Western Europe.

Team Secret replaced Nisha with Miroslav “BOOM” Bi?an, who had an excellent season with Gaimin Gladiators, who enjoyed a lot of success in 2022, largely thanks to the Czech player. This move still feels like a downgrade, but we don’t feel like there’s much to worry about.

Liquid enter this match with a massive advantage of fielding Nisha, who knows Secret inside and out. But talent-wise, this looks like an even match, so we must take overs at even odds.

Entity parted ways with their carry Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko in December and replaced him with Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov, who has been moving around the Eastern European Tier 2 scene for a while. On paper, this move doesn’t look too promising, but there was supposedly some internal turmoil, so perhaps letting Pure go was the right call.

Gaimin Gladiators lost their mid laner BOOM but quickly found an excellent replacement in Quinn “Quinn” Callahan, formerly of Soniqs and Quincy Crew. This move might make Gaimin Gladiators even stronger, but there are questions about their new coach Aske “Cy-“Larsen, who’s a bit of an enigma.

Entity were significantly weaker than Gaimin Gladiators in the DPC last season, and even though all the changes, we don’t expect that to change. It’s early season, so we could be in for a messy game, but we have faith in Gaimin Gladiators to cover the map handicap on Monday.

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Entity stunned Gaimin Gladiators in the tournament’s opening week, putting them in a perfect spot to chase the ticket for the Arlington Major. But one victory does not mean much, especially for a team that placed sixth in the previous tour.

Like Entity, goonsquad secured a crucial win last week when they defeated Team Liquid (2-1); granted, the series could have easily ended in a 2-0 sweep for Liquid, who choked a massive lead on map 2 and completely fell apart on map 3.

Results-wise, there isn’t much to separate goonsquad and Entity, and it seemed like the esports betting sites have priced Entity as the favourites solely because they looked better in their game against the Gladiators. This should be a very close series that has no clear favourite in our book, so we have to take goonsquad at plus money.

Two of North America’s top Dota 2 teams in TSM and Quincy Crew will clash on Wednesday in a crucial match that might decide which of the two squads will qualify for the upcoming Major. Last time out, TSM defeated Quincy Crew (1-0) in the DPC Tour 2 Division I tiebreakers; however, they lost the regular-season bout (1-2) just two days prior, on April 20.

Of the three meetings, TSM lead the head-to-head 2-1 but are just 4-3 up in maps won, so it’s not like TSM are a vastly superior team to Quincy Crew. Moreover, QC look much more stable now following the re-signing of Rodrigo “LESL?O” Santos and Arif “MSS” Anwar, who joined the team at the end of May, alongside former Team Secret, NiP, and Tundra Esports captain Adrian “Fata” Trinks.

TSM have been phenomenal this season, with a runner-up finish in DPC Tour 2 Div I and a silver medal from ESL One Stockholm 2022. But they were hardly better than Quincy Crew in April, yet they’re $1.44 favourites against an improved QC lineup. Quincy Crew at $2.62 are no-brainer pick.

Entity made the announcement via Twitter: “New Tour, New Carry. We’re excited to announce that Pure will be our new carry player. Welcome to the squad, Ivan ”

The 18-year-old was dismissed from his former team Virtus.pro after his actions resulted in their disqualification from the Eastern Europe Dota Pro Circuit Regional Finals.

Pure drew a “Z” symbol during a pause in a live match, which is known to be a militarist symbol used by the Russian government. The same has also been said to be used in campaigns that support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Although the symbol that was drawn on the mini map was quickly covered up by other Virtus.pro players, it was already spotted by commentators and viewers. A Ukrainian commentator immediately called for their ban.

“So this is what you get in game when you allow players from orgs that support the war in Ukraine to play in a tournaments,” Vitalii Volochai wrote on Twitter.

“Pure, Virtus Pro player, draws a Z symbol in game. Symbol that supports the war and Russian army killing Ukrainians.”

“They should be banned. Indefinetely.”

Regardless, Entity moved forward with his signing even though they were “fully aware of the PR nightmare”. The team needed someone to fill the void Remco “Crystallis” Arets left and, after looking through several options, decided Pure was the best fit.

According to Entity, the youngster was naive and did not have any ill-intent towards anyone, a conclusion they came to after conversations with Pure.

“We believe that the mistake he made was not small, but we also believe that it was not big enough for him to lose his potential Dota 2 career as an 18-year-old talent,” the team said in a statement.

“The team and the players made the decision to support and compete alongside Ivan, we stand behind him and hope the community can understand.”

Their actions have been met with heavy backlash in the Dota community. Many have pointed out that Pure has not shown any remorse since it happened, saying his statement following the incident was him trying to downplay his actions with no apology tendered.

Entity have also been called out for not focusing more on the people affected in the ongoing war but paying more attention to Pure’s talents. However, some have stood with the team, saying that it was a genuine mistake from a young man who probably did not know any better.

Virtus.pro’s decision to release Pure from their roster was solely at the organization’s discretion. Seeing as the disqualification was the only punishment doled out by the league organizers, the Russian was free to sign with any other team.

One thing is clear: Entity are looking to be as competitive as possible for the next tour regardless of the PR circus. They finished sixth in the WEU Tour 2, failing to qualify for the ESL One Stockholm 2022.

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Here are our picks for Tundra Esports vs Brame and OG vs Entity, with the best Dota 2 betting odds courtesy of the best esports betting sites online.

Brame enter their final match of the tour with a 2-4 record, which sits them in a tied-sixth spot, just above Entity and the relegation line. The Greeks are not in a perfect spot, but they have been getting wins they needed and are now just one short of securing another tour in the big league. However, even if Brame lose, Entity would need to defeat OG to eliminate Giorgos “SsaSpartan” Giannakopoulos and co. form the upper-division.

Tundra Esports could not deliver their last two outings against Team Liquid (1-2) and Gaimin Gladiators (1-2), which lost them an excellent opportunity to pass Team Secret in the standings and secure an early ticket for the Stockholm Major. But even though Tundra are now tied with Secret in fourth, Secret have no more games to play, meaning that Tundra only need to win this match, and they’re through.

Brame will want to win, so we expect a better showing from them; however, that’s not enough for us to side against Tundra. Admittedly, they weren’t too impressive in their last two outings, but Tundra are significantly stronger than Brame and should get it done. A three-map series is a possibility, so Tundra on the moneyline at $1.53 is the way to go.

Prediction: Tundra Esports to win – $1.53 @ GG Bet

Entity went 1-1 over the last week. They picked up a crucial win against Nigma Galaxy (2-0) but then suffered a close defeat against Team Secret (1-2) on Saturday, although we would argue that Entity should have won that series.

OG have been playing exceptionally well over the last month – like Europe’s strongest Dota 2 esports team. They enter this bout on a run of three 2-0 victories against Tundra Esports, Gamin Gladiators and Brame, and they’ve already demolished Nigma Galaxy (2-0) in the opening week.

With the form OG have been showing, it’s very tough to doubt them, and even though Entity are no slouches, we have no reason t believe they can win a map, let alone the series against the current hottest team in the Western European DPC.

Prediction: OG -1.5 maps – $2.09 at GG Bet

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Team Liquid woke up from their slumber on Tuesday when they defeated Entity (2-1) and secured their second victory of the Dota Pro Circuit Spring Tour. With that win, they should be safe from relegation, and if Liquid pull off a perfect 3-0 run, they might even find themselves in a race for a top-two finish.

Tundra Esports started the tour with a streak of three wins against Entity (2-1), Team Secret (2-0) and Nigma Galaxy (2-0) before they suffered a devastating loss against OG who beat them 2-1 on Saturday. We can assume Tundra will defeat Brame in the final week, which would get them to four wins, but that likely won’t be enough to claim the title.

However, a win against Team Liquid would almost guarantee Tundra a top-two finish and at least 240 DPC points. There’s a lot on the line for both teams, and even though Tundra have shown much more over the last few weeks, we wouldn’t expect them to stomp Liquid. We anticipate Tundra to win, but Liquid should be good for at least one map.

Nigma Galaxy suffered their fourth defeat of the Spring Tour against Glamin Gladiators (1-2) on Sunday, bringing their record down to 0-4, which puts them in danger of getting eliminated. Nigma Galaxy still need to play against Team Liquid and Team Secret next week, so their best chance to secure at least one win will come on Saturday when Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and his crew clash with Entity.

Entity have found themselves in a similar spot as Nigma Galaxy, having managed only one win this tour (1-3), and even that came against Brame (2-0) two weeks back. Still, Entity have shown many good qualities in their three-map series against Gladiators, Tundra, and Team Liquid, who beat them 2-1 on Tuesday in a very close series.

Entity have looked much better this tour, but we have to acknowledge that Nigma Galaxy need to win to avoid relegation, which should inspire better performance. A bet on Nigma in this spot doesn’t sound like a bad idea, but we’re getting solid odds on over 2.5 maps as a safer alternative.

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