The worst possible outcome ensues for SEA teams on the first day of Bali Major as they net zero wins in their home turf.

It has been a difficult year of Dota for Southeast Asian (SEA) teams and their fans. With nothing to show for besides a third place finish by Talon Esports at Lima Major, SEA is perhaps the weakest region in 2023. Bali Major is the last chance for the SEA region to turn things around for the better. Unfortunately, the first day of the group stage on June 29 went awry with SEA teams netting zero wins.

Both Execration and Blacklist International conceded 2-0s today to Invictus Gaming and Team Liquid respectively. Worse, Bleed Esports lost two series to Quest Esports and PSG LGD. The region as a whole went a grand total of 0-8 on the opening day of Bali Major. As it stands, all SEA teams are sitting at the bottom of the group stage standings.

The SEA struggle

Currently, Talon Esports is the only SEA team that will likely secure direct placement at The International 2023 (TI12). Even so, there is still a small chance that they might not make it depending on how Bali Major goes. Since they are not in the tournament, Talon is stuck with their 1,120 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points. The current DPC standings show that the cutoff for direct TI12 invite is at 760 points with BetBoom Team on the line. Assuming BetBoom exits early, Execration and Bleed need to get at least a 7th-8th place finish to even have a chance for an invite. Blacklist, on the other hand, has to secure fourth place.

These predictions have not considered results by Team Aster, nouns and Invictus Gaming which could affect how things play out. Either way, all SEA teams face a worrisome situation in securing their spots for TI12. In fact, there is a possibility that no SEA teams will receive direct invites to TI12. This will occur if all SEA teams at Bali Major do not meet their minimum placement requirements while Team Aster and nouns reach grand finals.

Bali Major Results and Effect on DPC Standings

The following table estimates where each team at Bali Major (excluding Talon Esports and TSM) will end up on the DPC ranking based on the tournament results. Data by Liquipedia.

Teams
Current
DPC Points
7th-8th
5th-6th
4th
3rd
2nd
1st
Team Liquid
1600
1900
2000
2050
2100
2150
2200
Gaimin Gladiators
1540
1840
1940
1990
2040
2090
2140
Evil Geniuses
1470
1770
1870
1920
1970
2020
2070
Shopify Rebellion
1170
1470
1570
1620
1670
1720
1770
Tundra Esports
1160
1460
1560
1610
1660
1710
1760
Talon Esports
1120
1120
1120
1120
1120
1120
1120
9Pandas
1096
1396
1496
1546
1596
1646
1696
Team Spirit
1020
1320
1420
1470
1520
1570
1620
TSM
900
900
900
900
900
900
900
PSG.LGD
884
1184
1284
1334
1384
1434
1484
beastcoast
800
1100
1200
1250
1300
1350
1400
BetBoom Team
760
1060
1160
1210
1260
1310
1360
Execration
740
1040
1140
1190
1240
1290
1340
Team Aster
608
908
1008
1058
1108
1158
1208
nouns
580
880
980
1030
1080
1130
1180
Bleed Esports
500
800
900
950
1000
1050
1100
Invictus Gaming
460
760
860
910
960
1010
1060
Blacklist International
380
680
780
830
880
930
980
Quest Esports
232
532
632
682
732
782
832
Azure Ray
100
400
500
550
600
650
700

Still a lot of games left for SEA to turn things around at Bali Major

Bali Major may look bleak for SEA fans right now. However, it is only the first day of Bali Major. There are plenty of games left to be played and SEA teams still have plenty opportunity to rally and get some wins in. So don't lose hope just yet!

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