Having tournaments each week can be a little bit overwhelming both for players and the spectators alike.

Having said that though, the battle for the top eight places on the official leader board is becoming more and more intense as the season slowly comes to an end.

Road To The International 2018

There are still four more Majors to go. That means teams who find themselves in a unfavourable position could potentially bounce back and climb their way up the ranking. At DAC we witnesses an astonishing victory by Mineski which led to some major changes in the top eight. The SEA Powerhouse managed to get into the upper part of the bracket while Evil Geniuses Na’Vi dropped out of top eight.

When you look at the rankings, apart from Virtus.Pro who have already secured their TI 8 place, Team Liquid and Team Secret are pretty much there. Places 7th and 8th are heavily contested, mainly due to the little difference between the teams who are currently battling it out. These teams have to accumulate as many qualification points as possible from the upcoming Majors.

Currently, the StarLadder Season 5 is on, the second to last Minor of this pro circuit season. This tournament is really important for some teams, especially Na’Vi, who have to do whatever it takes to get at least a top 3 finish. This will put them neck to neck with EG, who are not taking part in this Minor.

LGD Gaming and VGJ.Thunder are also just a hundred points away from each other and are striving for a spot. They are currently in the top eight, where as Na’Vi are not. The Ukrainian team should be highly motivated going into this event, which means that they could be a winning bet option.

Current Top Teams

Virtus.Pro have not been added, because they have already qualified for TI 8.

• Team Liquid & Team Secret

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I am putting these two teams under one bullet point, because they are really close in terms of points and will most likely both secure their place at TI 8.

There is not really much to say about the skills and performance of both teams. Team Liquid and Team Secret are both considered to be one of the best teams in the world right now and they surely have what it takes to become the next (in Liquids’ case – yet again) TI champion.

We have seen many different tactics from the two world class captain’s – KuroKy and Puppey, but as we all know, the best tactics are surely saved for TI.

Can Team Liquid do the impossible and win two TI’s in a row? Will Team Secret finally climb to the top of the food chain? We are yet to see.

• Mineski

Mineski is definitely one of most interesting teams in the entire top eight. They went through hell and back but in the end it was all worth it – Mineski have won DAC. They picked up a great deal qualification points, which will surely help them on their journey to TI 8. The SEA Powerhouse is currently leading by 1k points ahead of the teams below giving them a somewhat comfortable lead.

Should they be confident?

With still four more Majors ahead of them, if they do not get any qualification points, this may well lead to a non top eight finish.

The thing with Mineski is inconsistently much like the Chinese teams. There are times where this team seem unstoppable! In other games they just look like another random team who is a filler for their EU rivals. However, we believe that Mineski will get some points in the upcoming tournaments and secure a precious top eight finish.

• Newbee & Vici Gaming

Similar to their EU rivals, the two Chinese giants are super close to each other. Both need to get the most out of the upcoming tournaments.

Newbee is probably the more interesting team out of the two because of the situation they were in. Sccc and co. managed to win two Minor’s and got some nice placing in other tournaments. Sadly they missed out on qualification points.

Vici Gaming, on the other hand, are also a team inconsistent in their performance. This is why they find themselves in the current standing. We still remember their incredible dominance at the ESL One Katowice, despite loosing in the end against VP.

Both Chinese teams will most likely be able to secure their places but they task in hand will be challenging.

• LGD Gaming

LGD Gaming have been around for some time now and considered one of the top Chinese teams. Their most recent success is achieving second place at DAC. Many people considered them as the underdogs but they have managed to prove them wrong. Now sitting in the 7th place of the official ranking.

Their situation is the similar to that of VGJ.Thunder. LGD needs to step up their game and show the world that DAC was not just a one-time thing.

In my humble opinion, they will most likely succeed and secure themselves that precious TI spot.

• VGJ.Thunder

Thunder are probably the most surprising team out of all, currently in the top eight.

VGJ.Thunder were considered to be just another random Chinese team. They have proven many times now that they are definitely a force to be reckoned with.

We guess it was bad luck finishing second two tournaments in a row – The Bucharest Major and the GESC Indonesia Minor.

However, they picked up got some qualification points which currently ranks them at the last spot. Having said that, they have a hard task ahead. EG, Na’Vi and Fnatic are close behind and every single mistake could be fatal at this time of the pro circuit season.

If VGJ want to secure their spot for TI 8 they need to step up their game and either win or at least get a higher placement at some of the upcoming tournaments.

Final thoughts

The ranking will most likely change but the overall the teams who have a chance of going to TI are the same.

We are yet to see if there will be any major changes. Be sure to watch the upcoming tournaments, because there will be a lot of intense moments which always guarantee a good experience for the viewer.

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