Dota 2: Team India Qualifies for Asian Championship Finals

The Indian Dota 2 team has qualified for the Asian Championship finals, after defeating the teams of Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan in the South Asian Qualifiers.

Team India’s sights are now set on the Asian Championship LAN finals, which are scheduled to take place in Riyadh between July 10 to July 17.

In the South Asian Qualifiers, the last team that India played against was Nepal. India took on Nepal in the best of 3 finals; however, only two matches were enough for the team to secure the victory. Team India won with a score of 34-27 and 36-34.

In the opening days of the competition, India battled against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who they beat 54-12 and 47-24, respectively. They then went on to defeat Nepal and Bangladesh in best of 1 matches with 47-24 and 40-16 scores, respectively.

The Indian Dota 2 team consisted of the following members:

1. Manav “mnz” Kunte (skipper)
2. Vishal “HBK” Vernekar
3. Abhishek “Abhi-” Yadav
4. Shahbaz “PinkMaN” Hussain
5. Krish “Krish`” Gupta
6. Jaikishan “KaEL” Malik (substitute)

Some might not know, but Vishal and Abhishek were also part of the Dota 2 team that brought the bronze medal for Dota 2 at the Commonwealth Esports Championships 2022.

“We came into the South Asian qualifiers with the goal of proving ourselves in the region and we are proud to have achieved that,” said Kunte, who is the Indian Dota 2 team’s captain. “Defeating all the teams from the region with stunning performances and securing our spot in the Asian Championship is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and unity of our team. We are now ready to face the best teams in Asia, and earn the spot to represent India at the 15th World Esports Championships.”

Now the team’s entire focus has turned towards the Asian Championship Finals, where they will fight against teams representing Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Mongolia, Australia, Jordan, Myanmar, and Saudi Arabia. Qualifying here would mean a guaranteed spot at the 15th World Esports Championships, which take place between August 24 and September 4, 2023 at Iasi.

Furthermore, the Dota 2 team is not the only Indian team that has qualified for the Asian Championship finals, as the male and female CS:GO teams have also managed to secure spots at the event. Also, Tekken 7 player Abhinav Tejan and eFootball player Ibrahim Gulrez have already secured their qualification at the 15th WEC, where 130 countries will be taking part to secure the biggest chunk out of the Rs. 4.12 crore prize pool.