3 teams invited to The International 2021 after AniMajor wins

UPDATE: The full list of direct invitees to The International 2021 has been confirmed, check our full coverage.

The WePlay AniMajor will ultimately finalize the 12 invitees to The International 2021, but fans won’t have to wait until the tournament’s end to know some of the new entrants to the tournament.

With the first round of the AniMajor playoffs’ upper bracket now done, 3 more teams have mathematically secured a spot in TI10. The list includes T1, Quincy Crew, and PSG.LGD. With that, the list of teams that has qualified for The International 2021 includes:

• T1
• PSG.LGD
• Virtus.pro
• Evil Geniuses
• Invictus Gaming
• Team Secret
• Quincy Crew

That locks up seven of the available invites to The International 2021 with just five spots now remaining. The likes of Alliance, Vici Gaming, and Team Nigma are all still alive in the tournament and are hoping to earn a spot in the event. Others such as beastcoast, Thunder Predator, and OB Esports x Neon are in position for a spot in The International 2021, but need some of the contenders to get picked off in the AniMajor playoffs in order to guarantee a spot.

Quincy Crew, PSG.LGD qualifying for TI10 is no surprise

The qualification of Quincy Crew and PSG.LGD is no surprise, but T1’s qualification is a major shakeup. 

Quincy Crew and PSG.LGD were on the cusp of qualifying for the major and only needed to place in the top eight of the AniMajor in order to mathematically secure a spot at The International 2021. Even if they didn’t place inside the top eight, there was a strong chance that Quincy Crew would’ve earned a spot in TI10 based on its success in league play while PSG.LGD would’ve gotten in on its third-place finish in the ONE Esports Singapore Major.

That said, T1 locking up a spot in The International 2021 is a major coup. The team was lined up for an invitation to The International 10 thanks to its first-place finish in the second cycle of the PGL Southeast Asian league, but was on the cusp of being forced out. 

The team got no favors in terms of the bracket, being placed against top Chinese seed Team Aster. Despite that, T1 showed that its strong run in Southeast Asia was no fluke as it scored 2-0 sweep with a pair of stomps.

That earned T1 a guaranteed 300 points from the major to bring the team’s total on the season up to 970. That cements the team a spot in The International 10 and ensures that it doesn’t get forced out of the top 12 of the standings by a squad like Team Nigma or Vici Gaming.

Who is going to TI10?

12 teams remain in the AniMajor playoffs and among them, five have secured spots in The International 2021. The other seven still need to survive for varying lengths of time in order to qualify.

Alliance and Team Aster are both positioned to receive an invitation to TI10 but need to win a lower bracket match in order to guarantee it. Vici Gaming and NoPing e-sports could earn a spot in TI10 by winning one lower bracket match, but need to win two in order to guarantee an invitation. TNC Predator, Team Spirit, and Team Nigma have a chance of qualifying for TI10, but will need to reach the finals in order to guarantee a spot.

With those seven teams fighting for five spots in TI10, it’s guaranteed that not all of them will be able to qualify. Some will earn spots while others are forced out as the WePlay AniMajor continues.