TI11 preview: Can Beastcoast lead South America to greatness?
The International 11 (TI11), this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, will feature some of the best teams in the world from each of the game's six competitive regions, including South America.
No other team has carried the banner of South America farther than the players of Beastcoast — Héctor "K1" Rodríguez, Jean "Chris Luck" Gonzales, Adrián "Wisper" Dobles, Elvis "Scofield" Peña, and Steven "Stinger" Vargas.
Back in TI9, the squad played under Infamous and finished in the Top 8 — the best finish for any South American team at any TI ever.
The roster signed with Beastcoast shortly after TI8 and have become a fixture in international competitions, a reminder to teams from other regions not to underestimate South America.
But can Beastcoast become more than just a dark horse and deliver South America its first-ever Aegis of Champions at TI11?
True to their name, Beastcoast are making waves
After being one of the darlings of TI9, Beastcoast's roster had an underwhelming showing in TI10.
The team barely missed out on an upper bracket berth in the Main Event and were knocked out in the first round of the lower bracket by Alliance.
Beastcoast's 13th-16th finish in TI10 stung, and many begun thinking that the roster's run at TI8 was just a fluke.
The team's performance during the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season would prove otherwise.
The team continued to be one of the best squads in South America, finishing the Winter Tour regional league in third place but winning the Regional Finals. They then finished second in the Spring and Summer Tour regional leagues, which earned them spots in the season's two Majors.
Beastcoast proved their worth against international competition, causing scoring huge upsets over some big names en route to Top 6 finishes in both the ESL One Stockholm Major and the PGL Arlington Major.
At Stockholm, Beastcoast were the bane of Eastern European teams, as they knocked out TI10 champions Team Spirit and BetBoom Team.
At Arlington, the South Americans eliminated Southeast Asia's Fnatic and another Eastern European powerhouse in Outsiders to secure their direct invite to TI11.
Can Beastcoast make another deep run at TI11?
Beastcoast's roster proved South American teams were worthy of playing in Dota 2's biggest stage back in TI9.
But for TI11, they now need to prove their region can also rise to greatness.
One thing that Beastcoast have over every other team at TI11 is roster continuity. The five players on the team are currently the longest-lasting five-man roster in the scene, as they have been playing together since July 2019, while still on Infamous.
All those years playing together has made Beastcoast one of the best teams in the world.
What they may lack in talent, they make up for with impeccable teamwork and coordination. These five players know their teammates and how to play around each other very well.
It's why they have been such a lower bracket menace during the Stockholm and Arlington Majors. They may have faced teams with better players, but they were still the better team, especially in high-pressure elimination matches.
But that doesn't mean that Beastcoast's players are slouches.
K1 is still considered one of the best farming carries in the world — leave this guy alone to free farm at your own risk. Chris Luck and Wisper compliment their carry's skillset very well, as they are very aggressive cores that will wreak havoc all across the map to make space for K1 to farm.
Scofield is an underrated position 4 support player, excelling on playmaking heroes like Tiny, Clockwerk, and Earth Spirit to help his team secure farm for K1.
Meanwhile, Stinger is a reliable position 5, always ready to tank ganks for K1 or join his other teammates in causing chaos to make space.
Despite their underwhelming showing at TI10, Beastcoast have shown they still have what it takes to cause huge upsets and go on a deep run, as evident at the Stockholm and Arlington Majors.
While they are one of the dark horses at TI11, don't be surprised if they end up knocking out your favourite team in the lower bracket.
Whether they can go beyond the Top 8 and bring South America to greatness, however, remains to be seen.
Beastcoast are one of the 12 teams to receive a direct invite to TI11 out of a total of 30 participants. They will be one of the 20 teams to start in the Group Stage alongside the other directly-invited teams, the six winners of the regional qualifiers, and the two winners of the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ).
TI11 will be hosted in Singapore from 8 to 30 October and features a revamped format with the new LCQ and a longer schedule. For everything you need to know about TI11, check here.
Beastcoast roster:
Héctor "K1" Rodríguez
Jean "Chris Luck" Gonzales
Adrián "Wisper" Dobles
Elvis "Scofield" Peña
Steven "Stinger" Vargas
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