TI10: South American surprise as SG Esports qualify for The International 10

Brazilian team SG Esports have qualified for The International 10 (TI10) after they defeated Peru's Team Unknown, 3-1, in the grand finals of the South American qualifier on Sunday (27 June) to cap off a dominant run where they only lost a total of two games.

Not many expected SG Esports and Team Unknown to be the ones in the finals of TI10's South American qualifier, as they were only the sixth and seventh-placed teams in Season 2 of the regional league.

However, SG Esports defied expectations as they lost only one game on their way to their showdown with Unknown. They defeated fellow Brazilian squad BINOMISTAS, 2-1, in the first round before scoring back-to-back sweeps over Peruvian teams EGOBOYS and Infinity to claim their spot in the grand finals.

Meanwhile, Unknown defeated fellow Peruvian squad Hokori in the first round before getting knocked down to the lower bracket by Infinity. They then tore through BINOMISTAS, top-seeded team NoPing Esports, and Infinity to earn the right to challenge SG Esports in the grand finals for a spot at TI10.

Unknown started the series strong with a 37-minute victory in game one, with carry player Christian “Angel” Savina on Spectre and support player Nicolás “Wij” Moreno on Lina notably combining for 25 kills against just three deaths.

SG Esports then stormed back into the series in game two behind a show-stopping performance from carry player Guilherme “Costabile” Costábile on Slark, who had a game-high 17 kills against just two deaths in just under 49 minutes of action to tie up the series, 1-1.

SG Esports outlasted Unknown in a 57-minute marathon in a pivotal game three behind another excellent showing from their carry player. Costabile's carry Axe notched a series-high 19 kills against four deaths and even finished the game with almost 50,000 net worth, almost 20,000 gold up the next hero in the net worth chart, to give SG Esports a commanding 2-1 series lead.

Unknown were determined to force the finals to a game five as they looked dominant early into game four. However, SG Esports were able to weather the storm to take the game late and claim the 4-1 series victory. Otávio Gabriel “Tavo” Silva on Timbersaw led the way with a game-high 14 kills, while Costabile on Medusa added nine kills of his own against just one death, as SG Esports punched their ticket to TI10.

SG Esports even managed to capture their team's reactions as they earned their spot in this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament.

With their victory, SG Esports has become the 14th team to earn a spot in TI10 after Team Spirit won the Eastern Europe/CIS qualifier. Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses, PSG.LGD, Virtus.pro, Quincy Crew, T1, Vici Gaming, Team Secret, Team Aster, Alliance, Beastcoast, and Thunder Predator have already earned direct invites to the tournament.

TI10's regional qualifiers will continue with its second stage from 30 June to 3 July, with North America and Southeast Asia determining their final representatives in the tournament followed by Europe and China from 7 to 10 July.

Valve announced on Thursday (8 July) that the event would be moved from August to October and pulled out of Stockholm, Sweden, after it failed to get recognition as an 'elite sporting event'. TI10's Group Stage will now be held in Bucharest, Romania from 7 to 10 October followed by the Main Event from 12 to 17 October, where the 18 participating teams will be fighting to claim the coveted Aegis of Champions and the lion's share of a massive US$40 million prize pool.

Line-ups:

SG Esports:

1. Guilherme “Costabile” Costábile

2. Adriano “4dr” Machado

3. Otávio Gabriel “Tavo” Silva

4. Thiago “Thiolicor” Cordeiro

5. Matheus “KJ” Diniz

Team Unknown:

1. Christian “Angel” Savina

2. Sebastian “Robo-Z” Cerralta

3. Rafael “Sacred” Yonatan

4. Nicolás “Wij” Moreno

5. Sergio “Prada” Toribio

Read also:

Predictions: Which teams will make it to TI10 from the regional qualifiers?

TI10 preview: The teams to watch in the regional qualifiers

Alliance's Loda slams government's 'stab in the back' as Valve pull TI10 out of Sweden

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