The ESL One Manila Filipino qualifier took place in two phases. The first phase was seven weeks long and consisted of several local qualifiers all around the Philippines. Eight teams earned a slot in the closed qualifier, where four invited teams were waiting for them.
The invited teams were Mineski, TNC Pro Team, Execration and Extremist, all of whom got a bye in the first round of the closed qualifier This left the other eight teams having to battle it out among themselves for a slot in the quarterfinals.
The qualifier
All of of the qualifier matches except the final were best of three and ended with decisive 2-0 scores. Three out of four invited teams made it to the semifinals: Mineski, TNC and Execration, who were joined by winners of the Luzon qualifier Acion Arena. In the end, it was Mineski and TCN Pro Team who emerged victorious and met in the qualifier finals.
The qualifier final was a best of five and consisted of quick matches, with only one of them going slightly over 30 minutes. The series started out well for Mineski, who took the first game, but TCN made an immediate comeback by taking game two. The rest of the series belonged to Mineski, who took the next two games and the series 3-1.
Home crowd favorites
Mineski is a very well-known esports organization in the Philippines, and they will no doubt have the support of the home crowd in the Mall of Asia Arena. They are one of the top teams in their region and have also made appearances in the international scene, including participating in the Frankfurt Major last year.
Mineski finished second in their group with a 2-1 score and moved on to the upper bracket, where they fell to later finalists, Team Secret. They then moved to the lower bracket, where they had to face later Frankfurt Major champions OG. OG ended their run at the major with a 0-2 defeat.
Can Mineski be the hometown heroes?
There will be a lot of pressure on Mineski, with them being the only Filipino team to compete in ESL One Manila. Will the support of the enormous home crowd help them beat the odds and clinch the trophy? We’ll find out next month!
ESL One Manila takes place on April the 23rd and 24th at the Mall of Asia Arena in the Philippines. Tickets are still available so be sure to grab yours here!
For all the important information about the event, visit the ESL One Manila official website and follow ESL Dota 2 on Twitter and Facebook.