HappyFeet draws first blood; secures first Southeast Asian Major qualifier for the 2017-2018 Dota 2 season
Despite Mineski’s dominant run in securing two Minor tournament qualifiers (PGL Bucharest and Starladder Season 3), HappyFeet will be the first Southeast Asian (SEA) team to book a ticket for a Major in the new Dota 2 season.
On Sunday, Sept. 24, HappyFeet bested Clutch Gamers 3:0 to qualify for the ESL ONE Hamburg 2017. The tournament is the first Major of the newly rolled out competitive circuit for Dota 2.
The team will face directly invited teams like Team Liquid, The International 2017 champions and TI 7 runner-ups Newbee.
A balanced SEA
Prior to the tournament, Mineski had been an unstoppable force in the region, taking clean victories to qualify for PGL Bucharest and Starladder.
But an early exit in the playoffs for ESL ONE Hamburg to Fnatic ended their streak and set the stage for a new team to bag the much coveted Major spot.
HappyFeet were invited into the qualifier on a Tier 2 invite, seeding them directly into the Round-of-8. The team defeated WG.Unity (2:1), and Fire Dragoon (2:0) on the way to routing Clutch Gamers.
Clutch Gamers’ path brought them across TNC Pro Team (2:0) and Fnatic (2:1).
ESL One Hamburg will take place on October 28-29 2017 at the Barclaycard Arena. Eight teams will fight for the one million dollar prize pool and precious qualifier points towards The International 2018.
HappyFeet Roster:
Rafael “Rapy” Sicat Palo
Benhur “Benhur” Lawis
Jayjay “Yaj” Garan
Julius “Julz” De Leon
Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco
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