SA Qualifiers Day 3: Keyd Stars and Acatsuki Will Fight For a Slot At The International

The third day of the South American Qualifiers has ended. Keep in mind that there are two slots up for grabs for the South American region, and the first team to qualify for The International will be determined tomorrow!

Thunder Awaken 1-2 Keyd Stars

Thunder Awaken was favored coming into this vital series against Keyd Stars.

In the first game, Thunder Awaken went with a surprise last-pick Meepo in the hands of Slatem$. However, the last pick didn't bother Keyd Stars too much as they still made the game competitive. After a grueling 51 minutes and a Rapier on Smiling Knight's Gyrocopter, Thunder Awaken could finally win the game to lead the series.

Still, Keyd Stars bounced back by taking the second game convincingly after stealing the Gyrocopter pick for themselves.

Thunder Awaken decided to take the Gyro in the decider game, but Costabile and 4nalog had utterly free games and could carry Keyd Stars to the win, where both cores ended the game with zero deaths.

Keyd Stars is one win away from making it to The International, while Thunder Awaken must redeem themselves in the Lower Bracket.

Acatsuki 2-1 Infinity Esports

The second Upper Bracket match of the day featured Acatsuki and Infinity Esports.

The first two games weren't too interesting, as both teams took turns stomping the other to keep the series at a tied score.

However, we did have an intense Game 3. It was a fierce carry-to-carry matchup, with Kotaro's Phantom Assassin competing against Lumiere's Terrorblade in a 60+ minute game. Multiple Divine Rapiers were purchased, but in the end, Acatsuki emerged victorious.

Acatsuki will play against Keyd Stars for the first South American slot at Dota 2's biggest stage, while Infinity Esports is sent down to an elimination match.

Lava Esports 1-2 Mad Kings

Moving on to the Lower Bracket, Lava Esports was tasked to play against Mad Kings. Lava Esports stomped the first game but lost the second one to keep the series level.

The series' third game was dominated by Adrian's Gyrocopter, who was too farmed for Lava Esports to deal with.

Mad Kings took the series 2-1 to eliminate Lava Esports and continue their Lower Bracket run.

Qhali 2-1 Universitario Esports

The final match of the day was Qhali playing against Universitario Esports. If we recall from yesterday, both teams pulled off massive upsets against Infamous and NoPing, respectively. Keep in mind that Qhali went 1-6 in Division II.

All three games were heavily action-packed, and both teams were constantly taking fights. It was an entertaining series, where Qhali came out on top to send Universitario out of the qualifiers and move on.

Updated Brackets

The South American Qualifiers is concluding, and two TI slots are on the line. Here are the remaining teams in the qualifier.

Either Acatsuki or Keyd Stars will book their flights to Seattle after their matchup tomorrow, so stay tuned for that!