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Team Spirit Secures A Phase Two Spot At The International 2023
The first day of The International 2023 has come to a close, and it was a day filled with bloodbaths and upsets.
Nonetheless, Team Spirit overcame the day’s obstacles and guaranteed themselves a spot at the Phase Two stage of the tournament, the first team to do so at TI12..
Smells Like Team Spirit
Team Spirit improved tremendously in their tournament performances leading up to The International 2023. They took home The Riyadh Masters 2023 trophy and DreamLeague Season 21 title before the start of the prestigious tournament. The back-to-back LAN title is an indication that they had found their footing.
Credits: Valve
At the tournament, the team continued this impressive momentum, making them the frontrunner by the end of day 1. They dominated their opening series against 9Pandas and won their following series against Team SMG and Entity.
Team Spirit only has one series left in the group stage against Evil Geniuses. Regardless of the outcome of that series, the team has already secured a spot in phase two before advancing to the main stage.
Other Results
Credits: Twitter.@LGDgaming
Shadowing Team Spirit’s results is LGD Gaming in Group C with two wins. Team Liquid is leading Group B with two wins and one tie. Tundra Esports is leading Group D with the same results as Team Liquid.
Credits: Twitter.@teamliquiddota
On the other hand, one of the favourites for the tournament, Gaimin Gladiators, the three-time major champions, had an unexpected day. The team lost to LGD in their opening series, but they took the following series against Virtus Pro. However, another upset happened in their final day series, with Nouns tying the series against them.
Struggles for SEA
In The International 2023, the Western European team pioneered the meta, and teams from the SEA region struggled to keep up. Only two teams, Team SMG and Talon Esports, represented the SEA region in the tournament. However, both teams will likely be eliminated at the end of the group stages.
Despite having a former TI Champion as a stand-in, Team SMG is currently at the bottom of Group A with one tie and two losses. Talon Esports is also at the bottom of Group D with two losses. Team SMG is on the brink of elimination, and Talon must win their upcoming series to stay in the tournament.
Other Details
Credits: Valve
At the end of day 1, the most contested heroes at The International 2023 were Kunkka and Muerta. Kunkka got contested in 18 matches and had a 38.89% win rate, while Muerta got contested in 19 matches and had a 73.68% win rate. There was also a bug incident during a match between Azure Ray and Thunder Awaken, causing Valve to release an update and restart the match. Azure Ray ends up taking the series. The group stage will end on 15th October.
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Featured Image Source: Valve
