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The International 2023 Finals Weekend: Schedule and Predictions
The International 2023 Finals Weekend is soon underway after a grueling two weeks of play. This year features a new format and a schedule favouring North American and European audiences. As the prestigious tournament unfolded, the audience were treated to some of the most unexpected results throughout the season.
From Shopify Rebellion's early exit to Nouns making it to the finals weekend, the matches were full of unexpected turns and twists, an exciting event for all fans.
Teams from Eastern Europe took the lead for the finals weekend, while South American and Southeast Asian teams got eliminated from the tournament. [twitter url="https://twitter.com/Team__Spirit/status/1716743637285929018"]
Four teams remaing in the upper bracket, and four in the lower. The upper-bracket teams have a safety net because even if they lose the upcoming series, they still have a shot through the lower bracket. Here’s a schedule of the upcoming matches and our predictions as The International 2023 finals weekend starts soon.
Team Spirit vs Team Liquid - October 28, 11 p.m. GMT
The Riyadh Masters 2023 grand finals rematch will keep every fan on their toes. In their first encounter, Liquid made Spirit bleed, but it wasn’t enough, as Team Spirit won three consecutive matches and took the Riyadh Masters 2023 trophy.
Credits: Twitter/@Gamers8
Moreover, Spirit had been unstoppable since that tournament. They won DreamLeague Season 21 after the Riyadh Masters, and in the group stage of The International 2023, they didn’t drop a single series.
However, Virtus Pro sneaked a game off them at the upper bracket series, but Spirit came back strong in games 2 and 3, sending their opponents to the lower bracket.
Unlike their opponents, Team Liquid had consistent results throughout the season. Always coming in second place, the team was a win away from lifting a trophy at LANs.
At The International 2023, the team topped their groups. After their seeding decider series, Liquid took a clean series against Talon Esports in their first upper bracket series.
This upper bracket series is a must-watch for the tournament. Both teams are at their peak form. However, Team Liquid occasionally has trouble finishing games, and Team Spirit, being a tenacious team, will take the opportunity when it presents itself.
Strafe Esports Predictions: Team Spirit takes the series 2-1.
LGD Gaming VS Azure Ray - October 28, 2 a.m GMT
This upper bracket is a must-see series for new fans and people following the Chinese Dota 2 scene.
Credits: Twitter.@LGDgaming
On one hand, we have LGD Gaming. Despite revamping their roster, LGD continued to dominate their region. However, the team struggled in LANs, but at TI12, the team topped their groups and took a dominant series against Keyd Stars. They also took another clean series in the first upper bracket match against 9 Pandas.
Credits: Twitter.@TheEveileb
On the other, we have Azure Ray. The team might be a new name for many fans, but the team consists of former LGD Gaming players, precisely, the 2018-2019 era LGD Gaming ones, such as Lu "Somnus" Yao, Xu "Fy" Linsen and Yang "Chalice" Shenyi.
They only played one DPC tour for the season and made it to TI12 through the qualifiers. The team did well in the group stages and took a dominant decider series against Entity. They took another clean series in their first upper bracket series against Nouns.
Although LGD has solid performance, Azure has more experienced players. However, Azure Ray had to dictate the game’s tempo for the match to be in their favour.
Strafe Esports Prediction: Azure takes the series 2-0.
Nouns Vs Gaimin Gladiators - October 27, 5 p.m GMT
This particular lower bracket series can be either the most unexpected or one-sided match of TI12.
Credits: Twitter. @nounsesports
Nouns had been making waves at the tournament. They did well in the group stage and took a clean series against Tundra Esports in the seeding decider series. Although they lost their upper bracket series against Azure Ray, they survived for the finals weekend by eliminating TSM in the lower bracket. By doing so, Nouns became the last team in the tournament to represent North America.
Gaimin Gladiators, on the other hand, had consistent top-place finishes, securing multiple trophies throughout the season.
However, at the seeding decider series, they fell short against Talon Esports, which puts them in the lower bracket. The team dominated their lower-bracket series to make it to the finals weekend.
Although Gaimin Gladiators are the sure favourite for this series, people like to see underdogs triumph. Nouns also showed they can create upsets, and an upset against Gaimin Gladiators will be noticed at TI12.
Strafe Esports Predictions: Gaimin Gladiators will take the series 2-0.
BetBoom Team Vs Virtus Pro - October 28, 8 p.m GMT
This Eastern Europe inter-regional consists of several high-profile players from the region.
BetBoom Team had a mixed performance in the DPC Season. However, they managed to secure a solid position in the group stage at TI12. Unfortunately, they lost the seeding decider series against their regional rivals, 9 Pandas, which landed them in the lower bracket.
The team consists of a former TI champion and promising talent from the region. They defeated Keyd Stars and Talon Esports in the lower bracket to make it to the finals weekend.
Credits: Valve
Virtus Pro, on the other hand, came from the TI qualifiers and barely scraped by in the groups. However, they won their seeding decider series against TSM, which put them in the upper bracket series. They took a game against Team Spirit, who were undefeated. Unfortunately, Spirit knocked them down to the lower bracket. They had to go through Entity to make it to the finals weekend.
The two teams will test each other to the limit, but the BetBoom Team's experience gives them an advantage in the series.
Strafe Esports Predictions: BetBoom Team takes the series 2-1.
The finals weekend will start on October 27 at the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. If you disagree with our predictions or have better picks for The International 2023 finals weekend, let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Source: Twitter. @wykrhm
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