The group stage of The International is over with two teams having already been eliminated from the tournament.
Those placing 5th-8th in each group now have one last chance to prove that they are worthy to remain on this stage in a unforgiving best-of-one format.
Arguably the most unpredictable format, we are likely to see plenty of drama and unconventional strategies. Here are the four match-ups which will kick off the Main Event’s Lower Bracket:
Fnatic (5th Group A) v Team Serenity (8th Group B)
Dafabet odds:
Fnatic 1.645
Team Serenity 2.270
With the talent that they have in their team, Fnatic were considered one of those capable of challenging the favourites with a spot in the Upper Bracket looking a realistic goal.
They weren’t far from it, but the team drew too many games and with one win, five draws and two losses (7-9), Fnatic will now face Team Serenity.
The South-East Asia team demonstrated scintillating Dota, as well as head-scratching mistakes – the 37-1 win against Team Liquid will remain in the annals of TI as one of the most emphatic.
Fnatic’s weakness is themselves – they tend to lose games when far ahead via questionable decision-making which makes them a team who can lose against anyone.
On the other hand, not much was expected of Team Serenity and while the team drew some comparisons with the former Wings Gaming due to their unconventional line-ups, they eventually ended up towards the bottom of their group.
The Chinese team were definitely not a punching bag though and actually achieved the same record as Fnatic – one win, five draws and two losses (7-9). Serenity drew against Team Secret and Virtus.pro and hardly looked big outsiders.
Serenity are hard to predict, run unorthodox heroes and best-of-one is the domain where these attributes give them a serious advantage. Fnatic will need to be alert, because Serenity are more than capable of pulling off an upset here.
TNC Predator (6th Group B) v Mineski (7th Group A)
Dafabet odds:
TNC 1.847
Mineski 1.970
The second pairing offers an all-SEA clash.
Mineski were expected to do a lot better in this tournament after they finished 5th in the DPC rankings and even won a Major – the DAC Championship 2018 against PSG.LGD in China.
However, Mushi’s boys only scored one win in the group stage, also claiming three draws and suffering four losses for a 5-12 overall record. Subsequently they were just one game away from having to play an elimination tie-break.
Their only win was against Winstrike Team, while TNC Predator’s performance was much more impressive.
TNC drew Virtus.pro and scored a total of two victories – against Vici Gaming and Upper Bracket OpTic Gaming – three draws and three losses to achieve 6th spot in their group (7-9). The Filipino team were only a game away from playing a tie-break for the Upper Bracket placements.
TNC’s strongest trait is their resilience and ability to come back in the game in the later stages. The team became the first to win twice having conceded Mega Creeps against Team Serenity.
TNC look the better-prepared team, but Mineski should not be written off, as they have proven that they can be a top team.
Newbee (5th Group B) v Team Winstrike (8th Group A)
Dafabet odds:
Newbee 1.571
Winstrike 2.430
Despite their unconvincing performance throughout the season, Newbee secured a direct invitation to TI8 after finishing 7th in the DPC rankings.
As such, expectations for them were that they would make it to the Upper Bracket. However, last year’s TI finalists fell just short of that after playing a tie-break with Team Secret and OpTic Gaming and losing both games.
The positives from the group stage were the victories against Team Secret and TNC Predator, alongside two draws, while three losses shaped up a final score of 8-8.
Winstrike are one of the debutants in TI and were surrounded by a lot of hype coming into the tournament given with their performance in EPICENTER XL earlier this season. This time, however, the Russian team did not win a single game against the top teams, losing against PSG.LGD, Team Liquid, EG and Mineski, and with a total of one win, two draws and five losses (4-12), they had to play a tie-break for their survival.
Luckily, it was iG they had to play against and having scored their only win in the group stage against them, Winstrike repeated the trick to secure a Lower-Bracket placement.
Newbee are far more experienced and seem to have better talent at their disposal. However, the best-of-one format works in favour of Winstrike.
VGJ.Thunder (6th Group A) vs Vici Gaming (7th Group B)
Dafabet odds:
VGJ.Thunder 2.280
Vici Gaming 1.645
The two Chinese sister teams will bid to eliminate each other from the tournament.
Vici Gaming are another team to have underperformed in this tournament so far. Qualifying directly to TI (6th spot in DPC), the Chinese powerhouse were expected to secure a placement in the Upper Bracket.
The team scored two wins (one of them notably over Virtus.pro), drew three, as well as losing three (7-9 overall). They will need to bring their ‘A’ game from the match against Virtus.pro to be able to make further progress. Ori seems the man for the big games right now and he needs to shine.
VGJ.Thunder were something of a question mark before the tournament – they had some impressive performances throughout the DPC season, garnished with disappointments but enough to squeeze them through with direct qualification.
The team, however, could not make the top eight here with two victories (against the last two teams in the group Winstrike and iG), two draws and four losses (6-10) and deservedly will fight for survival in the Lower Bracket. VGJ.Thunder demonstrated good decision making and buyback management in clutch moments which could prove their trump card.
This is another difficult one to predict, especially giving it is between players belonging to the same organisation, who presumably know each other rather well. Still, Vici Gaming might have a slight edge in this one – that’s certainly what the odds suggest.
