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The third day of Dota 2's The International 2023 group stage matchups witnessed thrilling gameplay and unexpected upsets. Team Spirit continued their dominance with an undefeated streak while advancing to the upper bracket. Meanwhile, Gaimin Gladiators, two-time major winners, found themselves relegated to the lower bracket after losing to Talon Esports, the powerhouse from the SEA region.
In a surprising turn of events, reigning champions Tundra suffered a clean sweep defeat at the hands of nouns, while Arteezy's Shopify Rebellion were also relegated to the lower bracket.
With intense matchups and dramatic team fights, the third day proved to be an eventful one. Here's a closer look at some major highlights from the final group stage of Dota 2's The International 2023.
Shopify Rebellion, TSM, Evil Geniuses, Gaimin Gladiators, Keyd Stars, BetBoom, Tundra, and Entity dropped to the lower bracket of Dota 2 TI12
1) Larl's Rampage in the final group stage of Dota 2 TI12
Larl, the new midlaner for TI10 champions Team Spirit, showcased his value in the final group stage match against Shopify Rebellion, whom they also faced in the Dream League Season 21 finals.
In the first game of the TI12 matchup, Team Spirit had Enchantress, Kunkka, Skywrath Mage, Troll Warlord, and Barathrum, while Shopify Rebellion picked Earth Spirit, Phoenix, Tusk, Dawnbreaker, and Terrorblade.
Shopify's Tusk and Dawnbreaker drew first blood and an early Aegis. Team Spirit, led by Yatoro's Troll Warlord and Larl's Kunkka, staged a comeback, claiming victory in the first game.
The second game was a different scene altogether for Team Spirit, with their aggressive lineup comprising Enchantress, Barathrum, Puck, Grimstroke, and Wraith King, who locked horns with Shopify's Ancient Apparition, Earth Spirit, Centaur Warrunner, Skywrath Mage, and Chaos Knight. Both teams engaged in back-and-forth fights, and the match could have gone either way.
However, this soon changed as Arteezy's Chaos Knight with the Aegis got picked off with Abed's Earth Spirit by Spirit. This proved to be disastrous as Shopify went on to lose their bottom tier 3 buildings. After securing the midlane racks, Team Spirit eventually got mega creeps and stayed on Shopify's doorstep.
A team fight erupted at the Radiant jungle as Larl's Puck eliminated Fly's Ancient Apparition and then proceeded to take down Arteezy with the assistance of Collapse's Spirit Breaker and Yatoro's Wraith King. Larl then soloed the Skywrath Mage and directed his focus toward the BKB-activated Earth Spirit.
After securing that kill, thanks to his Witchblade and Maelstrom, Team Spirit began chasing a tanky Centaur Warrunner who attempted to flee the inevitable. With Wraith Blast and a series of slows, Larl finished the team fight with a rampage and went on to push for victory, thus sending Shopify Rebellion to the lower bracket of Dota 2 The International 2023.
2) Talon Esports come back against Gaimin Gladiators in Dota 2 TI12
Everyone expected Gaimin Gladiators (GG) to breeze through to the upper bracket. However, Talon Esports had other ideas. Their intense showdown began with Gaimin Gladiators winning the first game of the series, keen to push Talon to the lower bracket.
However, the second game saw some unexpected events, where the Gaimin Gladiators' attack-focused lineup of Primal Beast, Pangolier, Keeper of the Light, Phantom Assassin, and Undying dominated Talon's Bristleback, Invoker, Ancient Apparition, Tusk, and Bloodseeker.
The game was filled with team fights that reduced the momentum of dyrachyo's PA, who was constantly eliminated by 23savage's Bloodseeker's Rupture and Q's Tusk.
After a few fights, Talon had their backs against the wall when the Bloodseeker died without a buyback at the hands of Ace's Primal Beast. This helped GG secure the Aegis on the PA and started their siege on Radiant's base. Talon surprisingly held on and took away two lives of the PA and started their own push, which resulted in claiming the mid and bottom racks of GG.
However, this changed when Talon's heroes were ganked by GG, who went on to team wipe the Radiant side. Bloodseeker and Invoker were instantly brought back and set up their defense. After claiming the top tier 3 buildings, Gaimin Gladiators focused on the tier 4 towers and started to chip the Ancient.
With AA's Ice Blast, Bloodseeker's Blood Rite, and Invoker's spells, Talon held on and killed the PA. Jabz made a clever move by pushing into GG's base. Meanwhile, dyrachyo's PA got eliminated by the rest of Talon near Radiant's Roshan Pit. This opened the window for Talon to push and win their first game in the Bo3 series.
The SEA team went on to win the series spearheaded by 23savage's Morphling in the final game, thus relegating Gaimin Gladiators to the lower bracket in Dota 2 The International 2023.
3) Tundra sent to the lower bracket by nouns in Dota 2 TI12
The defending Dota 2 TI11 champions, with their talisman, Topson, were expected to win their Bo3 series against nouns, who had a bad TI run. However, their hopes were cut short as the NA team went on to whitewash the reigning champs.
Tundra drafted a defensive-based late-game lineup of Earth Spirit, Phoenix, Sven, Doom, and Weaver. Meanwhile, nouns picked Ancient Apparition, Naga Siren, Clockwerk, Witch Doctor, and Earthshaker.
The game started with constant fights, with both teams getting kills and securing good farm for their safelaners. However, this changed after Skitter's Sven got himself killed via the Clockwerk and AA's Ice Blast.
At the 18th-minute mark, a team fight started on the river, where Gunnar's Earthshaker stunned 33's Doom with his Fissure. With Skitter dead, Tundra lacked physical damage. Taking advantage of this situation, K1's Naga Siren and Moo's Witch Doctor followed up and eliminated the 33's hero within a few seconds.
Sneyking's Phoenix popped his ult but failed to create an impact as the egg was destroyed by Naga Siren's illusions.
This team fight marked the beginning of the end for Tundra as they lost momentum and eventually the first game. The second game saw Tundra's Earth Spirit, Warlock, Faceless Void, Invoker, and Darkseer lock horns with nouns' Phoenix, Brewmaster, Darkwillow, Chaos Knight, and Ogre Magi.
On paper, Tundra's draft looked very powerful, but nouns marched on with their winning momentum, thanks to Gunnar's exceptional Ogre gameplay and K1's Chaos Knight outperforming Skitter's Faceless Void. Consequently, nouns qualified for the upper bracket of Dota 2 TI12 in an impressive fashion.
4) Team Liquid's commanding performance in Dota 2 TI12 Bo3 Series
In a thrilling Bo3 Dota 2 matchup, Team Liquid faced off against South American team Evil Geniuses. The former entered the game with a formidable lineup featuring Primal Beast, Ancient Apparition, Dark Willow, Earth Spirit, and Terrorblade. Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses drafted a lineup comprising Pangolier, Treant Protector, Vengeful Spirit, Phantom Assassin, and Axe.
Zai's Primal Beast, equipped with Blademail, Vanguard, and BKB, played a crucial role in helping his team secure an early Aegis following successful teamfights. With this advantage, Micke's Terrorblade became stacked and initiated pushes alongside his team. EG's heroes couldn't withstand the pressure, as their Ancient fell at just the 38th-minute mark.
The second game was no different as Liquid with Nature's Prophet, Bristleback, Vengeful Spirit, Chaos Knight, and Windranger overwhelmed EG's Phoenix, Doom, Grimstroke, Sven, and Queen of Pain. Nisha's Windranger and Zai's Bristleback outplayed Sven and Queen of Pain before their team waltzed their way into the upper bracket of Dota 2 The International 2023.
