TI12 Day 2 Recap: Four Teams Eliminated, Second Phase Matchups Decided
In the new system of The International, the Group Stage will follow two phases, with the first one ending today. Unfortunately, four teams have already been eliminated from the tournament, but the remaining teams move on to the second phase.
Second Phase Matchups
The top teams from each group could choose their first opponent in the second phase. The group leaders picked teams from opposite groups (Group A picks from Group B, Group C picks from Group D, and vice versa).
In case you missed all the action, here's everything that happened on Day 2!
Group A Recap
Team Spirit made a flawless run in the group stage, ending with an 8-0 record.
Entity and 9 Pandas are tied in second place with a score of 4-4, but due to Entity having better results against the lower-placing teams in the group, Entity secured second place in the group. Until now, Valve's ruling for tiebreakers has not been made public. 9 Pandas still make it to the next stage, finishing third in the group.
An elimination tiebreaker was needed for Team SMG and Evil Geniuses. A best-of-3 match was played between the two teams, where EG could make quick work of the Southeast Asian team. As a result, Evil Geniuses move on to the second phase, while Team SMG will be flying home.
Group B Recap
Team Liquid looked shaky in DreamLeague Season 21, but they came into TI refreshed, taking first place with a 7-1 record.
Sitting closely behind Liquid is the BetBoom Team, who dropped two maps only to Team Liquid. The Eastern European squad could 2-0 every other team in the group for their 6-2 score line.
Azure Ray went 4-4 in groups and through the first phase. Shopify Rebellion has also survived the group, but just barely. They claw their way out with a 2-6 record. Fans were not pleased with the North American team's showing, as they were lucky to be alive.
To no surprise, Thunder Awaken will receive the short end of the stick, as they were sent packing after a 1-7 score in the group stage.
Group C Recap
In the third group, LGD came out with a 7-1 score to secure first place. They did drop a game against Virtus.Pro, a weaker team, but at that time, they had already secured first place regardless.
The Gladiators had a shaky first day, but fans saw the best team in the world on the second day. GG could clean up their gameplay to secure second place in the group.
Nouns and Virtus.Pro were tied with a 3-5 scoreline. Luckily for them, the Gladiators could 2-0 Beastcoast in the last series of the group, preventing a three-way elimination tiebreaker from happening.
As a result, Beastcoast was stuck with two wins and has been sent out of the tournament. Nouns and Virtus.Pro make it to the next stage.
Group D Recap
Tundra ended the first day with a score of 5-1 and developed on their record to end 7-1. The defending champions secured first place in the group, and it wasn't even close.
Talon were 0-4 on the first day and could end the group stage 4-4 after fixing their issues for the second day. Though Talon and TSM are tied for second and third place, TSM was given second place. Again, the ruling from Valve regarding tiebreakers remains unclear.
Though many fans weren't expecting it, Keyd Stars safely made it out of the first phase, while PSG Quest made a shocking exit in last place.
Games To Watch
If you want in on the action, here are the top four games played today: