Ti12 Day 3 Recap: Talon Sends Gaimin Gladiators To Their Last Life

On the third day of The International 2023, four best of 3s were played to determine four Upper Bracket and Lower Bracket teams. Here’s a recap of what happened:

Team Spirit 2-0 Shopify Rebellion

We were treated to a DreamLeague Season 21 Grand Final rematch between Team Spirit and Shopify Rebellion. Unfortunately for the North American squad, the result didn’t change, and Team Spirit continued their flawless run at the event.

In the first map, Shopify Rebellion had a great laning stage and was up 13-0 in kills. However, Team Spirit could make a comeback off of some great fights to steal the first game.

Game 2 was very back-and-forth, but Team Spirit took the steering wheel after a well-executed team fight in the 38th minute. Team Spirit had complete control over the game, but Shopify Rebellion showed signs of life despite facing Mega Creeps. Still, it wasn’t enough, as Team Spirit could finish the series 2-0.

TSM 0-2 Virtus.Pro

Eastern Europe continues to reign supreme, as Virtus.Pro made light work of TSM in their final Group Stage match. 

TSM dominated the mid-game with a 7,000 net worth lead at 16 minutes and held the lead for a while. However, TSM couldn’t crack Virtus.Pro’s high ground, which brought the game back to even. Eventually, Virtus.Pro’s heroes became too much for TSM to handle, allowing Virtus.Pro to win the first game.

The second game wasn’t as competitive as the first because Virtus.Pro outclassed TSM and ended the game in 28 minutes. Virtus.Pro will start in the Upper Bracket, while TSM will only have one chance remaining. 

Team Liquid 2-0 Evil Geniuses

This series turned out to be the “easiest” one today, as Team Liquid had minimal issues sending Evil Geniuses down to the Lower Bracket. 

The Liquid boys convincingly won both games, and the series wasn’t too interesting.

Gaimin Gladiators 1-2 Talon

Gaimin Gladiators had the chance to take revenge on Talon Esports after they eliminated them from the Riyadh Masters. However, the result didn’t change, as Talon could again upset the Gladiators.

The first game was a farm fiesta, and even though Talon had a better late-game draft, the Southeast Asian team did not have enough damage to kill dyrachyo’s Chaos Knight. After 39 minutes, the Gladiators could end the game to take the first map.

Game 2 had to be one of the most entertaining matches in this event, as we had a back-and-forth 65-minute game between the two teams. The game was utterly action-packed, with lots of gold swings and massive team fights. However, Talon showed their late-game supremacy and leveled the series.

In the deciding game, Gaimin Gladiators looked like they would close out the series as they built up an 8,000 net worth lead at 16 minutes. However, Talon miraculously pulled the game back to complete the upset and reverse sweep. 

With this result, Talon advances to the Lower Bracket, while the Gaimin Gladiators only have one life remaining at The International.