Ti12 Day 4 Recap: The End Of The Group Stage

After four action-packed days of Dota 2, the Group Stage of The International 2023 has finally ended. Players will be rewarded with a break, as the Playoffs will begin on the 20th of October.

Here's a recap of what happened on the final day of the Group Stage.

LGD 2-0 Keyd Stars

LGD demolished everyone in their group, ending with a 7-1 record. Their opponents today were arguably the weakest team remaining, Keyd Stars.

As expected, LGD could clean up the series 2-0 with minimal issues. LGD start their Playoffs run in the Upper Bracket, while Keyd Stars only have one life remaining.

BetBoom Team 1-2 9 Pandas

The second series of the day featured an interesting Eastern European derby between the BetBoom Team and 9 Pandas. Though BetBoom showed some struggles in the Group Stage, they were still favored in this matchup against Solo and his crew.

The BetBoom Team could win the first map convincingly after shutting down RAMZES666's Alchemist, while Nightfall had a free game on Luna. With 925 GPM and a KDA of 10/1/8, Nightfall could help the BetBoom Team secure the first map.

In the second game, 9 Pandas last-picked Lina for kiyotaka. This pick turned out to be amazing, as the young prodigy displayed a star performance. The 19-year-old went 18/1/7, posing an 89% kill participation to keep the series tied.

The third game was very close until the 25-minute mark when a massive team fight happened in the 9 Pandas triangle. 9 Pandas won the engagement with a 4-for-0 exchange, blowing the game wide open. At this point, 9 Pandas continued to build up their lead and close the series 2-1. 

This result meant 9 Pandas will face LGD Gaming in the Upper Bracket, while BetBoom Team will play Keyd Stars in an elimination match.

Tundra 0-2 Nouns

The most surprising result of the day, and maybe even the tournament, is the match between Nouns and Tundra. Tundra finished at the top of their group with a score of 7-1, while Nouns barely made it through theirs. However, the North American roster showed hope for the region, as they could defeat the defending TI champions with a clean 2-0.

The first game was a convincing win from the side of Nouns, with Moo's Offlane Witch Doctor working wonders. The team could make enough space for k1's Naga Siren to ultimately carry the game.

In Game 2, Nouns continued with an unvoncentional Ogre Magi Mid for Gunnar. K1's Chaos Knight was off to a stellar start, and Nouns continued to snowball and take control of the game. Though they couldn't end the game too cleanly, Nouns got the job done and completed the upset.

Entity 0-2 Azure Ray

The final series of the day was the most even one statistically. However, the match itself was not close, as Azure Ray won both games to end the series 2-0.

Azure Ray had complete control over the first game, but Entity made it hard for the Chinese roster to end it. Entity put up a great fight, but it wasn't enough to save the game.

Azure Ray won all three lanes in the second game and snowballed their lead. However, they made a series of mistakes to give Entity a chance. Still, after killing watson's Lifestealer, who had no buyback, Azure Ray made a final push to end the game and win the series 2-0.