The International 2023 Phase One results: PSG.Quest's failure, Team Spirit's perfect game

On the morning of the 14th of October, the bo3 format tiebreaker between Evil Geniuses and Team SMG came to an end, where EG managed to keep their place in the play-offs. This means that Phase One of the group stage of Dota 2 The International 2023 has come to an end. We have already said goodbye to four participants of the Dota 2 World Championship. Therefore, we can summarise the results of The International 2023.

Some teams performed as expected and did not create a sensation. But there are participants who frankly failed or played weaker than betting tiriririrovannya, or teams that pleased their fans. We will talk about them in this material.

Teams that disappointed

First of all, let's note the Gaimin Gladiators. It would seem that Seleri and the team took second place in Group C and will go to the play-offs, what could be wrong? But if you look at their achievements this year, a 2-1-1 statistic, including a draw with nouns and a loss to PSG.LGD, shows how GG approached The International 2023. At the last few tournaments, namely DreamLeague Season 21 and Riyadh Masters 2023, the team started to show stability problems. And this result is proof of that. Perhaps the three-time Major event champions will show a better performance in the play-offs, but for now, their chances of winning are a bit slimmer.

Next on the list of teams that disappointed, we will include all representatives of South America at this tournament. Evil Geniuses, Thunder Awaken, beastcoast and Keyd Stars failed to win a single match in Phase One. TA and beastcoast finished last in their respective groups at The International 2023. Latin America has been a growing trend in the Dota 2 scene in recent years. Teams from the region were regularly ranked high, they were even allocated two slots for regional qualification. But for now, we can safely state the fact that South America is the weakest region represented at The International this year.

The main news before the start of TI 2023 was the signing of Quest Esports by the Esports branch of the legendary football club PSG. Recall, previously the French club has co-operated with the Chinese from LGD. Also PSG.Quest got a new coach in the person of Daxak. But the debut in the ranks of the famous organisation turned out to be a complete failure. Statistics 0-2-2 ensured kaori and his teammates the last place in Group D and 17-20th line in the standings at The International. And this is despite the fact that many called Quest Esports the discovery of this year, and the management clearly expected not such a mutually beneficial co-operation.

Teams that were able to please

LGD Gaming this year were not distinguished by any successes on the international arena, although they can be called the strongest team in the Middle Kingdom. But in the group stage of The International 2023 the Chinese team showed an extremely confident performance. NothingToSay and its teammates won three victories, including a win over Gaimin Gladiators, as well as a draw against Virtus.pro. The secret of success can be considered the coach of the team xiao8, who has been building the game of LGD Gaming for three years. If the Chinese club continue to perform in the same spirit, they have every chance of success.

Champions of The International 2021, Team Spirit have picked up a great playing form before the current World Championship. And they proved it in Phase One. Yatoro and his teammates won four out of four matches. Given their current form, we could be looking at the potential two-time champions of The International.

A month before travelling to Seattle, reigning World Champions Tundra Esports announced that Saksa was going inactive due to health issues. He was replaced by two-time champion of The International, Topson. And it can be argued that he has fit in perfectly with the European squad and is showing a top-notch individual performance. The team's only setback in Phase One was a draw with Keyd Stars. Tundra Esports is another candidate to win this tournament.

Conclusion

In general, Phase One of the group stage of The International 2023 was quite expected. LGD Gaming, Team Spirit, Tundra Esports and Team Liquid won their groups and are potential TI champions. But we also saw a clear decline of South America, despite the region's abundant presence at the tournament. PSG.Quest were also frankly disappointing. The Gaimin Gladiators game raises questions about stability, but they will still have a chance to correct their mistakes in the play-offs.

Ahead of us is Phase Two, which will determine the seeding of teams for the final stage of the tournament, as well as the play-offs themselves. That's where we'll find out the name of the champion of The International 2023.