All teams participating in the International 10 were randomly drawn into two groups to determine the Group Stages on Wednesday, finally setting the stage for the matchups that will define the first part of the DOTA 2 tournament.
The International 10 Groups. #TI10 #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/6FgLUfyL60
— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) October 6, 2021
The groups are broken down as follows:
Group A
Alliance
Team Aster
Evil Geniuses
Invictus Gaming
OG
T1
Thunder Predator
Team Undying
Virtus.Pro
Group B
Beast Coast
Team Elephant
Fnatic
PSG.LGD
Quincy Crew
SG Esports
Team Secret
Team Spirit
Vici Gaming
What is the Group Stage format at The International 10?
The International 10 Group Stage will follow a best-of-two, round-robin format. This means every team in a group will play each other once in a best-of-two. After every team has played every other team in their respective group, their overall record will be used to determine seeding for the eventual playoff bracket.
Following the Group Stage, the top four teams in every group will be directly seeded into the upper bracket, the teams at the bottom of each group will be sent home and the rest are seeded into the lower bracket. Teams in the upper bracket can lose one set and continue their run from the loser’s bracket. However, teams that start in the lower bracket will only have one chance to make it as far as they can.
The scariest part of starting at the lower bracket is the fact that the first round is all best-of-ones, which means one game of DOTA determines a team’s run at The International.
Additionally, the Group Stage’s importance goes beyond seeding. The Group Stage will be the first time viewers will get to see teams play outside of scrimmages. Teams will showcase their takes on the meta for the first time, and many new strategies will be tested. Group Stages are usually where the chaos ensues for teams, as everyone attempts to find the best strategies for the rest of the tournament.
Published: Oct 6, 2021 02:55 pm