The International 11 (TI11) Group Stage kicked off, and after the first day, let’s just say our expectations have been shattered. Each group has its three classes of team strength: fan favorites, middle-class and underdogs. However, Day 1 has been an intense showcase of strength at Group B, and most pre-tournament expectations were shattered.
Update: We are down to two teams fighting to remain at the event. Entity and Talon will play a tiebreaker for 8th place.
Tundra finishes Group Stage at the top of Group B with a 14-4 record #TI11
Ti11 Group Stage Format and Teams
The TI11 Group stage consisted of two groups of ten teams, where matches are single round-robin best-of-two series. The top four teams advance to the privileged Upper Bracket of the Main Event, and fifth-eighth place teams advance to the Lower Bracket. Meanwhile, the bottom two seeds of each group are the first to be eliminated.
Group B teams and their day 4 rankings are below:
Tundra Esports
Team Secret
Team Aster
Thunder Awaken
Fnatic
Team Spirit
beastcoast
Entity
Talon Esports
TSM
TI11 Group B Fan Favorites
The defending champions of TI10 is indisputably the fan favorite in Group B and will surely be in the Main Event. Yet, day 1 of TI11 Group B has shown that every team that made it here are equally capable. In fact, even Team Spirit had to tie their series to Fnatic, after the latter’s Terrorblade made light work of Team Spirit.
Nonetheless, it’s too early to place Fnatic among the fan favorites, instead the spot is reserved for Team Aster. The Chinese powerhouse is very consistent since their debut in PGL Arlington Major 2022 and ESL One Malaysia 2022, both of which they were runner-up.
Entity is the latest addition to the recent Western European representatives, which has become a viable team. They won the International 11 WEU Regionals against Team Secret and Liquid, which is a testament of their potential.
The Middle-class teams at TI11 Group B
In the middle-class category, Team Secret definitely deserves a mention after dominating the TI11 Last Chance Qualifier. Although Secret had a rough start throughout the DPC 2022 season, it seems like Secret’s new stack is ready to reach new heights.
Thunder Awaken and beastcoast are South American staples, which have consistently played in the DPC Majors. Particularly, beastcoast is a seasoned team that has went under the radar among the top performing teams of the season.
After today’s series vs Team Spirit, Fnatic certainly proved themselves to be a reliable team, which do not make petty mistakes. Compare them to their much-superior regional rival, BOOM Esports in Group A, Fnatic looked more strategized, especially their supports making clutch saves and plays.
The TI11 Group B Underdogs
Coming into the International 11, Talon Esports is the underdog, but could have fair up well against many opponents in the upper tier, such as TSM, Tundra, and even Fnatic in certain circumstances. They are by no means a fresh team, even if the International 11 is their first TI debut for the organization.
Hence, Talon’s Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon could potentially be a featured prodigy in TI11 Group B.
[Group B Tiebreakers] Talon & Entity fight to stay at TI11
Power rankings aside, there really isn’t a goal post to win at all. Instead, advancing to the Main Event of TI11 is every participant’s stake for the coming group stage days, which is only eight slots.
Getting eliminated as bottom two seeds in any group is the worst outcome. Unfortunately, TSM has been on a steady decline for a while now, so until they prove their grounds at TI11 Group B, they are on the list of early elimination teams. Talon Esports and Entity, both haven’t been outstanding, and will play out a tiebreaker for the final spot out of Groups.
If we had to make our make our prediction here, Entity is favored in the Ti11 odds at x1.6, but this match could go either way so a bet on Talon at x2.28 can be a decent payout.
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