There’s no question that the International 2022 has been a wild ride so far. The group stage was fun and the first part of the playoffs was exciting. After four days of competition, we’re now down to the four Dota 2 teams in Team Secret, Tundra Esports, Team Aster, and Team Liquid.
Matches resume on October 29 with Secret taking on Tundra. Since they're in the Upper Bracket Final, both teams are guaranteed at least a third place finish, with a prize money of at least $1.5 million. Meanwhile, it's Aster and Liquid going head-to-head to see who moves to the next round.
A Series of Upsets
One good way to describe what’s been happening in the playoffs is the series of upsets. Defending champion Team Spirit was eliminated early on by BOOM Esports. We can argue all day if the results would have been different if it was a Bo3 rather than Bo1. But at the end of the day, it was BOOM that won.
Evil Geniuses was also a disappointment for some fans. There were a lot of hopes for EG to make quick work of their opponents in the playoffs. Sadly, they choked and was brought to the Lower Bracket by Thunder Awaken. The team was then promptly eliminated by Beastcoast.
Speaking of Beastcoast, the South American team managed to show just how strong they are by defeating PSG.LGD 2–1. With the loss, the Chinese team said goodbye to their hopes of raising the Aegis.
SA Dota 2 Rises
South America is a relatively new region in the Dota 2 competitive scene. However, the teams here managed to show everyone just how good they are. In this year’s TI, we had Beastcoast, Thunder Awaken, and Hokori.
As mentioned, Beastcoast has been slaying giants. What’s even more impressive in their win against PSG.LGD was that some members of the team had to play in the hotel since they were positive for COVID-19.
Thunder Awaken, meanwhile, was the reason why EG went to the Lower Bracket. They almost won against Liquid if not for that excellent play from Liquid’s Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen.
Dominating Again
If you look at the top four teams remaining, you’ll notice that three of them are from Western Europe. Once again, the teams in this region are showing why they are some of the best in the world. The presence of the WEU teams in the final stages of competition solidifies the argument that the region should have more slots for The International.
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