The International 11 group stage is over. Everything was decided at the last moment, both in Groups A and B. Several teams were somewhere between the playoff upper and lower brackets. Tundra Esports, considered a dark horse before the tournament, was the main delight in Group B. Team Secret demonstrated a stable game and strategy. Team Spirit and Entity are among the disappointments, as they got only to the lower bracket. Read how Group B played at The International 11 and what we should expect from the teams during the playoff.
Bet on The International 11 with 1xBetTundra Esports (14-4)
Tundra Esports came into the spotlight during the group stage, although it hadn't shown a top level of play for a long time. Everyone admired Tundra Esports at the beginning of the year. Then it was a role model, and nobody doubted its power. However, the team started to give in and failed at the end of the DPC season. Tundra Esports managed to get back into shape before TI11. It had no losses during the group stage and tied with Thunder Awaken, beastcoast, TSM, and Team Aster. The team won all the other matches. Tundra Esports is playing very well and is almost unstoppable. The team has everything to win the tournament: perfect individual performance of the players, a strong captain, meta drafts, unorthodox strategies, and motivation. It will be extremely interesting to watch Tundra Esports during the playoff. Now it is one of the main favorites.
Team Secret (13-5)
As we expected, Team Secret gained momentum during the Last Chance Qualifier and as a result, performed well at The International 11 group stage. The team is currently playing at a very high level. The players demonstrate synergy and a desire to win. They play accurately and cooperate with each other. Moreover, Team Secret fixed some of its main problems. Clement "Puppey" Ivanov no longer takes farming away from his carry (now he steals from Zayac), and Remco "Crystallis" Arets has improved his game a lot. He ruined every second game during the regional qualifiers and now he doesn't. Crystallis shows a stable good game and even finishes the map alone playing on his signature heroes. After the group stage, there is a feeling that Team Secret can go very far in this tournament.
Thunder Awaken (10-8)
Thunder Awaken is the main discovery of The International 11. The team had mixed results during the season: it took sixth place at the ESL One Stockholm 2022 Major but didn't qualify from a group at the PGL Arlington Major 2022. At TI11, Thunder Awaken finally got into shape. The team is playing actively and constantly imposing fights on its opponents, preventing them from slow and measured game. Thunder Awaken forces its opponents to play on its field and make mistakes. That is the team's strength. However, sometimes this strategy harms Thunder Awaken, but the Peruvians are used to it. It seems they can save almost any game. The team's core players, who carry the game, deserve special mention. They both play extremely well. Thanks to that, Thunder Awaken ended the group stage 10-8. It became the first South American team to advance to the upper bracket since The International's creation. It will be interesting to see how far this team can go.
Team Aster (10-8)
Team Aster started The International group stage very well, as expected. It had two draws and three wins in the first two days. The Chinese team was the first in the tournament bracket but then started declining. In the next two days, Team Aster had two more draws and two more losses and therefore, changed its position in the final standings. But these results were enough to proceed to the upper bracket. If Team Aster doesn't brace up, it might be eliminated soon. If the team's game becomes more stable, it could go as far as third place. We do not yet believe that Team Aster will make it to the grand finals.
Fnatic (9-9)
Fnatic surprised us with its results. Few had expected nine won maps at the group stage. Fnatic defeated Team Aster, beastcoast, and TSM and tied with Entity, Team Secret, and Team Spirit. With a bit of luck, the team could have made it to the upper bracket, but Fnatic got to the lower bracket, where it belongs (in terms of the level of play). The team has a good chance to pass the first round in the lower bracket, but then it will face serious problems. However, Fnatic may surprise everyone once again.
Team Spirit (9-9)
Team Spirit can be called one of the main disappointments of The International 11 group stage. The team was considered one of the favorites, but now the Dragons’ game is not so cool. Last year, Team Spirit lost the first three matches but won the remaining ones. This year, the team tied with everyone: seven out of nine matches in the group stage ended 1-1. Besides, Team Spirit lost to Tundra Esports and beat Entity. We see that the team can play at a high level and defeat serious opponents but doesn't always succeed. Its highly unstable game is a big disadvantage before the playoff stage. We suspect that this year, Team Spirit won't perform well at TI11. The team won't be able to gain momentum, as it was last year because it is much more difficult to progress in the lower bracket. What is also sad is that Team Spirit is the last hope of the CIS. So, we can only wish the guys good luck.
beastcoast (8-10)
Beastcoast had been considered one of the main underdogs of Group B, but the team's performance was quite decent. It defeated the weaker teams — Talon Esports and TSM, and tied with Entity, Tundra Esports, Team Spirit, and Thunder Awaken. That let the team easily get to the lower bracket. There beastcoast usually wins one or two matches and then leaves the tournament (it happened at many championships). We suspect that The International 11 will be no exception. The team's game is not bad but no more than that. At least, it looks much weaker than its compatriots from Thunder Awaken. And its results only confirm that.
Entity (6-12)
Before The International 11 began, Entity was considered one of the main favorites. The team had a very cool DPC season final, performed well at the PGL Arlington Major 2022, and then became the champion of the regional qualifiers in Europe without a single loss. Entity effortlessly dealt with strong teams like Team Secret and Team Liquid and was expected to win the year's main event or at least perform well. But Entity's game was terrible. It won only six maps in the entire group stage and took part in the replays for the lower bracket. There the team braced up and defeated Talon Esports 2-0, preserving its place at the tournament. However, we shouldn't expect much from Entity after its performance at the group stage. They will hardly get too far, as it will be difficult.
Bet on The International 11 with 1xBetTalon Esports (6-12)
Talon Esports was considered one of the weakest teams at The International 11. Only a miracle could help it advance to the playoff, but no miracle happened. During the group stage, Talon Esports beat Entity and Fnatic and tied with Team Spirit and TSM. It lost all the other matches. We should remember that Talon Esports played half of the group stage without its coach Andrii "ALWAYSWANNAFLY" Bondarenko who didn't come to Singapore on time. When he joined the team, Talon Esports started playing better (mostly due to good picks), but it was too late. The team managed to get to the replays but lost there. The drafts were good, but Talon Esports played terribly. So, the relegation was only natural.
TSM (5-13)
TSM is the weakest team in Group B. During the group stage, it had no wins and five draws: against Entity, Talon Esports, Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, and Thunder Awaken. These results were obviously not enough, and that's why the team left The International 11, having taken last place.
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