The International 12 favorites

The International 12 is scheduled to start on October 12 and will last until October 29. The event will offer around $3 million in prize money and feature 20 teams. These are the best Dota 2 competitors of 2023.

It’s a bit of a shame that The International 2023 is much smaller than every TI apart from the first three, but it will likely be a very fun event to experience.

Among the teams that will compete for the Aegis of Champions this year, around five or six are much stronger than the rest.

TI12 favorites

Here are the favorites of TI12, based on what happened during the regular season and especially in the last four months:

• Team Spirit
• Gaimin Gladiators
• BetBoom Team
• Team Liquid
• Shopify Rebellion
• Azure Ray

Apart from these teams, Tundra Esports, 9Pandas, and Talon Esports could also prove to be strong enough to finish in the top 6.

Tundra Esports are your #TI11 Champions! 🎉 Congratulations to skiter, Nine, 33, Saksa, and Sneyking – dropping just one game during the entire Main Stage and taking the Grand Finals 3-0, they emerge victorious on their quest for the Aegis. pic.twitter.com/R1bhFziPq2

— The International (@dota2ti) October 30, 2022

The most exciting battle will take place between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, but China and North America are also represented by very strong teams that could end up causing serious upsets.

The biggest favorites are Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators, but Gladiators’ results in recent months proved that they’re not very likely to perform at their best when it really matters. What we saw from them at Riyadh Masters and DreamLeague S21 convinced me that they’ll likely finish somewhere between 4^th – 6^th, despite being one of the best on paper.

The same goes for Team Liquid. They have a phenomenal roster but when you see what they do at some tournaments, such as DreamLeague S21, it’s hard to be optimistic about their chances of winning The International. There are too many teams who have already demonstrated that they can beat them.

Gladiators defeated Liquid in four Grand Finals this year, and that rivalry is likely to continue in Seattle. It’s doubtful that these two teams will meet again in the Grand Final, but we should expect to see them fighting each other in the top 6.

Unless, of course, Liquid mess up completely and end up getting eliminated early. LAN events are different from online events, and Liquid are very experienced in dealing with the pressure created by a live audience. Meanwhile, many of the other competitors are not. That should serve them well in Seattle.

Header: Valve