The International 12 group A favorites

The International 2023, the 12^th edition of the greatest event in Dota 2, is about to begin. This year, the competitive format will be very unusual. Instead of two groups, there will be four. And each of them contains five competitors.

These teams were given a group based on a number of considerations, including their Dota Pro Circuit rank. Each group will be exciting to watch, but some are tougher than others.

Group A participants and favorites

Group A of The International 12 features these teams:

• Team Spirit
• Evil Geniuses
• Entity
• Team SMG
• 9Pandas

Two of them are from Eastern Europe, while the other three are from South America, Southeast Asia, and Western Europe.

Fortunately or perhaps unfortunately for Entity, Kim “Gabby” Santos managed to get his visa in time, so Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf will not be able to compete at this TI as a stand-in. Given how strong this player is, his absence will likely lead to a more modest result for Entity.

Arguably, the 5^th place, which leads to elimination, will be occupied either by them or by Team SMG. Evil Geniuses is not immune to a complete failure either, but at least they have a good enough roster to not be afraid of anyone in this group, except Team Spirit.

Spirit need no introduction at this point. They won the Aegis of Champions two years ago and were also the winners of the last two major Dota 2 events: Riyadh Masters 2023 and DreamLeague S21.

1 DAY LEFT 😍 #TI12 pic.twitter.com/6LwLCu8spB

— Team Spirit (@Team__Spirit) October 11, 2023

With these two victories and a roster that’s almost identical to the one from 2021, it’s hard to imagine them finishing this group lower than 2^nd place. Most likely, they will win with ease, unless they still suffer from jetlag. Let’s not forget that TI12 takes place in Seattle, while Team Spirit are from Eastern Europe.

Another strong team in this group is 9Pandas. Many would put them in 2^nd place if they had to make a prediction. Alexey “Solo” Berezin is 33 years old and one of the most successful Dota 2 players in the history of the game. He played numerous times at TI, finishing 5^th – 6^th twice.

Back when he was competing for Virtus.pro, he won numerous Majors, proving that his understanding of the game is exceptional. Now, as the captain of 9Pandas, he will try to get a great result at TI12.

Header: Valve