The International 12 group D favorites

Group D of The International 12 is slightly weaker than group A and group B, and a bit stronger than group C. This should give Talon Esports and Tundra Esports an easy path to the playoffs.

The exact results won’t really matter here because of the new competitive format. All four teams that will survive the first phase of the group stage will need to win their phase two match, and at this competitive level there’s no guarantee that finishing your group 1^st or 2^nd will give you a better chance of winning that match.

A formidable team could easily finish 3^rd – 4^th in their group, which will lead to unfavorable match-ups for the top two teams from a different group. So the only thing that teams will try to do in phase 1 is to avoid elimination. Out of the five teams, one will go home after the first two days.

As the current holders of the Aegis, and the defending champions of TI 11, we want to wish all of our competition a big #GLHF!

To all our fellow teams, orgs, friends, and fans, let’s have an unforgettable #TI12#TundraTribe #TundraVictory #EmbraceTheIce pic.twitter.com/sqmm60BR6V

— TUNDRA (@TundraEsports) October 9, 2023

Group D competitors and favorites

Here are the five teams who will compete in group D of The International 2023:

• Tundra Esports
• PSG Quest
• Talon Esports
• TSM
• Keyd Stars

The presence of Keyd Stars in this group should make everyone else’s life a lot easier. But it’s perfectly possible for this group to be turned upside down by upsets. The match format is best-of-two, so even a small number of upsets could result in the elimination of a different team.

The favorites are Tundra, PSG Quest, and Talon. It’s hard to regard TSM as one of the favorites here, but the fact that they’re playing in Seattle, on their home ground, should give them a big confidence boost.

For Tundra, who won the previous edition of The International, Topson’s presence will likely lead to a good result. This is a team that has a high chance of winning the group and then securing an upper bracket spot.

Much will be decided by how each competitor has managed to adapt to the 7.34d meta. This patch completely destroyed heroes like Phantom Assassin and Sven, so a completely new set of strategies is needed to triumph.

Will anyone have the courage to pick Arc Warden? Will we see a lot of Meepo matches? Nothing is clear until the tournament starts.

Quest have a new sponsor, PSG, and that should give them a bit more hope for the future. For Talon, this tournament is the chance to prove that 23savage is a world-class carry and that SEA is a formidable region again in Dota 2.

Header: Talon Esports