The International 12 playoffs preview

The International 12 playoffs are scheduled to be played between October 20-22, and between October 27-29. At this point, every match is worth watching because it involves the best teams in the world.

At their peak, these teams can do things that most of us can’t even dream of. Hopefully, we’ll get to watch some Meepo games, some Invoker games, and a great overall display of skill and perseverance.

The fact that the tournament takes place in Seattle brings back many memories and will compensate for the lackluster prize pool.

It is a year of firsts…
First team to win TI, starting from Lowers? Hope so
First team to choke at TI? Nope🫠 pic.twitter.com/aIn286nig4

— GG | Gaimin Gladiators ⚔️ (@GaiminGladiator) October 15, 2023

Overall expectations

It’s a well-established TI tradition to expect at least one underdog to turn into a dark horse. Based on what we saw during the group stage, Azure Ray or Talon Esports might provide us with some upsets.

If everything goes according to statistics, Team Spirit, LGD Gaming, Team Liquid, and probably Gaimin Gladiators should be the big favorites, even though some of these teams are starting in the lower bracket.

This TI edition doesn’t have any best-of-one matches, so a truly strong team can easily defeat one opponent after another until they run into an even stronger team without running the risk of losing one game due to bad luck and getting eliminated instantly.

For the upper bracket teams, the situation is even better because they can afford to lose an entire best-of-three without getting eliminated. It is worth noting that for these teams, two consecutive victories guarantee a top 3 result. For lower bracket teams, seven consecutive victories are needed to win the tournament.

While it may be hard to imagine a team accomplishing this exceptional feat, competitors like Gladiators and Shopify Rebellion are definitely capable of it. Tundra Esports are also strong enough to do it. Will this be the first TI won by a team that starts in the lower bracket? We’ll find out in the next 10 days.

Upper bracket teams

Here are the eight teams that will start in the upper bracket and the initial matches:

• Team Spirit vs. Virtus.pro
• Team Liquid vs. Talon Esports
• LGD Gaming vs. 9Pandas
• Nouns vs. Azure Ray

Lower bracket teams

Here are the eight teams that will start in the lower bracket and the initial matches:

• Shopify Rebellion vs. TSM
• Evil Geniuses vs. Gaimin Gladiators
• Keyd Stars vs. BetBoom Team
• Tundra Esports vs. Entity

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