Photo courtesy of Monster Energy Drinks
Team Liquid and PSG.LGD have both advanced further in the upper brackets after 2:0 sweeps and overall domination on the TI8 main stage.
The first matches of The International 2018 were electrifying and dazzling. Amid a sea of eager fans and buzzing excitement, the TI7 champions took the stage to defend their title on the first day of the main event at The International 2018.
Team Liquid faced OpTic Gaming with nothing less than the confidence and swagger of defending champions. The European squad has been together for over one and half years — an eternity in esports years. They play around each other perfectly and with surgical precision and timely rotations and combos. Like a well-oiled machine, their performance is smooth and reliable. A surprise last pick Alchemist threw off OpTic Gaming's draft and strategy in the first match. The damage output was just too much for the NA team and Liquid crushed them in less than 30 minutes. In the second game, OpTic and Liquid's draft looked to be much more even but Team Liquid proved why they are world champions and were able to exploit the picks and dominate the lanes. Very clean execution and meticulous plays gave the Europeans a tidy 2:0 sweep, sending OpTic to the lower brackets to fight further for their tournament lives.
Virtus Pro's massive presence and seismic season history would be enough to make any team cower before them — except PSG.LGD Gaming. Two teams that many have predicted to be facing off in the playoffs were taking the center stage right out of the TI8 main event gates. Supremely confident but not boastful, the Chinese team went into the first match calm and collected. They applied pressure all over the map in the early game and dominated the lanes. However, Virtus.pro were hitting back hard in the fights, overpowering LGD in the mid game and taking control. What seemed like it would be a game in favor of the CIS powerhouse, turned instead to be a victory for the Chinese rising stars instead. Perhaps they were rattled for the first time after that turn of events, but Virtus.pro just didn't seem to have the same grit in the second game and LGD had thrown around their momentum and weight to overpower and dominate for a very clean second victory, sending VP to the lower brackets.
The International 2018 Format:
- Main Event - August 20th - August 25th, 2018
- Sixteen teams play in a double-elimination format over six days
- Eight teams begin in the Upper Bracket, eight in the Lower Bracket
- First Lower Bracket round is Bo1, Grand Finals are Bo5, all others rounds are Bo3
- Sixteen teams play in a double-elimination format over six days
The International 2018
The International 2018 is set to begin on August 15 and scheduled to run through August 25. For the first time ever, The International will be held in Vancouver, Canada with a total of 18 teams competing. Currently, the prize pool is over a staggering $24 million with just two days left until the big event.
