TI12 main favourites start the group stage matches on the wrong foot

LGD Gaming delivered the first upset in the group stage at The International 2023 by taking down Gaimin Gladiators in a crushing manner.

China has only two representatives at TI12, the fewest teams the region ever had at TI, and the young roster of LGD is definitely not on everyone’s radar for this year’s edition. At the same time, Gaimin Gladiators have dominated the scene all year long, winning all the Majors and a couple of DreamLeague titles. Their last title was locked in just a month before TI, so undoubtedly they are the main favourites in Seattle and the team to look out for the most.

But coming to the most important tournament of the year from a clear favourite position has its downsides for sure.

LGD make a statement in opening match at TI12

The group play battle has been split into four groups for this year’s TI edition, which means that early victories are crucial for a team’s chances of making it further in the tournament. There are five teams in each group and the bottom one will be leaving Seattle in less than two days. With that in mind, LGD seemed to have come to enjoy their stay for as long as possible.

Gaimin GladiatorsvsLGD Gaming

Gaimin opened the first draft with what most certainly will become some of the strongest heroes of TI12. Pangolier, Muerta and Treant Protector should have given them the upper hand in the first game, but LGD came prepared with a very different interpretation of the meta. The Chinese team drafted the long time forgotten Chen and a carry Weaver, overall, aligning a line-up with great catch and a lot of survivability and they kept GG under control from the laning stage to the last minute of the game, closing game one with 20 to 6 on the core board.

Game two was more of the same story, LGD looking to stay aggressive from start to finish with Chaos Knight, Primal Beast and Bristleback in the core positions and a position 4 Muerta.

While they are down one series, Gaimin Gladiators have two more series scheduled on the opening day in the TI12 group stage and will look to make things right in the upcoming matches. Their journey will resume with a two game series against Virtus.pro scheduled to unfold around 14:00 PDT/23:00 CEST followed by a series against nouns at 18:00 PDT/03:00 CEST.

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