The first day of The International 2024's Group Stage is in the books as all 16 teams made their opening moves in the battle for bracket placement.
The International 2024 has finally kicked off, bringing together sixteen of the world's top Dota 2 teams in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The competition begins with the Group Stage, a two-day clash before heading into Seeding Deciders. While no teams will face elimination during these phases, the stakes remain high, as their performance will dictate whether they start the main event in the upper or lower bracket, a distinction that could make or break their chances of claiming the championship.
Every match counts, and even at this early stage, the pressure is immense as teams vie for the most advantageous position heading into the main event.
Here's how it all panned out and the chips have fallen so far.
The International 2024 Group A
Group A was considered to be the ‘Group of Death’, stacked with both Gaimin Gladiators and Xtreme Gaming who have been consistently at the top through the year. As expected, they took the top two slots with Wang "Ame" Chunyu & Crew ending with a 4:0 match record for the day.
The International 2024 Group B
Group B looked to be a bit closer in potential results. Tundra Esports was perhaps the biggest question mark, having to travel with Martin “Saksa” Sazdov assuming a spot on the team as Naltakyan “9Class” Edgar was unable to acquire his Visa. The WEU team didn't have much of an opportunity to show their stuff – they only played one series and tied that up 1:1 with Talon. However, the match they lost was done in just 25 minutes. They will have a lot more to prove tomorrow and plenty of opportunities to do so.
The International 2024 Group C
Group C carried the most surprising results and upsets of the day. This group probably delivered the most fun games to watch.
BetBoom kicked off the group by annaliating nouns, destroying the NA team in just 26 minutes with a 24:1 score.
The favourites to take the Aegis, Team Falcons, ended up with two sets of draws – one game taken by Team Zero who had delivered an upset to book their ticket to The International, and one game by nouns. Falcons seemed to come in with drafts similar to the ones they played in the season, a strategy that will most likely not work for them at this event since they come to Denmark with a big 'ole target on their backs.
The International 2024 Group D
The narrative for this group seemed to be written before it even got started. Boasting the defending and two-time champions, Team Spirit, this team is in their TI form already. Despite having a slow start to the season, they ramped it up towards the end and have come to take defending their title seriously.
Inconsistency defines Liquid’s 2024 competitive season. Aurora has always been stable, always there, and causing upsets consistently. And then beastcoast is a very young and inexperienced team that has been thrown into this mix.
It seemed things played out as expected with Team Spirit and Team Liquid outplaying and shutting down their opponents and beastcoast and Aurora taking the beatings. Group D is the only group that seems all sorted already after a day of 2:0 sweeps across the board.
Tomorrow should be a better day for at least one of the underdogs – they both can't end with a 0:4 record by the end.
The action resumes tomorrow with the final Group Stage matches.
The day will start with three series at 10:00 CEST.
1win
vs
Xtreme Gaming
Gaimin Gladiators
vs
Heroic
Cloud9
vs
Tundra Esports
The International 2024 Group Stage
- Group Stage - September 4 - September 5, 2024
- Four groups of four teams each
- Seeding Decider - September 6 - September 7, 2024
- Sixteen teams play eight Bo3 head-to-head matches to determine main event bracket placement
The International 2024 Groups
The International 2024 team profiles
- TI13 Team Spirit profile: Time to Take Aim
- TI13 Team Falcons: Fulfilling the Fate’s Edict
- TI13 Gaimin Gladiators: Adjusting the Mirror Image
- TI13 BetBoom Team profile: Passing the Sticky Bomb
- TI13 Tundra Esports: Chaotic Offering on the menu
- TI13 Xtreme Gaming: Bask in the Presence of the Dark Lord
- TI13 Cloud9: How to Tame the Beasts
- TI13 Aurora: Finding the perfect Nether Swap
- TI13 1win: The Gale Force from the east
- TI13 Heroic: Learn to Tango
- TI13 Team Zero: Out of the Shadow Realm
- TI13 Team Liquid: Can they Pierce the Veil?
- TI13 nouns: Rearm and try anew
- TI13 Talon Esports: The return of Iron Talon
- TI13 beastcoast: A youthful Savage Roar
- TI13 G2.iG: The Unstable Concoction
The International 2024 is finally here and GosuGamers has you covered with a comprehensive, one-stop guide to all things TI13 to keep you in the know.
No other event rivals The International and this year will be no exception. Prime-cut games between teams of the highest caliber, gut-wrenching action, emotional storylines, top-notch production, unique and engaging content, and perhaps a surprise or two will create the landscape that fans around the world will talk about for the rest of the year, and aspiring players will etch into their hearts as their goal and dream for next year.
Ten days of glorious Dota 2 action will kick off on Wednesday, September 4th with the Group Stage in Copenhagen, Denmark, and continues through Sunday, September 15th. Sixteen will begin the journey, and only one will seize the Aegis of Champions and the lion's share of the $2+ MILLION prize pool.
For more match results and updates on the go don't forget to check out our Telegram channel.
