The International 2017: Eight Teams Bid Farewell as Tournament Enters Critical Stage
The biggest Dota 2 event of the year, The International 7, is reaching its climax, with more teams progressing to the later stages. However, four teams were unfortunately eliminated and will have to watch the remaining games from the sidelines.
After the first two games of the upper bracket, the spotlight shifted towards the lower bracket. Eight teams fought to stay alive in the $23 million competition.
At the end of the first day of the playoffs, Team Secret, Team Empire, OG, and Digital Chaos advanced to the next round. However, Execration, Cloud9, Infamous, and Invictus Gaming Vitality were not as fortunate and bid farewell to The International 7.
Cloud9, a fan favorite, suffered a surprising elimination, especially considering Team Empire had a stand-in player, Roman “Resolut1on” Fominok. Despite Cloud9’s underwhelming performance in the group stage, the departure of notable players like Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao, Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling, and Johan “pieliedie” Åström highlights the intensely competitive nature of the lower bracket.
Next up, Team Secret will face off against Team Liquid, while Evil Geniuses will take on Team Empire in matches scheduled for later today.
OG and Digital Chaos await their opponents from today’s upper bracket matches, but fans with a keen eye would remember the thrilling series between TNC and LGD.Forever Young from The International 6. If TNC loses against the Chinese favorites, they will face OG in the lower bracket, mirroring the scenario from the last year’s tournament. In 2016, TNC successfully eliminated the tournament favorites in a 2-0 series. Given OG’s struggles in the group stage, memories of The International 6 may come back to haunt the four-time Valve Major champions.
By the end of today, two more teams will be eliminated, leaving ten teams remaining to battle it out at The International 7.