Start of TI8 group stage is off to a thrilling and unusual beginning

The International 8 Preliminaries Kick Off with Thrilling Matches

The first day of preliminaries at The International 8 was filled with excitement and drama, making it feel like the main event had already begun.

In the morning, the production team encountered technical difficulties, such as games without caster audio and channels going on and off. Fortunately, most of these issues were resolved before things got out of hand.

Despite the initial hiccups, the rest of the games were played without any further problems. The day was packed with thrilling matches that kept fans on the edge of their seats.

The opening set between Fnatic and the defending champions Team Liquid started with Fnatic taking an early lead, only to falter later on. It was a high-level game featuring Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao, with Fnatic essentially losing to themselves as expected.

However, Fnatic bounced back in the next game, dominating Team Liquid and securing an impressive victory. Even Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi’s Huskar pick couldn’t stand up to Fnatic, thanks to Abed Yusop shutting him down in lane. By the end of the day, Liquid had a score of 4-2, while Fnatic finished with three wins and one loss.

Another notable match was between Evil Geniuses and Invictus Gaming. In the first game, due to a misclick during the draft, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and Tal “Fly” Aizik had to switch roles. However, EG still dominated and ended the game in under 35 minutes. iG retaliated in the next game, resulting in a split in the series.

The highlight of the day was the series between Liquid and PSG-LGD Gaming, which could be a preview of the grand final matchup. The two powerful teams produced an exhilarating match in their first game, accumulating 91 kills in 54 minutes and 40 seconds. Fans can’t wait for a potential five-game series between these teams.

Overall, it was a promising start for North American teams, with both EG and Vici Gaming J Storm emerging as leaders in their groups. Vici Gaming, however, had a tougher day, losing all four games against supposedly weaker teams.

The action continues with more exciting matches later today, including paiN Gaming vs TNC Predator, Vici Gaming vs Newbee, Team Secret vs Virtus Pro, and OpTic vs VGJ Storm.

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