Day 2 of The International 9’s group stage has come and past. With it, we have a much clearer idea of how teams stack up against one another. In case you haven’t found the time to watch all 40 games that happened today, this is a quick recap of the second day of the group stage.

The International Tournament Format

For the next 2 days, the TI9 group stage will take place, where every team will play a BO2 against every other team in their group to determine their seeding. At the conclusion of the group stage, the lowest placing team of each group will lose their chance to compete in the main event. The main event (20th to 25th of August) will be split into 2 parts, the upper bracket, and lower bracket. The seeds of the brackets are determined by the group stage, where the top 4 teams in each group will progress through the upper bracket, and bottom 4 battle it out in lowers. If you’ve missed Day 1 action you can read about it here.

Image Courtesy of Wykrhm

Group A TI9

Team Secret continue to establish themselves as the clear favorite of the tournament. They are yet to drop a single game, and continue to go against all odds to find wins against any opponent. They currently lead their group. Continuing with Day 1’s trends, Team Chaos are also struggling to find their footing. They have unfortunately not been able to snag a game in their only series today versus Mineski. This, unfortunately, leaves them lagging behind, with a good chance that they will get eliminated from the tournament. Their best chance at redemption is in their next series tomorrow versus Keen Gaming. The victor of that match will likely be saved from elimination from the tournament, but it’s still too early to say for sure.

Mineski seems to have found their footing, since they were able to climb their way to 3rd place from TNC after a decisive 2-0 win against Chaos Esports. They have had a shaky start, but have set themselves as favorites coming into the main event. Their true test will happen tomorrow however since they will be facing off Team Secret and Team Liquid. Their performance in these games will likely set their expectations for the entire tournament. Conversely, Team Liquid have been favorites for many fans coming into the tournament, but they are unable to set their mark as of yet, losing or drawing every series today. They are likely going to come into the main event via the lower bracket, but it’s still possible for them to redeem themselves. Tomorrow, they are scheduled to play against Keen Gaming and Alliance, but even those teams have been able to take games off the top dogs.

Group B TI9

OG have made themselves the group leaders, with an outstanding 2-0 finish against Evil Geniuses. They later on went to clean sweep the rest of their opponents for the day, guaranteeing themselves an upper bracket spot in the main event. At the lower end of the table, Team RNG have lost their momentum and are currently last place of their group. Their results tomorrow are likely to solidify their elimination from the tournament unless they are able to have an outstanding performance on that day. Their most important game will be their first series against NiP, the current runners up for the last place spot. The winner of that game will not only increase the point difference but also give a boost in momentum for the rest of the day. Stay tuned for that game!

Team Infamous have been able to bounce back from their lackluster performance yesterday, with an incredible showing by Hectors Wraith King against Fnatic. Although their upper bracket spot is not set in stone, they are clear contenders to securing that for themselves. Team Evil Geniuses have also been able to bounce back from a really bad showing earlier today. After losing 2-0 to group leaders OG, they went on to 2-0 RNG and yesterdays leaders Vici-Gaming. A surprising yet unsurprisingly lackluster showing from VP has put them in the lower bracket. VP has always been the team that struggles to make their mark every TI. Although they are coming in as favorites, starting off their TI run with this mediocrity will not be enough for them to secure a championship. Hopefully, they will find their footing in the coming days, though making upper bracket is close to impossible for them right now.

Image Courtesy of Wykrhm

Day 3

Day 3 will likely be the last hoorah for teams to secure an upper bracket position, or to save themselves from elimination. The teams games to look out for are RNG vs NiP, Chaos vs Keen Gaming, and EG vs Infamous. The results of those matches will likely set the bracket in stone, so keep an eye on them if you can. If you can’t, then no need to worry, because we got you covered. Check back tomorrow to get The International 9 fix, and we’ll do our best to keep you up to date on this blood bath of a group stage.