The group stage of The International 12 (TI12) is set to begin with a bang, and it holds more significance than ever before. In a recent announcement by Wykrhm Reddy, the 20 participating teams have been divided into four groups, marking a departure from the traditional format. This new setup means that four teams will be eliminated right from the start.
Group A: A Battle of Titans
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| 9Pandas | |
| Entity | |
| Evil Geniuses | |
| Team SMG | |
| Team Spirit |
Group B: Intense Showdown
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| Azure Ray | |
| BetBoom Team | |
| Shopify Rebellion | |
| Team Liquid | |
| Thunder Awaken |
Group C: Clash of the Titans
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| beastcoast | |
| Gaimin Gladiators | |
| LGD Gaming | |
| nouns | |
| Virtus Pro |
Group D: Battle for Supremacy
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| Quest Esports | |
| Talon Esports | |
| TSM | |
| Tundra Esports | |
| Vivo Keyd Stars |
Upon initial analysis, each group appears to be evenly matched. The world’s top three teams, Gaimin Gladiators, Team Liquid, and Team Spirit, find themselves in separate groups. Additionally, defending champions Tundra Esports have their own group, making their advancement highly probable.
The revamped group stage will feature five teams in each group, competing in a best-of-two, single round-robin format. The team at the bottom of each group will be eliminated in this first phase. The second phase will see the top two teams from each group facing off against the third and fourth-placed teams from the opposite group in a best-of-three format. This phase will determine the bracket placement for the main event.
The intense battle among the 20 teams will unfold over four days, from October 12 to 15. After this stage, only 16 teams will remain, ready to dust themselves off and prepare for the playoffs.
READ MORE: Breaking the Habits: Which The International records might be broken at TI12?
Source: ONEESPORTS
