THE INTERNATIONAL 2022 group stage begins on October 15, with 20 teams vying for a playoff spot (and of course, a dreaded early exit).
Groups will see teams divided into two groups of 10 teams each. The top eight will move on to the playoffs, while the bottom two will say goodbye to their chances of ascending the main stage at Suntec in Singapore.
Teams will face each other across four days in a best-of-two series, with teams ranked by the number of wins instead of straight-out points.
The top four of each group will be slotted in the upper bracket, earning themselves essentially two lives in the annual championship. Meanwhile, the fifth to eighth seeds will find themselves in the lower bracket. They'll be starting the tournament on the backfoot, as they will instantly face elimination in a single-game series.
Looking at the groups of TI11
Group A sees SEA top seed Boom Esports face ten tough opponents, including tournament favorites PSG.LGD and OG.
Joining the three are two invited squads: Evil Geniuses from North America, and Gaimin Gladiators from the EU region.
Also in Group A are regional qualifier winners RNG from China, BetBoom from East Europe, Soniqs from NA, and Hokori from South America. Rounding out the teams is Team Liquid from the Last Chance Qualifier earlier in the week.
Boom Esports will kick off the day with a match against OG in Stream D, while PSG.LDG tests the mantle of Hokori in Stream C. Games will begin at 10 a.m. Manila time.
In Group B, Fnatic will take on most of the DPC invitees. There's third seed (and defending champs) Team Spirit, as well as DPC fourth seed and South America’s powerhouse beastcoast.
Also in the group are Team Aster from China, Thunder Awaken from South America, TSM from NA, and Tundra from WEU, which are ranked fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth in the DPC rankings, respectively.
Completing Group B are Talon from the SEA Regional Qualifier, Entity from WEU’s Regional Qualifiers, and Team Secret, who were the first team out of the Last Chance Qualifier.
Fnatic will kick off the Group B matches as they face off against defending champs Team Spirit as the second match in Stream B. Also in the same time slot? TSM versus Talon in Stream D.
Teams to watch in TI11
Though the group stages look exciting, numerous personalities indicated the unbalanced nature of the matches. Take a look at this tweet from esports statistician Ben "Noxville" Steenhuisen.
All eyes will be on PSG.LGD as they try finally catch that elusive Aegis. OG is also on our radar, as they field their full roster in a LAN for the first time this season.
We're also looking for TI to answer these burning questions. Will EG finally climb out of their slump in the season? Will Team Liquid’s LCQ momentum push them all the way to playoffs and beyond? And will the regional qualifier teams surprise the DPC direct invitees?
Taking a closer look at the group lineups, it will be a free-for-all in Group B as teams jockey for the top four spots. Of course, Team Spirit is the standout there. Aside from being the defending champs, the team also won the last Major of the season in dominant fashion against PSG.LGD. But take note: TSM who found their groove early in the season and became one of the first teams to lock their invite. And let's not forget, beastcoast and Thunder Predator are certainly gunning for the chance to be the first South American team to go all the way to the top.
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