The third day of The International 11 in Singapore is underway, which means the Group Stage is slowly ending. Following two days where we had the chance to watch tons of matches, it was time for the third day of the groups. It is safe to say that this was the most important one because every win and loss could impact the final results.
Speaking of results, we will go through some of the most exciting things that happened during the day. This recap won’t go over every match, but we will make sure to give you the result of every series.
Team Secret vs Team Spirit
The first big match of the day put together the current TI champions and the Last Chance Qualifier winners. Both teams had the same stats before the match, but Spirit was yet to lose a series. That said, Yatoro and the rest got 4 draws, so they had to win to feel safer about their slot in the Upper Bracket of the playoffs.
Game 1
Following the relatively slow laning stage, both teams decided to look for team fights that would allow them to gain an advantage. Even though Secret’s draft allowed the team to take fights and rely on Chen for healing, Team Spirit had the better pick and won the majority of the encounters.
The CIS squad accumulated more than a 10k net worth advantage just 30 minutes after the start of the match. Secret tried to secure important kills in the next couple of minutes that would allow them to bounce back. However, the European squad could not accomplish its task because Spirit was flawless.
After winning several encounters, the TI champions started pushing, which is when Puppey and co. used the GG call.
Game 2
After the impressive victory in the match’s first game, Team Spirit was the favorite in the second one. However, things didn’t go as planned because their WEU counterparts were eager to get a draw in this match.
Secret was undoubtedly the better team in the laning stage, which allowed their Enigma draft to secure a comfortable lead. This was important because the hero had to go up against Silencer, one of his biggest counters.
Team Secret continued to dictate the game’s temp in the next couple of minutes. Spirit tried to bounce back several times, but the team did not have enough damage to win. Nevertheless, the CIS squad secured the bottom lane of rax, which gave them a glimmer of hope.
The last big team fight took place 50 minutes after the start, and even though it was messy, it went in favor of Secret. This was enough for Puppey, and the rest to win and equalize this series.
TSM vs Entity
Some people expected these two teams to be among the hidden favorites at The International 11. However, it seems like those people were wrong because neither of them is living up to the expectations. That said, TSM was in danger because the team was really close to the last 2 spots in the group. As a result, the NA squad had to win the match to survive.
Game 1
Following the pick and ban phase, TSM got a solid draft that allowed them to do too much damage. Entity also had a solid pick, but their heroes weren’t that good for early-game skirmishes. Unsurprisingly, the North American team used this to their advantage and had a solid start.
TSM completely ripped through their opponents in the first game. In fact, they only allowed them to get 3 kills, which was a clear sign that Timado and the rest deserved to win this.
Game 2
Following the one-sided game 1, we expected the second match of the series to be closer. It turned out we were right because Entity looked way stronger and eager to win. However, the victory wasn’t easy because the NA team didn’t go down without a fight.
Although TSM had a good start, the team could not bounce back after losing a few fights. This allowed Entity to take control and rip through their opponents, securing themselves a draw.
Team Liquid vs OG
It is safe to say that this was one of the most controversial series at The International 11 so far. Due to an annoying in-game bug, Misha was disconnected from the game and could not reconnect for 2 HOURS. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a long pause until the event’s organizers found a way to bring him back.
Game 1
The first game of this interesting series started really well for OG. The Europen powerhouse picked an interesting draft with some of the best heroes. Yet, they also tried something new by getting Enchantress for Misha.
The new draft caught their opponents by surprise and allowed them to gain a massive lead. In fact, after a 5-man wipe 16 minutes after the start, OG already had a 7k net worth lead, and things looked really good. The ESL One Stockholm’s winners continued to dominate, but even their massive lead was not enough for them to win.
Team Liquid eventually bounced back after securing several crucial pickoffs. In the end, the European squad equalized the match and pushed to win the first game after killing their teams.
Game 2
After the impressive victory in the match’s first game, Team Liquid used the momentum and ripped through their opponents. Broodmother and Shadow Fiend did not give their counterparts any chances early on and secured numerous kills and the T1 and T2 towers. In fact, Liquid even started pressuring OG’s T3s after just 20 minutes of play, but they did not have enough damage to bring them down.
OG had a glimmer of hope after securing a few kills, but Team Liquid was better in the second game. The team slowly regained its advantage and started doing even more damage. Liquid got mega creeps 40 minutes after the start and won an essential series.
The other results
Game 3 of The International 11 had many other fun series. Some of you probably haven’t had the chance to check the results yet, which is why we’ve prepared this table that contains all of the information.
- Evil Geniuses vs BetBoom Team – 2:0
- Team Secret vs Entity – 2:0
- Team Liquid vs Boom – 2:0
- OG vs Hokori – 1:1
- beastcoast vs Talon – 2:0
- PSG.LGD vs BOOM – 2:0
- Fnatic vs Talon – 0:2
- Evil Geniuses vs Royal Never Give Up – 2:0
- Soniqs vs BOOM – 2:0
- Soniqs vs BetBoom Team – 1:1
- Team Spirit vs Tundra Esports – 0:2
- PSG.LGD vs Gaimin Gladiators – 1:1
- Team Liquid vs Gaimin Gladiators – 1:1
- Fnatic vs Team Aster – 2:0
- Evil Geniuses vs Gaimin Gladiators – 2:0
- beastcoast vs TSM – 2:0
- OG vs BetBoom Team – 1:1
- PSG.LGD vs Royal Never Give Up – 2:0
- Thunder Awaken vs Tundra Esports – 1:1
- Royal Never Give Up vs Hokori – 0:2
- Team Aster vs Thunder Awaken – 1:1
- Soniqs vs Hokori – 0:2
