Dota 2 TI10 Day 2 recap: IG, VG pull ahead to top of groups
The second day of The International 10 (TI10) Group Stage has concluded and certain teams are already beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack, with Chinese squads Invictus Gaming (IG) and Vici Gaming (VG) finishing the day atop the standings of Group A and Group B, respectively.
With the majority of matches on day two taking place in Group B, VG notched three-straight 2-0 wins against fellow Chinese team Elephant, North America's Quincy Crew (QC), and Eastern Europe's Team Spirit to end the day at the head of their group with a 9-1 record.
PSG.LGD, another Chinese powerhouse and one of the heavy favourites to win TI10, came in second in Group B with a 7-1 record. However, they only played two matches — a 1-1 draw with Europe's Team Secret and a 2-0 sweep over Fnatic from Southeast Asia — in day two and could wrest the top spot of their group away from VG in the coming days.
Secret (6-4) and Beastcoast from South America (5-3) are in good position to lock up the third and fourth spots in Group B, as Elephant (4-6) and Fnatic (3-7) have a lot of ground to make up to get into the Top 4. Meanwhile, QC, Spirit, and SG Esports from South America each have a 2-6 record and are all in danger of an early exit from TI10 at the end of the Group Stage.
Over in Group A, IG scored two huge sweeps over Thunder Predator (TP) from South America and top Eastern European squad Virtus.pro to seize the top spot of their group with a 9-1 record.
Despite starting the day by getting swept by China's Team Aster, defending back-to-back champions OG bounced back with a 2-0 win over top Southeast Asian team T1 to get in second place with a 7-3 record.
Meanwhile, three other teams are vying to get into the Top 4 of Group A: North American teams Evil Geniuses (EG) and Undying as well as VP. While EG and Undying hold the edge with a 5-3 record apiece, VP (5-5) are not too far behind and could still pull ahead with some good performances in the coming days.
Finally, Group A's bottom four teams seem to have been settled. While there's still a chance that either Alliance (4-6) or Aster (3-5) can make a run for the Top 4, it's much more likely they'll remain behind the pack. T1 are barely above water with a 2-6 record while TP seem all but assured of an early exit after losing all eight games they have played thus far.
Here's how every match of day two of the Group Stage went down:
Group A:
OG 0-2 Aster
VP 0-2 T1
EG 1-1 Alliance
IG 2-0 TP
IG 2-0 VP
Aster 1-1 Alliance
Undying 2-0 TP
OG 2-0 T1
Group B:
PSG.LGD 1-1 Secret
VG 2-0 Elephant
QC 1-1 Beastcoast
Fnatic 0-2 SG
Elephant 0-2 Spirit
PSG.LGD 2-0 Fnatic
VG 2-0 QC
Secret 2-0 SG
VG 2-0 Spirit
BC 2-0 SG
QC 1-1 Fnatic
Secret 1-1 Elephant
Here are the standings at the end of the second day of TI10's Group Stage:
For a recap of day one of the Group Stage, check here.
TI10's Group Stage features the 18 participating teams split into two groups of nine teams each. The teams will be looking to finish in the Top 4 of their groups in order to secure an upper bracket berth in the Main Event. Meanwhile, the fifth to sixth-placed teams will have to start the Main Event from the lower bracket while the bottom team of each group will be eliminated early.
TI10 is this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament. The event features 18 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world battling from 7 to 17 October in Bucharest, Romania for the right to claim the lion's share of a massive US$40 million prize pool as well as the coveted Aegis of Champions.
For everything you need to know about TI10, check here.
For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter.
