The International 8: Main Event and Bracketing Preview

The International 8 (or TI8) Main Event is upon us. The start of the biggest eSports event is drawing closer and closer and is merely a handful of hours away. Here is our DotA 2 TI8 Main Event and Bracket Preview!

The Group Stage started out with TNC on fire, holding their ground in the upper half of their group. It didn’t last long as on the third and fourth day of the Group Stage, TNC lost their footing and ended up in the Lower Bracket for the Main Event. What’s worse is that TNC is most likely going to manage only 1 game on stage as they will face SEA rival Mineski in a BO1 series.

One has to take note that TNC has not won a single series since TI6, with them losing both series (without a single game for them) when they took an upper bracket berth at TI7.

In other matchups, we have the defending champions, Team Liquid get things started on the main stage with their Upper Bracket series against Optic Gaming. That series will be followed by the highly anticipated match between PSG.LGD and #1 on the DotA 2 Pro Circuit Virtus.Pro.

TNC and Mineski are scheduled to face off around 7 in the morning tomorrow, Philippine time.

Should TNC manage to make it out alive in their BO1 Lower Bracket game, I can see them passing by Virtus.Pro, should they fall against LGD, just how they managed to beat Team Liquid at an earlier tournament. One has to take note that TNC has managed to take a game off Virtus.Pro during the group stage, in convincing fashion. Also, TNC managed to 2-0 Optic Gaming, a team that has ended in the upper bracket. They will have to show up with full strength though and not commit to crazy stuff.

The Upper Bracket should be a formality for Team Liquid, EG, OG, with only the PSGLGD and Virtus.Pro match up sticking out as a 50-50 encounter.

I can see the aforementioned teams go far, and with a little bit of luck, one of our SEA teams doing fine as well. It’ll all come down to whether Fnatic can dispose of Serenity for the lower bracket to become a SEA brawl with the 3 South East Asian teams in the later rounds.

What are your thoughts so far about The International 8? Can a Filipino team finally make it? Can any SEA team finally make it? Or is it just going to be a formality for the defending champions now?