The International 10 kicked off earlier today, marking the start of the biggest event in Dota 2 history. Following issues with the event ticket and other technical problems that saw matches start a full hour later than scheduled, TI10’s opening day saw 18 teams playing 20 different series across both groups. By the end of the day, only one team remained undefeated and there were several upsets that could impact the final bracket.
PSG.LGD were one of the favorites going into TI this year, and they showed why with four dominant games against Quincy Crew and Team Spirit. Only one of their games lasted more than 30 minutes, and it never really felt like the Chinese juggernauts were in danger of losing control.
Overall, Group B was dominated by the three Chinese teams, with LGD finishing 2-0 and both Elephant and Vici Gaming going 2-1-0. The biggest upset of the day also came in Group B, with beastcoast sweeping Team Secret. Both games were relatively close, but beastcoast managed to pull away in the late game twice, largely thanks to K1 and Wisper playing well.
In Group A, Invictus Gaming, OG, and Virtus.pro are all tied at 2-1-0, with Evil Geniuses not too far behind at 2-1. OG and VP’s match near the end of the day was arguably the most entertaining, with both teams getting more than 30 kills in each game, which was not common throughout the event.
OG staged a comeback at the very last second to steal game one, despite VP having 53 kills, on the back of Ceb getting a triple-kill, and VP having no buybacks.
VP wasn’t shaken in game two, getting out to another strong lead and holding steadfast against OG making two big pushes to take control, eventually edging out the two-time champs and evening up the series.
Because this is only the first day of the competition, no team is out of the running yet, but Spirit, Thunder Predator, Team Aster, and surprisingly T1 are all currently 0-2. There are still three days of matches left before the first two teams are eliminated and the main event’s bracket is set, but another day with no wins could spell doom for any of these teams.
Heading into day two, Secret, who went 1-1 during day one, will play LGD and Elephant, which should show if Puppey and his team can handle other teams that are considered contenders. VP and Invictus Gaming should also be a really good series, too. Matches begin at 2am CT, barring any additional delays.
