As per TI tradition, the first round of the Lower Bracket is best of one. As such, all it takes is one game for a team to be watching TI from the sidelines.
[divider]Fnatic (7-9) v.s. Team Serenity (7-9)[/divider]
Fnatic have played surprisingly well in the group stages, and were in the running for an upper bracket slot right up till the final day. Led by EternaLEnVy, being a fan of this team means being on an emotional roller coaster at all times. Always capable of gaining a massive lead (see game 1 of Fnatic v.s. Liquid) or throwing it all away (game 1 of Fnatic v.s. Mineski), Fnatic will hope to keep their TI dreams from reaching the dumpster.
Team Serenity is a total wildcard. Most of their players were unknown before banding together to take on the open qualifiers, and the three letter names really do not help. Unknown as they were, they have had some amazing games, taking matches off phenomenal teams such as Team Secret and Virtus.pro. In a best of 1, do not count this team out.
Two extreme wildcards face each other, and its hard to call. 1-0 to Serenity, for the lack of knowledge on them coupled with a unconventional playstyle might prove too much for Fnatic to handle.
[divider]TNC Predator (7-9) v.s. Mineski (5-11)[/divider]
TNC Predator is a rarity in today’s DOTA. A team comprised entirely of Filipino players, TNC is Pinoy pride at its finest. Heralded as the king of BO1s, their best achievement this season was placing fourth at the DOTA Asia Championships (DAC), also known as the TI of China. Midlaner Armel is one of the best South East Asia has to offer, and has won them many games off a strong performance. TNC will hope that Pinoy pride is enough to save them from going home.
Mineski, Mineski, just what has gone wrong? The first ever Major winner from South East Asia, Mineski looked dominant at DAC, beating out teams like Secret and LGD to claim the title. They were supposed to be SEA’s Power Rangers, assembling the absolute best the region had to offer, regardless of nationality or experience. Iceiceice and Mushi are literally the two most accomplished South East Asian players to exist, and yet they are mired in the lower bracket? Hopefully they manage to find their stride soon, or the first SEA team to win a Major will also be the first SEA team out of TI8.
Mineski will likely take this 1-0. Honestly, these two teams have met each other multiple times over the season, be it DPC tournaments or qualifiers, trading series back and forth. The crucial thing that Mineski has over TNC is, well, the two most successful SEA players of all time.
[divider]Newbee (8-8) v.s. Winstrike Team (4-12)[/divider]
Newbee must be kicking themselves for being in the lower bracket. Last year’s finalist, their fall from grace has been gradual, but they have fallen all the same. Now at risk of returning home after just one game, Newbee will look towards their star mid player, sccc to perform. They were literally one step away from taking the championship. Now, they are one step away from the airport.
Conversely, Winstrike has to breath a sigh of relief to even be at the main event. In a game where they were massively ahead, they threw away the game, thus forcing a tiebreaker with Invictus Gaming. Luckily for them, they managed to win, thus securing a place at the main event. Literally a team formed by rejects, they came to the forefront by winning the Madness Qualifer for EPICENTER XL – a 128 team, BO1, battle royale. Not only did they win the qualifer, they went on to place third at the event, beating out teams such as VP along the way. Now, they will hope to recapture that miraculous form once again at TI8.
1-0 to Winstrike. Watching Newbee just makes me angry at how much wasted potential there is, and there’s always upsets at TI8. Winstrike’s hunger will see them take a fast-paced game over their opponents.
[divider]VGJ.Thunder (6-10) v.s. Vici Gaming (7-9)[/divider]
VGJ.Thunder is practically an academy team, but with two veterans tagged onto it. Three of their members were from parent organisation’s Vici Gaming’s academy squad, Vici Gaming Potential, and deemed good enough to be promoted to an offshoot of the main organisation. By the way, the J in the team name stands for Jeremy Lin, NBA star, who partially owns the teams. However, do not sleep on the veteran’s credentials. Both Sylar and ddc have played in numerous prestigious teams. Also, ddc holds the dubious honour of being the only player to have attended every single International, and not win the event. Could this be VGJ,Thunder’s chance to fulfil ddc’s dreams?
Yup, that’s right, academy is meeting the main squad. With a total of three Vici Gaming squads at this event, the main Chinese one is right here. Maybe because of all the different teams, Vici Gaming suffers heavily from a dual personality syndrome. One day, they look like the best in the world, taking two games off Virtus.pro. Another day, they lost two games to VGJ.Thunder. Roll a dice, and you just might be able to guess which Vici squad shows up.
1-0 to VGJ.Thunder. Albeit slightly, they are the more consistent team. There’s no chance if the Vici Jekyll shows up, but it feels like Hyde is going to appear here.