Cover-Credits:
Valve
The International 2022 (TI11)’s Main Event kicked off with a day’s worth of great action from the best teams in the world, as the teams provided entertaining matches throughout the day as well as surprises from the panelist’s desk. However, it was mostly highlighted by a lot of upsets happening in both the Upper & Lower Bracket.
But the final match was one of the greatest matches we've ever seen with Royal Never Give Up and Entity going toe-to-toe in a barn burner of a game that lasted nearly two hours. This happened despite four members of RNG being which left Yap "xNova" Jian Wei as the only person to walk into the stadium for its game against Entity. xNova was accompanied by four teddy bears in the stadium which won hearts from everyone watching TI11.
While the upsets are considered as the main highlights of Day 1 of the Main Event, there were a lot of interesting matches and highlights to keep up with in the first day of the main event. So here is a full recap of what went down on Day One of the TI11 Main Event.
The International 2022 Main Event: Day One Recap
Upper Bracket
Evil Geniuses fumbled against Thunder Awaken
While Evil Geniuses had an amazing run during the group stage, its newly found form did not manage to help the team avoid defeat against South American team Thunder Awaken.
Despite EG’s efforts to turn the tide in both games, Thunder Awaken would end up causing an upset as it claimed the series 2-0, defeating the North American favorites while also dropping them in the depths of the Lower Bracket.
Many eyes were on the performances of Thunder Awaken’s Crhistian "Pakazs" Casanova & Herrera "Darkmago" Gonzalo as the duo maintained a high KDA ratio during the series.
Secret stomps PSG.LGD
While PSG.LGD were heavily favored to win the series, Team Secret ended up providing the second upset of the day after Thunder Awaken had beaten Evil Geniuses in the first match of the day.
While Secret’s draft in Game One looked weird with a carry Dawnbreaker for Remco "Crystallis" Arets and an offlane Silencer for Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok, it turned out well as Secret dominated the game as well as the series after defeating The International 2021 (TI10) in a 2-0 stomp.
Lower Bracket
With the Upper Bracket concluded for today, it was time for the cruelest best of one matches in the first round of the Lower Bracket. However the viewers were treated to a surprise as James "2GD" Harding made his return to TI as one of the stage hosts after his last appearance at the infamous Shanghai Major 2016.
Beastcoast swept aside Hokori
The first match of the Lower Bracket saw a match between South American teams of Hokori & Beastcoast. While the early game was even between both teams, the mid-game saw Beastcoast slowly gaining momentum as they dismantled Hokori.
Despite Hokori’s attempts to turn things around, beastcoast would claim the victory after 36 minutes and will move on to the next round. Hokori on the other hand will be the first team to be eliminated from the Main Event.
Adrián "Wisper" Dobles had an outstanding game, as he had 18 kills and 7 assists as the Batrider while not dying once.
Boom Esports sends TI10 champions, Team Spirit home
While Team Spirit were viewed as the heavy favorites to win as the team are the current defending champions, many predicted that Boom Esports could provide another upset in Day One of the Main Event playoffs.
Despite its bad form during the group stage, Boom Esports managed to defy all odds as it defeated the defending champions convincingly as they moved on to the next round of the Lower Bracket.
Team Spirit on the other hand, were unable to defend its title as they are the second team to be eliminated from the tournament today.
Fnatic falls as the Gladiators prevailed
The third match of the lower bracket saw home favorites Fnatic going up against Gaimin Gladiators. Fnatic had the early game momentum as Marc "Raven" Fausto’s Templar Assassin and Armel "Armel" Tabios’s Sniper managed to farm their much needed items. However, an Aghanim’s Specter pickup by Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan’s Storm Spirit changed the tide against Fnatic as he managed to catch a 4-man Electric Vortex near his team’s base, allowing the rest of his team to clean up.
From there, Fnatic no longer had the advantage as they called the game after 50 minutes as the home crowd favorites made another early exit from The International.
RNG’s Xnova 1v5 in vain as Entity claims victory in TI’s longest game in history
4/5 of RNG’s roster were unable to make its appearance on the stage due to COVID-19, however Yap "xNova" Jian Wei was kept company onstage by teddy bears wearing RNG jerseys as it faced off against Entity in the final match of the day.
The match ended up being a back and forth game between both RNG & Entity as the match broke the record as the longest match being played on the Main Stage of The International at 107 minutes, with Entity ended up as the final victors after what could be considered as the game of the tournament so far.
Day One of the Main Event saw loads of nail-biting games & content highlights, as well as upsets from underdog teams. The TI11 action continues tomorrow, as Day Two of the Main Event will begin as early as 10:00 AM SGT. You can check out the schedule and results of all The International 2022 games with AFK Gaming's event tracker below.
