Meta of Top 8 Teams at TI12 — Lower Bracket
Top picks and bans of lower bracket teams at The International 2023 Main Event
We are on the cusp of the Main Event of The International 12, as the final 8 teams battle it out for the Aegis of Champions. Four teams were eliminated in the Group Stage, and four more in the Playoffs, leaving us the cream of the crop for the Finals Weekend.
So how did they make it this far? Which heroes did they shine on? And which ones did they ban the most?
Here are the top picks and bans of the lower bracket teams at TI12…
Gaimin Gladiators
3-time major winners Gaimin Gladiators were one of the few teams to not only prioritize Muerta but also win with her a fair bit. However, it wasn’t as a core, but rather as a position 4 support on Erik “tOfu” Engel.
In fact, they picked her in both matches for their second elimination series in the lower bracket against 9Pandas, securing them a top 8 slot.
In addition to that, they have a perfect 4:0 record on both Necrophos and Chaos Knight. The former is a rather unconventional pick not heavily prioritized by any other team, but their mid laner Quinn “Quinn” Callahan dominates on the hero every time he’s picked.
Their bans are not too surprising, except perhaps Sven, who has a paltry 36% win rate at the event and doesn’t seem to need priority bans.
Most picked
Muerta [6:3]
Necrophos [4:0]
Chaos Knight [4:0]
Most banned
Kunkka [9 bans]
Templar Assassin [8 bans]
Sven [5 bans]
Nouns
Nouns surprised a lot of people by being the only NA team to make it to the Finals Weekend this TI. However, it may not necessarily be because of a 2:3 record on their most-picked hero Skywrath Mage. Or are they trying to imitate TI10 winners Team Spirit and their 3:0 record on the hero?
Their Nature’s Prophet pick also seems to have mixed results. The hero has fallen out of the meta a while back after several nerfs, despite being situationally strong. Though, it does look like they can rely on the flawless streak of Luke “Yamsun” Wang’s Ancient Apparition.
The team’s top bans imitate that of several other teams; Kunkka, Invoker, and Templar Assassin are very much in the meta, flexible in the positions you can put them in, and capable of flash farming to be fight-ready in the mid-game.
Most picked
Skywrath Mage [2:3]
Nature’s Prophet [2:2]
Ancient Apparition [4:0]
Most banned
Kunkka [8 bans]
Invoker [7 bans]
Templar Assassin [6 bans]
BetBoom Team
Let’s talk about the most important statistic about this team first. Storm Spirit has a 6:0 record at the tournament, and BetBoom Team is responsible for four of those matches! Looks like their opponents can’t afford to let Danil “gpk” Skutin get his hands on this hero.
The other interesting priority pick for the team is Dark Willow, though they haven’t experimented with the hero in a core position, unlike other teams at the event. Why bother when you’ve got Vitalie “Save-” Melnic to save you with his Terrorize?
BetBoom is wise with bans, prioritizing some of the heavily banned heroes at TI12. Spirit Breaker in particular is one you don’t want to slip through!
Most picked
Vengeful Spirit [4:3]
Dark Willow [3:2]
Storm Spirit [4:0]
Most banned
Invoker [9 bans]
Spirit Breaker [8 bans]
Treant Protector [8 bans]
Virtus.pro
Virtus.pro has made it this far thanks to one of the best carries in the current meta, Spectre. We rightfully predicted this hero’s success in our article on the best carries in patch 7.34d.
Their win rates on the next two picks, Grimstroke and Vengeful Spirit, may not be so stellar. Though, we’d argue the former has more in store for us yet at the Main Event of The International.
The team has their eyes set on banning Primal Beast as often as possible, similar to some of the upper bracket teams at the event. However, their bans seem to be wasted on Pangolier, who has an abysmal 31.3% win rate at the event.
Most picked
Spectre [4:1]
Grimstroke [2:3]
Vengeful Spirit [1:3]
Most banned
Primal Beast [9 bans]
Kunkka [7 bans]
Pangolier [7 bans]
What do you think is a strong yet undiscovered hero at The International this year? Are there any heroes pro teams are over-prioritizing? How should the lower bracket teams change their picks and bans to catch up with the upper bracket teams? Let us know in the comments.
Check out the meta of upper bracket teams here!
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Thanks for reading!
Anomaluna
