Meta of Top 8 Teams at TI12 — Upper Bracket
Top picks and bans of upper bracket teams at The International 2023 Main Event
The International 2023 is well underway, and out of the 20 teams that kicked off the Group Stage in Seattle, only 8 remain. The Playoffs are about halfway through, but the most exciting games are yet to come at the Main Event on the Finals Weekend.
So, which heroes have the best teams in the world been prioritizing? Which ones do they want to avoid playing against?
Here are the top picks and bans of the upper bracket teams at TI12…
Team Spirit
Team Spirit is dominating at The International 12 so far, losing none of their games in the Group Stage and only losing one to Virtus.pro before sending them to the lower bracket.
Their key pick Enchantress seems to have had a surprising level of success, something no other team has been able to replicate. Maybe their captain Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov is just that good on the hero?
Though, let’s not forget Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov’s Spirit Breaker. Their opponents seem to have messed up big time letting him slip through to become Spirit’s most picked hero at the tournament.
They seem pretty comfortable with their bans, not needing to ban any hero more than five times. The TI10 winners look like the top contenders this year!
Most picked
Spirit Breaker [4:1]
Enchantress [4:0]
Invoker [4:0]
Most banned
Templar Assassin [5 bans]
Bristleback [5 bans]
Tusk [5 bans]
Team Liquid
Team Liquid’s top picks should look intimidating to any team that’s about to face them. A flawless 5:0 performance on Ancient Apparition and 4:0 performances on Kunkka and Chaos Knight prove they’ve got a good handle on the meta.
What’s unique about upper bracket teams which separates them from lower bracket teams is their priority on picking or banning Phoenix. Liquid’s top ban explains why they’re currently a part of the former.
Their captain and drafter Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg and coach William “Blitz” Lee seem to have done their homework!
Most picked
Ancient Apparition [5:0]
Kunkka [4:0]
Chaos Knight [4:0]
Most banned
Phoenix [6 bans]
Templar Assassin [5 bans]
Primal Beast [5 bans]
LGD Gaming
Remember when we mentioned Phoenix as a top pick or ban for upper bracket teams? You should, we only just mentioned it when talking about Team Liquid’s most banned hero.
Well, LGD Gaming’s top pick has a flawless 4:0 record. In fact, TI6 winner Zhang “y`” Yiping’s Phoenix is what allowed them to win Group C in a dominant fashion.
Their Dazzle and Invoker bans were pretty on point, as they both have the flexibility to be played as support or core. Strangely, they are one of the few teams that prioritized Pangolier in their bans, one of the most overrated heroes at the tournament so far.
Most picked
Phoenix [4:0]
Dark Willow [3:1]
Earthshaker [3:0]
Most banned
Dazzle [9 bans]
Invoker [8 bans]
Pangolier [5 bans]
Azure Ray
Azure Ray’s top pick is unique in its own accord. Batrider used to be one of the most contested heroes at TI, but it’s been a few years since then. Well, what can you expect from these old-school veterans, half of whom made up the old PSG.LGD runner-up squad at TI8 and TI9?
Like Gaimin Gladiators in the lower bracket, they like picking Muerta. However, they can also boast a flawless 4:0 record on the hero, thanks to Xu “fy” Linsen.
One thing’s for sure, they really don’t like playing against Phoenix. They have the most bans on a single hero than any other team at TI so far. Maybe this is where they’ll outshine their next rivals in the upper bracket, LGD Gaming, and come out on top as the best Chinese team at the tournament.
Most picked
Batrider [3:2]
Muerta [4:0]
Clockwerk [2:1]
Most banned
Phoenix [10 bans]
Dazzle [7 bans]
Primal Beast [7 bans]
Which one of these upper bracket teams will survive and make it to the Grand Finals, and why? Do you think the current patch is more rewarding to those who pick inside or outside the meta? Let us know in the comments.
Check out the meta of lower bracket teams here!
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Thanks for reading!
Anomaluna
