The best players eliminated from The International 12 so far
Standout players from eliminated teams at TI 2023
The Group Stage weekend of the International 2023 has concluded and the playoffs are now closer than ever. Four teams have been eliminated while sixteen remain.
As we get ready to witness the bloodshed that the International Playoffs usually bring about, let us take one last look at the standout players from teams that have been eliminated so far.
Here are the best players eliminated from TI12:
No!ob from PSG Quest
Many considered Quest Esports to be the strongest contenders in Group D, even with TI-winning WEU squad Tundra Esports in the pool. They had a fair bit of hype built up around them after their partnership with Paris Saint-German.
Despite that, they fell short against the TI winners and Talon Esports, TSM, and surprise underdogs Vivo Keyd Stars. Though, not without a fight.
Their mid laner No!ob had a flawless 5/0/25 performance on Puck in game 2 against Vivo Keyd Stars. This was followed up by a commanding show on the same day in game 2 against TSM on Earthshaker, with another flawless 11/0/16 KDA. He was one of the top players in the Group Stage despite being eliminated early on.
Sadly, that couldn’t be replicated on Day 2 of the Group Stage as Tundra and Talon recognized the potential impact of their mid player, banning or countering his signature heroes to eliminate them from the tournament.
Signature heroes:
Invoker, Earthshaker, and Puck
Parker from Beastcoast
Group C was one of the toughest at the tournament with 3-time Major winners Gaimin Gladiators and Chinese powerhouse LGD Gaming in the mix.
That didn’t stop beastcoast from snagging at least a couple of wins at the tournament, for which their carry player was largely responsible.
Parker started off their TI run with an explosive 13/0/8 performance in game 1 against nouns, followed by an 18/3/12 in game 1 against Virtus.pro, both on his signature hero Sven.
The aforementioned GG and LGD took note of this and either banned Sven or drafted beastcoast into a corner on the second day of the Group Stage, sending them packing before they could see the main stage.
Signature heroes:
Terrorblade, Troll Warlord, and Sven
Mjz from Thunder Awaken
When the Group Stage seedings were announced prior to the kick-off of the International 12, the unanimous consensus was that Group B was the toughest, which was unfortunate for Thunder Awaken.
Mjz and his team had to face off against Team Liquid, BetBoom, Shopify Rebellion and Azure Ray. If you predicted any one of these teams to win the entire group, you wouldn’t be too crazy to do so.
In the only game that TA won at the tournament, Mjz put out an impressive performance on Grimstroke against Shopify Rebellion with a 4/2/25 KDA.
And although Thunder was one of the two South American teams eliminated from the International early on, the region’s improvement over the recent years shows big promise for the future.
Signature heroes:
Lion, Earth Spirit, and Tiny
TA2000 from PSG Quest
Another well-known core player from PSG Quest is TA2000, also known as Naive. His competency on farm-intensive heroes is well-known, though that doesn’t seem to have been enough to advance to the playoffs.
In the games that Quest won, No!ob was not the only one to shine. TA2000 went 12/1/8 on his Luna in game 2 against TSM, and then 13/9/12 on his Templar Assassin in game 2 against Vivo Keyd Stars.
However, the team’s Medusa and Gyrocopter picks in game 1 and game 2 respectively against Talon seem to have spelled doom for them, as the carries are far from the top meta picks they were earlier this year.
Signature heroes:
Luna, Sven, Naga Siren, and Templar Assassin
ah fu from SMG
SMG had a rough start at the International to begin with. Their off lane player Masaros failed to secure a Visa to the United States.
Although they did get MindControl as a stand-in, one of the best in the world, team synergy is not something you can build in such a short time frame.
Regardless, their position 4 player ah fu had a few moments of his own, even wheeling out an unexpected Techies pick in game 1 versus Entity. Sadly, it did not work a second time in their tiebreaker against Evil Geniuses for the final spot in the playoffs.
It’s only a shame Earth Spirit isn’t in the meta as a support, but as a mid laner. Who knows? If he were, we could have had another “Thief in the Night” play.
Signature heroes:
Elder Titan, Clockwerk, and Phoenix
The Playoffs have just begun, with more teams facing off to survive elimination and move closer to the finals.
Who do you think deserved to move forward to the playoffs at TI but was eliminated instead? Did we miss someone?
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Thanks for reading!
Anomaluna
