Fans need not hold their breath any longer as Valve has revealed the official lineups for The International 10 (TI10) group stage. Starting on Thursday, October 7, the event’s group stage will feature 18 teams that will compete across two groups.
Valve and the hosts have arranged for players to be able to play from their rooms if they have to self-quarantine, thinking two steps ahead as the clock strikes closer to game time already. The two groups are split right across the middle, featuring a few favorites in each group by the look of it.
The first games will start at 3 am ET on October 7. The group stage will continue through Sunday, October 10 and all matches will be played in a Bo2 format.
TI10 Group A Overview
- Alliance
- Evil Geniuses
- Invictus Gaming
- OG
- T1
- Team Aster
- Thunder Predator
- Undying
- Virtus.Pro
| Team | Result (Win – Draw – Loss) | Placement |
| Invictus Gaming | 6-2-0 | Upper Bracket |
| Virtus.pro | 5-1-2 | Upper Bracket |
| OG | 3-4-1 | Upper Bracket |
| T1 | 5-0-3 | Upper Bracket |
| Evil Geniuses | 3-3-2 | Lower Bracket |
| Team Undying | 3-3-2 | Lower Bracket |
| Team Aster | 2-1-5 | Lower Bracket |
| Alliance | 1-2-5 | Lower Bracket |
| Thunder Predator | 0-0-8 | Eliminated |
Group A will feature a number of great teams to watch out for. Perhaps the most notable picks here will be Evil Geniuses, OG and Virtus.Pro. OG is coming into TI10 hopeful to secure a third back-to-back The International title.
This will prove increasingly difficult as the team has lost their offlaner, Ceb, who won’t be returning for TI10, it seems. Evil Geniuses managed to amass the most Dota Pro Circuit points during the season and they are currently runner-ups for the title right behind PSG.LGD.
Evil Geniuses (1.40) are tipped as strong favorites in the opening game versus Team Aster (2.94) and they are likely to overcome the group stage and make it to the playoffs without much traction.
One big thing to watch out for is Team Undying – a private team that is still looking for a sponsor and who managed to qualify for The International through sheer power of will and excellent plays throughout the season. They will be facing the Russian bears from Virtus.pro and are only given a (3.09) chance of success. While we are fairly certain that Evil Geniuses are going to place first in the group, the scramble for the second place is bound to be interesting.
We will see if OG can beat Alliance in their opening game and try to determine whether the team is in shape to contest the Aegis of Immortal another year. We would bet on Evil Geniuses to secure Group A win with OG to follow closely based on what information we have right now.
TI10 Group B Overview
- Beastcoast
- Elephant
- Fnatic
- PSG.LGD
- Quincy Crew
- SG Esports
- Team Secret
- Team Spirit
- Vici Gaming
| Team | Result (Win – Draw – Loss) | Placement |
| PSG.LGD | 7-1-0 | Upper Bracket |
| Team Secret | 4-2-2 | Upper Bracket |
| VICI Gaming | 4-2-2 | Upper Bracket |
| Team Spirit | 5-0-3 | Upper Bracket |
| beastcoast | 2-3-3 | Lower Bracket |
| Quincy Crew | 2-2-4 | Lower Bracket |
| Fnatic | 1-4-3 | Lower Bracket |
| Elephant | 2-2-4 | Lower Bracket |
| SG Esports | 1-0-7 | Eliminated |
The struggle in Group B will be real as they say. Admittedly, there are fewer top ten teams based on our predictions for TI10 in Group B, but there are names you still have to respect. PSG.LGD is currently on the top of the pecking order as the most likely winner.
They are tipped to win the event outright so there is that. Team Secret are priced at (+550) giving them a fair shot at pulling off a runner-up spot in Group B or even attempting to contest the first spot.
Elephant are another interesting team to look out for as their opening day games will put them against beastcoast and Fnatic, and they are favored to win both games by a fairly big margin.