TI11 Group Stage Day 3: EG first to secure upper bracket berth, PSG.LGD, Tundra stay on top

Kurt Lozano
·Contributing Editor
Updated ·7 min read
Evil Geniuses are the first team to secure an upper bracket berth at The International 11 Main Event. Meanwhile, PSG.LGD and Tundra Esports maintain their leads over their respective groups. Pictured: PSG.LGD Ame, Evil Geniuses Arteezy, Tundra Esports Saksa. (Photos: PSG.LGD, Evil Geniuses, Tundra Esports)
Evil Geniuses are the first team to secure an upper bracket berth at The International 11 Main Event. Meanwhile, PSG.LGD and Tundra Esports maintain their leads over their respective groups. Pictured: PSG.LGD Ame, Evil Geniuses Arteezy, Tundra Esports Saksa. (Photos: PSG.LGD, Evil Geniuses, Tundra Esports)

The stakes are only getting higher as the third day of The International 11 (TI11) Group Stage on Monday (17 October) came to a conclusion.

North American juggernauts Evil Geniuses (EG) continue to be on fire, as they became the first team to secure an upper bracket berth in the Main Event after another perfect day in the Group Stage.

Chinese favourites PSG.LGD and Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) winner Team Liquid are also looking dominant over in Group A. Meanwhile, Western European powerhouse Tundra Esports have claimed the top spot over in Group B.

EG, PSG.LGD, Liquid dominate Group A, RNG and OG slip

EG became the first team to secure a spot in the upper bracket of the Main Event after their second 6-0 day of the Group Stage, which came at the expense of BetBoom Team, Royal Never Give Up (RNG), and Gaimin Gladiators.

The North American juggernauts finish the day with a 14-2 record, and are likely to end the Group Stage with a stage-best 16-2 standing, as their last match in Day 4 will be against a crumbling BOOM Esports.

PSG.LGD are done washing their faces it seems, as they sit in second place at Group A with a 11-5 record.

The Chinese favourites ended the day having drawn with Gaimin Gladiators while scoring sweeps over RNG and BOOM, with their 2-4 start in Day 1 all but a distant memory.

Liquid are another streaking team with a 11-5 record, ending the day with sweeps over OG and BOOM as well as a draw with Gaimin Gladiators. With Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen set to retire after TI11, Liquid seem set on giving their carry player a proper send off with a deep TI run.

South American regional qualifier winner Hokori came out of nowhere to be in contention for an upper bracket berth. The South American hopefuls ended the day with a 9-7 record off a draw with OG as well as two huge sweeps over RNG and Soniqs Esports.

But while the likes of Hokori are surging, RNG and OG are slipping.

RNG went winless in Day 3 after four of its players tested positive for COVID-19, which forced them to forfeit one of their games against PSG.LGD and play their remaining matches while in isolation. Let's hope the team can recover quickly and once again compete to the best of their ability.

OG, however, have no excuses, as they finished the day with two draws against Hokori and BetBoom as well as a 0-2 loss to Liquid.

The team seemed like a lock for the upper bracket earlier in the Group Stage, but their recent underperformance puts them in an uphill battle to avoid a lower bracket start.

Meanwhile, the bottom four teams of Group A consist of Gaimin Gladiators (6-10), Soniqs (5-10), BetBoom (4-12), and BOOM (3-13).

Gaimin Gladiators and Soniqs still have solid chances of still making the lower bracket, but both BetBoom and BOOM seem headed for early exits.

Tundra, Aster, Secret likely headed to upper bracket from Group B

Tundra took over the top spot in Group B with a 10-4 record after they scored a huge sweep over TI10 champions Team Spirit and a draw with Thunder Awaken.

Tundra have two matches left to play against Entity and Fnatic, though it's safe to say they're already locks for an upper bracket berth.

Chinese powerhouse Team Aster and LCQ winner Team Secret are tied for second place in Group B with 9-5 records apiece. Both squads are also likely headed for the upper bracket in the Main Event.

Aster have looked shaky, as they got swept by Fnatic and only managed a draw against Thunder Awaken. Meanwhile, Secret continue to look strong after drawing with Spirit and sweeping Entity.

South American hopefuls Thunder Awaken round out the Top 4 of Group B with a solid 8-6 record. This young squad can secure an upper bracket berth if they can defeat familiar foes TSM and Beastcoast in their Day 4 matches.

Fnatic and Team Spirit are tied for fifth place with 7-7 records.

Fnatic had a rollercoaster Day 3, as they scored a huge sweep over Aster to get in the running for the upper bracket, only for those hopes to get dashed after they themselves got swept by Talon Esports.

Meanwhile, the TI10 champions are not playing up to expectations, only managing to draw with Secret before getting swept by Tundra.

Spirit are still likely headed to the Main Event, but starting in the lower bracket isn't where the defending champions want to be.

Beastcoast and Entity both have 6-8 records and seem safe from getting eliminated after the Group Stage, though they will have to settle for a lower bracket start in the Main Event.

The same can't be said for Talon and TSM, however, who both have 4-10 records and are likely headed home soon.

Here's how all of the matches in Day 3 of TI11's Group Stage went down:

  • Evil Geniuses 2-0 BetBoom Team

  • OG 1-1 Hokori

  • BOOM Esports 0-2 Soniqs Esports

  • Team Liquid 1-1 Gaimin Gladiators

  • Royal Never Give Up 0-2 PSG.LGD

  • Team Secret 1-1 Team Spirit

  • Beastcoast 2-0 Talon Esports

  • Entity 1-1 TSM

  • Team Aster 0-2 Fnatic

  • Tundra Esports 1-1 Thunder Awaken

  • Team Liquid 2-0 OG

  • PSG.LGD 2-0 BOOM Esports

  • Soniqs Esports 1-1 BetBoom Team

  • Evil Geniuses 2-0 Gaimin Gladiators

  • Royal Never Give Up 0-2 Hokori

  • Team Secret 2-0 Entity

  • Fnatic 0-2 Talon Esports

  • Tundra Esports 2-0 Team Spirit

  • Beastcoast 2-0 TSM

  • Team Aster 1-1 Thunder Awaken

  • Team Liquid 2-0 BOOM Esports

  • Evil Geniuses 2-0 Royal Never Give Up

  • PSG.LGD 1-1 Gaimin Gladiators

  • OG 1-1 BetBoom Team

  • Hokori 2-0 Soniqs Esports

Here are the standings after Day 2 of TI11's Group Stage:

Group A

  1. Evil Geniuses - 14-2

  2. PSG.LGD - 11-5

  3. Team Liquid - 11-5

  4. Hokori - 9-7

  5. Royal Never Give Up - 9-7

  6. OG - 8-8

  7. Gaimin Gladiators - 6-10

  8. Soniqs Esports - 5-11

  9. BetBoom Team - 4-12

  10. BOOM Esports - 3-13

Group B

  1. Tundra Esports - 10-4

  2. Team Aster - 9-5

  3. Team Secret - 9-5

  4. Thunder Awaken - 8-6

  5. Fnatic - 7-7

  6. Team Spirit - 7-7

  7. Beastcoast - 6-8

  8. Entity - 6-8

  9. Talon Esports - 4-10

  10. TSM - 4-10

TI11's Group Stage will take place from 15 to 18 October, where 20 teams will fight to become among the 16 squads to advance to the Main Event. The 20 teams have been split into two groups of 10 teams each and will go through a single round robin with best-of-two matches.

The Top 4 teams in each group will advance to the upper bracket of the Main Event. The 5th-8th placed teams will also qualify for the Main Event, though they will have to start from the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, the bottom two teams of each group will be eliminated early.

TI11's Main Event will be a double-elimination bracket and is split into two phases, the first being held from 20 to 23 October while the second will take place from 29 to 30 October.

TI11 will be hosted in Singapore from 15 to 30 October and features a revamped format and a longer schedule.

For everything you need to know about TI11, check here.

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