Yesterday evening, The International 2017’s group stage finally kicked off, as I became almost overwhelmed with excitement. It’s been a long wait, but now that this year’s The International is underway, there is just so much top professional Dota 2 to watch each day. There is simply nothing better for a Dota 2 fan than watching the world’s top professional teams fighting it out for the biggest prize pool in esports history.
For those who couldn’t watch the matches, we have the group stage standings after day one lower down in the article (spoiler alert) and then my fantasy roster picks for day two. First up, you can check out the schedule for day one of The International 2017’s group stage.
Please note that times might change slightly, as some matches could last much longer than expected and there is always the possibility of technical issues. The schedule is in South African time.
Group B – 3 August at 18:00 PM
- Newbee vs OG
- Virtus.pro vs LGD Forever Young
- Invictus Gaming vs Digital Chaos
- Execration vs Hellraisers
Group A – 3 August at 20:00 PM
- Team Secret vs TNC Pro Team
- LGD Gaming vs iG.Vitality
- Evil Geniuses vs Team Empire
- Team Liquid vs Infamous
Group B – 3 August at 22:00 PM
- Virtus.pro vs Cloud9
- Invictus Gaming vs LGD Forever Young
- Newbee vs Execration
- OG vs Hellraisers
Group A – 4 August at 12:00 AM
- Team Liquid vs LGD Gaming
- Team Secret vs iG.Vitality
- TNC Pro Team vs Team Empire
- Fnatic vs Infamous
Group B – 4 August at 02:00 AM
- OG vs Virtus.pro
- LGD Forever Young vs Cloud9
- Invictus Gaming vs Execration
- Digital Chaos vs Hellraisers
Day one group stage results
It was an extremely interesting first day, with some spectacular matches in both of the groups. The first match between TNC Pro Team and one of the fan favourites, Evil Geniuses, showed what I hoped would come from The International 2017 – that no team is a pushover and that anyone can beat anyone else. TNC Pro Team put up a decent fight in game one but lost. However, in game two, they managed to defeat Evil Geniuses and claim a point in arguably one of their toughest matchups.
20 matches were played on the first day, with four matches happening simultaneously for most of the night. Below, you can see the current standings after the day one matches, with LGD Forever Young leading group B while LGD Gaming leads group A.
Keep in mind that the top four teams in each group will progress to the Main Event’s upper bracket, while the next four in each group will progress to the lower bracket. The bottom team in each group will be eliminated. Therefore, the group stages are of the utmost importance to all the teams involved.
My fantasy roster picks
Why did I pick so many OG players? Well, I am confident that they will have a great day. However, it is also important to note that if you want to get the most out of day two, you should pick players only from certain Group B teams, as some teams, for example, OG in Group B, will be playing three matches, while the teams in Group A will only play two matches. Therefore, it is very unlikely that any player from Group A will do better than those in Group B who play three.
Click on the image for a better view of the player cards and stats
What do you think about the group stage standings after day one and which team do are you backing to do well on day two? Let us know in the comment section below.
Read more about Dota 2:
- Your survival guide to The International 2017
- Dota 2: The International 2017 group stage day one schedule
- Dota 2: Valve unleashes a glorious new collector’s item for high-level Battle Pass owners
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