The International 6 playoffs
The International 6 playoffs
After three exciting days of group stage games seeding for Dota 2’s The International 6 playoffs has been finalized. Several of the fan favorites face a tough battle for survival in the lower bracket.
The outcome of the group stage was pretty surprising, as several favorites fell behind and one Wild Card team went to the upper bracket.
Group A saw the recent winners of StarLadder StarSeries Natus Vincere finish in the bottom four of the group. Now the Ukrainian squad will have to fight for survival in the BO1 lower bracket.
Group B produced even more surprising results. Finalists of the Manila Major Team Liquid barely avoided a last-place finish in the group. Fnatic and Team Secret, some of the most popular teams at the tournament, also failed to finish in the top half of the group.
Group B was topped by two unexpected teams: Chinese Wild Card winners EHOME and American newcomers Digital Chaos. EHOME is the bigger surprise, given the Chinese veterans average performances in 2016. But with a great showing in the Wild Card bracket against Escape Gaming and Execration, EHOME appears to have found their form and are the top seed for Group B in the playoffs.
Digital Chaos’ run surprised many, but their roster is filled with experienced and individually-skilled players and has a lot of potential. Victories against Newbee, Fnatic, Team Secret, and Team Liquid put DC in second place in the group.
The rest of upper bracket consists of several teams that were anticipated to make a big impact at The International 6. The top of Group B was rounded out by Newbee and the South Korea’s MVP Phoenix. Best team of this year OG advanced as the top team of Group A, followed by reigning world champions Evil Geniuses, Wings Gaming, and Alliance.