TI6 Group Stage standings: Both groups too close to call

After over 12 hours of back-to-back games, the TI6 Group Stage standings are in. Teams are neck to neck, after the first day. Evil Geniuses, LGD Gaming and OG are tied for the top position in Group A. In Group B, the race appears to be even tighter, with Newbee, EHOME, Team Secret and Digital Chaos assuming the top place in a four-way tie.

The action continues with the next Group A series, today, on August 4th, at 9:00 PDT/18:00 CEST.

UPDATE (August 13th):

TI6 final standings, updates and highlights – HERE

The first TI6 Group Stage standings are set following 40 matches, over 12 hours of nonstop play, and the appearance of 88 different heroes and 16 teams on the Seattle battle front.

No perfect records were seen during the first day of the Group Stage, as both groups looked like a level playing field.

Evil Geniuses, LGD Gaming and OG are currently tied for the top position in Group A.

In Group B, Newbee, EHOME, Team Secret and Digital Chaos are currently sharing the lead, in a four-way tie.

TnC made waves upsetting Wings Gaming in a clean 2:0 sweep, EHOME demonstrated that Wild Card teams are something to be feared, OG are definitely not invincible, LGD proved they can prevail with a stand-in in their lineup

Both Fnatic and ViCi Gaming.Reborn were unable to find themselves a single victory in the first day of the group stage. For ViCi Gaming.Reborn, the situation is somewhat understandable: the Chinese team was forced to play with an unpracticed roster, due to Zhou “Yang” Haiyang unexpected absence. Therefore, VG.R moved coach Tong “Mikasa” Junjie to fill in for Yang, and Wang “Nono” Xin – who had been inactive lately – was brought back.

The pressure has only just started to mount, as the sixteen teams will continue to grapple for more victories and points, hoping to secure a place in the main event’s Upper Brackets. No team would want to start a $20 million tournament in the Lower Brackets, so we should expect fierce fighting for the duration of the group stage.

TI6 Group Stage standings (day 1)

TI6 Group Stage standings: Group A

• OG 1:1 LGD Gaming
• Evil Geniuses 1:1 Wings Gaming
• Na’Vi 1:1 Escape Gaming
• TnC Pro 0:2 Alliance
• OG 2:0 Alliance
• LGD Gaming 2:0 Escape Gaming
• Na’Vi 0:2 Evil Geniuses
• Wings Gaming 0:2 TnC Pro
• Wings Gaming 2:0 Escape Gaming
• OG 1:1 Evil Geniuses
• Na’Vi 1:1 TnC Pro
• LGD Gaming 1:1 Alliance

Group A: EG, LGD, OG take the lead

Reigning TI5 champions Evil Geniuses looked to have really pulled things together during training between SLTV iLeague Starseries s2 and The International 6 kick-off. The team is currently sitting in a three-way tie in the top position, after dropping two matches – one to each OG and Wings Gaming. The North-Americans managed to score a quick 2:0 sweep over Natus Vincere.

Clinton “Fear” Loomis and Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg took center stage with their performances. Fear’s Ursa and Drow have clearly instilled fear into EG’s opponents – boasting a Godlike streak in only 22 minutes against Na’Vi. Two extraordinary plays by Zai on Io will no doubt further the support hero’s recent surge in popularity.

Two-time Valve champions OG are not surprisingly sitting tied for the first spot in the group. The European mix split their series with LGD and EG, but plowed through Alliance in their second series of the day.

OG did not fail to deliver some of the best games in the group stage so far. Armed with tenacity and cheeky plays (worth mentioning David “MoonMeander” Tan smoking up and recovering the gem in the enemy fountain), the team looks to be in top shape for the main event.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Despite having to use a stand-in, albeit a very experienced one, LGD Gaming didn’t show any signs of fragility. Their split series with OG and Alliance gave incredible glimpses of skill, coupled with an overpowering 2:0 victory over Escape Gaming. Their first game of the series was a thrilling 20k gold deficit comeback, courtesy of their always collected and patient approach – wearing down their enemies and their defense.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Alliance started out their day on a high note, wiping out TnC, 2:0. The TI3 champions would ultimately end up with a 3:3 record, tied up with the Filipino team and Wings Gaming for the fourth place position in Group A.

Their aggression against TnC, however, set out as a thrilling, fast paced series, with 23:5 kill lead by minute 32. In the second game of the series, they followed up with three kills in the first two minutes and a 39:7 lead by the end.

The Swedes’ momentum was quickly halted in the next series, when they suffered their first loss in just over 17 minutes, at the hands of OG’s Drow. After losing the series against OG, 2:0, Alliance continued to fight hard and split the series against LGD, taking the last game victory in only 35 minutes.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

This year’s Cinderella team and fan-favorites Wings Gaming had a somewhat scattered performance during the first day of the group stage. After taking the first game out from EG in 35 minutes, they drafted a surprise Pudge in the second match – a choice that didn’t work out as planned.

Despite beautiful team fights and an early rampage by Chu “Shadow” Zeyu on Slark, EG managed to dodge their hooks and shut them down. The Chinese team then lost both matches in an incredibly shocking upset by TnC Gaming. The Filipino army of illusions from Phantom Lancer and Naga Siren was too overpowering in the first match, and Marc Polo “Raven” Luis Fausto’s Juggernaut was spectacular in the second one. Wings bounced back in their third series to destroy Escape Gaming, 2:0, ending their first day with an 18 minute victory.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Although TnC dropped their opening series 0:2 against Alliance, they fought admirably in their second match to hold out for a full 40 minutes against a clearly dominating Swedish assault. Not ones to let a bit of adversity hold them down, the Filipino team’s unexpected wipe out of Wings Gaming led them to evening out their record and creating much deserved hype around their performance. They ended the night with a split series with Na’Vi, taking the last victory with a well executed Drow strategy.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Na’Vi – the event’s only CIS representatives – fared worse than was expected of them in the first day of the group stage. Na’Vi’s opening matches against Escape Gaming were fairly quick ones, with the Ukrainians falling behind, unable to make much headway in the first match. Armed with a Drow Ranger, they quickly secured a win in the second match and tied up the series.

Their success didn’t last long, as they locked horns with Evil Geniuses and were quickly shut down in two 25 minute matches. Perhaps a bit dejected over their progress, Na’Vi took their aggression out on TnC in the next match and destroyed the Filipino team in 32 minutes with a 46:20 record. TnC answered back with a victory of their own, leaving Na’Vi with a negative record for the first day, 2:4.

The Wild Card series winners Escape Gaming had a disappointing show in the first day of the group stage. Having managed to take only one victory – in their opening series against Na’Vi – the team currently sits in the last place in Group A, with a 1:5 record, looking to find a way to climb back into the higher rankings in order to avoid the brutal best-of-one elimination series in the main event’s Lower Brackets.

TI6 Group Stage standings: Group B

• Team Secret 2:0 ViCi Gaming.Reborn
• MVP.Phoenix 1:1 Digital Chaos
• Team Liquid 1:1 Newbee
• Fnatic 0:2 EHOME
• Team Liquid 1:1 EHOME
• Newbee 2:0 ViCi Gaming.Reborn
• Team Secret 1:1 MVP.Phoenix
• Fnatic 0:2 Digital Chaos

Group B: Newbee, EHOME, Team Secret, Digital Chaos tied for top position

Newbee is sitting in a four-way tie in the group’s lead, with a 3:1 record. The Chinese team locked horns with Team Liquid for an exciting start to the Group B encounters. After dropping the first match, they quickly found the answer to Team Liquid’s Timbersaw. Zhang “Mu” Pan’s Dragon Knight ended up being too much for Liquid to handle.

Newbee charged forward to meet ViCi Gaming.Reborn. After a grueling 60-minute first match, they claimed their victory and quickly put an end to their counterparts with perfect games by Wong “ChuaN” Hock Chuan on his infamous Enchantress and Damien “kphoenii” Chok on Slardar.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

EHOME had a pleasantly surprising strong start to the group stage. After stomping out Fnatic in their opening series, the Wild Card winners went head to head with one of the event favorites – Team Liquid. It took 25 minutes before either team could make any progress and take a lead in the first match. When Team Liquid finally did, EHOME barely had a chance to mount a comeback – until the second match. EHOME took control early in the second match and held tight to their slight lead, ending with an incredible Epicenter by Ren “ELeVeN” Yangwei.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Team Secret plowed through their opening series against ViCi Gaming.Reborn with a two-game dominance. An invincible Huskar played by Artour “Arteezy” Babaev was the highlight of the first match, followed by another stellar performance on the hero in the second match. Arteezy’s Huskar only died once, in both games combined.

Coupled with flawless performances by Kanishka ‘Sam’ “BuLba” Sosale and Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao, Team Secret seemed unstoppable heading into the series against MVP.Phoenix. Another Huskar pick led them to victory, and MVP.Phoenix were sure to make the hero their first ban. The Koreans struck back hard with an incredible performance by Pyo “MP” No-a on Lifestealer, serving Team Secret their first loss.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Digital Chaos made their way into the top four positions with their tied record of 3:1. The North American based squad battled it out for an intense 70 minutes before being able to claim their well deserved victory against MVp, with Roman “Resolut1on” Fominok ending with 40k gold worth. Falling to the Koreans in the second match, DC went head strong into their series against Fnatic, outplaying and overpowering the Malaysian team in both matches.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Team Liquid’s start seemed to be a bit shaky. They are currently tied with MVP.Phoenix for the fifth place in the group. They split both of their series with Newbee and EHOME, struggling to keep their momentum going for the second matches in both series.

After the thrilling 70 minute first match against DC, MVP.Phoenix took the second match with MP’s Lifestealer. After being overwhelmed by Team Secret in the second series opener, their Lifestealer pick for MP made a resurgence and the Koreans managed to claim their final victory of the night.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

Both Fnatic and ViCi Gaming.Reborn have falled to the bottom of their group, without a single victory on the board. Fnatic were wiped clean by EHOME and then Digital Chaos. ViCi Gaming.Reborn struggled, as well, being swept through by Team Secret and then Newbee.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 Group Stage: August 3rd-5th

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

• Sixteen teams have been split into two groups of eight.
• Teams will meet every other team in their group in a two-game series.
• All 16 teams will advance to the TI6 Main Event.
• Top four teams in each group will advance into the Upper Brackets of the Main Event.
• Bottom four teams in each group will be placed into the Lower Bracket of the Main Event.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

TI6 streams

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

• TI6 English streams: Main Channel, Stream 2, and Stream 3

• TI6 Russian streams: Main Channel, Stream 2, and Stream 3

• TI6 Chinese streams: Main Channel, Stream 2, and Stream 3

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

The International 6

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

The International is the annual Dota 2 tournament hosted by Valve Corporation. The International made its debut in August 2011, with a total prize pool of $1.6 million.

Last year’s event, The International 5, took place between August 3rd-8th at the KeyArena – a multi-purpose arena in Seattle, Washington, with a maximum capacity of over 17,000. The Dota 2 community contributed with a staggering $16,829,613 to the $1.6 million base prize pool, making the total prize fund of almost $18,429,613 million the largest in esports history at that time. The International titleholder is North-American team Evil Geniuses.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings

This year’s main event will take place at the KeyArena in Seattle, Washington, between August 8th-13th. All 16 participating teams will advance to the main event and will receive a share of the TI6 prize pool.

The International 6 prize pool has outpaced The International 5 one from the very beginning. As of July 27th, the total TI6 prize pool has already broken last year’s record, thus becoming the largest in esports history.

TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings TI6 Group Stage standings