Dota 2 TI 2023: Tundra Esports suffer shock defeat to nouns

North American underdogs known as 'nouns' delivered the standout performance in the seeding stage, pulling off a convincing win against the reigning TI Champion, Tundra Esports.

Tundra's deliberate choice of nouns as their playoff seeding phase opponents backfired as the unconventional North American squad outshone them. Be it K1 leading the charge or Gunnar showcasing exceptional plays on heroes like Earth Shaker and Ogre Magi, nouns displayed their superiority in both games.

The first game remained closely contested for about 20 minutes before nouns steadily gained the upper hand. In contrast, the second game was a methodical victory for the North American team, knocking the TI11 champions into the lower bracket and securing nouns a top-12 finish, despite their entry through regional qualifiers.

However, the day witnessed more upsets. LGD Gaming efficiently defeated Keyd Stars 2-0, while BetBoom and 9Pandas engaged in closely matched series. Solo's squad eventually outperformed their opponents, securing a series win thanks to kiyotaka's Lina in game two and a stellar RAMZES performance in game three.

The least surprising upset was Azure Ray's sweep of Entity in the final seeding stage series. AR exhibited control in the first game and achieved a swift victory in the second, despite Entity's late comeback attempt.