Dota 2 TI10: Summary of day 1, PSG.LGD is the only team unbeaten

The first day of The International 10 group stage is over. With a total of 40 matches to be played in the group stage, PSG.LGD is currently the only team that has yet to lose a game. Meanwhile, the defending champion OG is having a record of 5-1.

PSG.LGD and OG are placed in two different groups, which means we have to wait until the playoffs to have a chance to see the two teams face each other. Now, both are aiming for the top of each group to have the right to choose their first opponent in the playoff round.

In Group A, OG nearly ended the first day of competition with a 6-0 win in three series. In Group B, PSG.LGD only had to compete in two series and the Chinese team swept Quincy Crew and Team Spirit. That performance helped PSG.LGD topped Group B, followed by Elephant. Elephant superstar team drew 1-1 with Fnatic and won beastcoast 2-0.

The upset of the day

Despite the crushing defeat to PSG.LGD, beastcoast kept its spirits up and brought home the only surprise victory of the first day of competition when defeating Team Secret 2-0. The series’ MVP is Adrián “Wisper” Céspedes Dobles, the offlaner carrying the team while holding Timbersaw. During the match, he constantly harassed the lanes and interrupted Secret’s farming, giving his Sven every space to play perfectly. Although Héctor Antonio “K1” Rodríguez topped networth, it was Wisper who won Rampage.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

TE QUIERO WISPER

1-0#BCDOTA | #TI10 pic.twitter.com/SYfSLlUWPn

— beastcoast (@beastcoast) October 7, 2021

Wisper continued to compete actively in the same position in game 2, as Sand King. Although he didn’t have a chance to win rampage anymore, his ability to initiate teamfights, presence in teamfight, as well as control of the game allowed beastcoast to win 2-0 against Team Secret.

WISPER ES MI PASTOR ♥️#BCDOTA | #TI10 pic.twitter.com/8gQ52nlsBT

— beastcoast (@beastcoast) October 7, 2021

While Group B has a clear top team after day one, Group A is a battle for the top spot between three teams with a record of 5-1.

OG kicked off their third Aegis campaign with Syed “SumaiL” Hassan’s powerful carry Clinkz against Alliance. He played the hero in both games and finished impressively with a total of 35/2/16 K/D/A. Alliance also surprised OG by using Queen of Pain in support 4 in game 1 and mid in game 2. Unfortunately for them, this strategy didn’t work against OG and then Alliance also lost 0-2 to Virtus. pro.

Russian Bear VP topped the table with OG after stopping his opponent’s unbeaten run with the Dawnbreaker carry. Virtus.pro was the only team to draft Dawnbreaker on the opening day of TI10. They first tested Dawnbreaker at support 5 against Undying, and then switched to carry against OG. In the match against Team Undying, the hero’s full map presence was enhanced by support Bounty Hunter, and mid lane Storm Spirit. Storm can zip around the map and find Bounty’s kill track easily.

In the match against OG, VP switched Dawnbreaker to carry but continued the hero pairing with Bounty Hunter and Storm Spirit. Not stopping there, VP added IO in the draft to increase the ability to fight the whole map. The team’s strategy works flawlessly in the early and mid game. Unfortunately, the young CIS team underestimated OG’s ‘comeback’ ability and lost game 1 despite having a nearly 30k gold lead in the 45th minute.

OG identified Bounty Hunter as the hero that played a key role in VP’s strategy and OG gave this name the first time in the next game. However, they let Dawnbreaker slip away and VP continued to take advantage of this new hero. VP drafted a lineup that would last with Necrophos, Undying, and play at the same tempo as Game 1, while focusing on hitting targets with the Nature’s Prophet offlane. Thanks to that, VP successfully pushed the high ground and took a game of OG.

Invictus Gaming was the third team to achieve a 5-1 record in Group B after winning 2-0 against Evil Geniuses and T1, but ironically, the team ended up drawing Team Undying.

Ranking of the teams on the 1st day of Dota 2 TI10

Speaking of hero picks and possibly the group stage meta, day 1 showed a variety of drafts and some novel strategies.

Alliance was the only team to use support Queen of Pain, while OG used Legion Commander in position 5. Fnatic tried to trick ViCi Gaming with their first Weaver pick, but actually played at support 4. Meanwhile Monkey King was mostly used in support 4, but sometimes plays in the mid and carry positions.

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