Dota 2 TI 11 playoffs recap: Secret and Tundra dominate on Day 3 as OG and Liquid continue their run

This year's Dota 2 The International (TI) continues to showcase excellent matches with teams and players putting everything on the line to continue their run at one of the biggest esports events of the calendar year. Day 3 of the playoffs concluded with dominant performances in the upper bracket, while two more teams were eliminated after putting up valiant fights.

Day 2 saw OG and Liquid both lose their upper bracket round one matches against Tundra Esports and Aster respectively. In the lower bracket, beastcoast dashed the hopes and dreams of EG by eliminating them 2-0, while PSG.LGD saw off BOOM Esports in a dominating fashion.

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Dota 2 The International 11 playoffs Day 3 recap

The results for today's matches are as follows:

Bracket	Match	Result
Lower Round 2	OG vs Gaimin Gladiators	2 - 1
Lower Round 2	Team Liquid vs Entity	2 - 1
Upper Round 2	Thunder Awaken vs Team Secret	0 - 2
Upper Round 2	Tundra Esports vs Team Aster	2 - 0

Upper Bracket matches

The first match of the upper bracket round two saw Thunder Awaken clash against Team Secret. Both Dota 2 games were lengthy affairs, with each clocking over the 40-minute mark. Fans were treated to Puppey playing Silencer in game two as the veteran guided his team to a 2-0 victory.

The next match had Tundra Esports and Team Aster looking to continue their stay in the upper bracket. The first game went back and forth for a while, with Tundra's Doom causing enough problems for Aster's Slark in the early stages. Tundra Esports was able to close the first bout with a 49k gold lead and later the series by a 2-0 margin.

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Lower Bracket matches

The match between OG and Gaimin Gladiators was an excellent display of Dota 2 teamplay, with GG almost coming away with a win in the third game. The first game had OG.bzm on Invovker and OG.Yuragi on Monkey King. The two were able to tilt the match in their team's favor.

Although game two was a lengthy but close affair, Gaimin Gladiators' Primal Beast played a decisive role in the team managing to equalize the series. Game three saw the return of bzm Invoker, paired with ATF Sand King. During the mid-game phase, Gaimin Gladiators had a strong grip with dyrachyo's Shadow Fiend and BOOM's Kunkka connecting well.

But OG held on to their nerves and wrapped up the game in around 41 minutes. They continued their lower bracket run after being knocked out earlier by Tundra Esports from the upper bracket.

Game two of the lower bracket today had Team Liquid come up against Entity. The latter side had earlier knocked out RNG in a best-of-one series that was the longest main event Dota 2 TI match in history. Alas, they were unable to cross the next hurdle even though they put up a valiant fight to take the series to game three.

The final game of the series was a slugfest, with Entity almost managing to cause an upset and defeat Team Liquid. MATUMBAMAN's Lifestealer anchored his team's eventual win. The swansong of his career continues as this TI marks the last competitive professional tournament for the iconic player.

With day 3 coming to a close, one more day remains for Dota 2 The International 11 playoffs. We are left with eight excellent teams who have shown their mettle and why they deserve to be where they are. It remains to be seen who will be able to make their mark and have the Aegis of Champions in-hand when the dust settles.