Dota 2 TI12 Group Stage Day 1 highlights: Tundra's comeback, Arteezy's rampage, and more

Dota 2's star-studded tournament, The International 2023 (TI12), kicked off with an electrifying showdown. The tournament began with the reigning champions, Tundra eSports, locking horns with TSM in their first Dota 2 TI12 group stage match. Notably, Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen, a two-time Aegis winner and Tundra's new midlaner, showcased his legendary skills with Earth Spirit and Clinkz, creating synergy with Skitter's carry heroes to secure victory.

Team Spirit, the champions of Dota 2 TI10, maintained an undefeated record in their matchups. Meanwhile, Team Liquid, a powerhouse from the WEU region, secured the top spot in their group. Despite a woeful prize pool and eventless battle pass, these early matchups and gameplay promise an exciting road toward the grand finals.

Scroll down to learn about the best highlights from Day 1 of Dota's TI12.

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You can watch The International 2023 (TI12) games on Dota 2's official Twitch and YouTube channels

1) Tundra's comeback with Skitter's Phantom Assassin

After a remarkable win in the first matchup in Dota 2's TI12, Tundra marched on to their second match against Talon Esports, who managed to reach the lower bracket finals of the Riyadh Masters. The reigning champions secured a win in the first match with ease as Skitter's Chaos Knight managed to outfarm 23savage's Faceless Void while Topson's Pangolier and 33's Weaver destroyed Talon's hope of winning.

However, the second match was a different scenario, as Tundra was outplayed and dominated by the SEA team for about 30 minutes. The tables turned after the 30-minute mark, as both the teams were at each other's throats near the midlane's river.

Skitter's Phantom Assassin eliminated Talon's Warlock and was waiting for the right time to jump into the fight. Dark Seer, played by 33, vacuumed two heroes into his wall. Skitter's PA, without hesitation, blinked onto the 23savage's Sven and eliminated him. Subsequently, he killed Nature's Prophet and earned himself a triple kill. After this decisive team fight, he managed to farm Aghanim's Scepter and Nullifier, carrying his team to victory.

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2) Arteezy's rampage with Muerta (First rampage in Dota 2 TI12)

The first match between Shopify Rebellion and Thunder Awaken saw the latter destroying the former with Knight's 11-1-15 Bristleback. Arteezy's Luna was not so effective against a fat Bristleback, as his Blink Dagger pick-up was quite questionable. The second Dota 2 game was an entirely different story as we saw Abed playing Templar and Artour on Muerta.

The game started quite badly for Artour's Muerta as Shadow Demon, played by n1ght, drew first blood on Arteezy using his own illusions via disruption. After several intense team fights, Shopify finally managed to push toward the bottom lane's Tier 3.

Thunder Awaken's Knight had become incredibly powerful, wreaking havoc on Artour's team with his damage items. However, they bought back, and Arteezy stood his ground. He managed to eliminate Dawnbreaker (causing dieback) and dealt substantial damage with his ultimate to Luna and Kunkka.

Saberlight's Sandking stunned Luna, while Muerta destroyed Thunder Awaken's heroes. With just 500 HP, Artour secured a rampage, marking the first rampage of Dota 2's TI12 on the very first day of the tournament.

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3) Parker's stolen rampage in Dota TI12 Beastcoast vs nouns

Beastcoast and nouns faced each other in a gripping match, with the former emerging victorious. Beastcoast on the Dire side started outplaying nouns, as they got early kills and the perfect start for Sven, who managed to get 80 last hits within 8 minutes. Gunnar's Earth Spirit from nouns was doing his best to get some farm by ganking other lanes and targeting the supports.

However, this did not stop the South Americans' momentum. Their Sven outfarmed nouns' Gyrocopter within 20 minutes as he was stacked with a BKB, Echosabre, and Mask of Madness. As a result, they managed to claim the mid barracks of the Radiant side at the 24-minute mark.

After a few minutes, Beastcoast turned their attention towards the bottom barracks and claimed them. Then they straight up went to the Roshan Pit (morning time), where Kunkka got the aegis while Gunnar started the team fight by catching Scofield's Skywrath.

Sven used his silver edge and walked high ground to avoid direct confrontation with the Gyrocopter. After a few seconds, he walked back into the fight, this time with his BKB popped, and started slaughtering nouns. With just two swift strikes, he managed to kill Moo's Earthshaker and then moved on to kill the rest of the time, getting an ultra kill in the process.

Gunnar tried to escape his fate at the hands of Sven by trying to escape near bot tier 1 tower's Radiant jungle. However, he was stunned by the storm hammer. Dark Mago, Kunkka of Beastcoast, used his torrent and stole Sven's rampage. This hilarious moment was shared with laughter by the Beascoast team as they went on to win the game.

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4) Team Spirit vs SMG in Dota 2 TI12

Team Spirit won their first Dota 2 TI12 match without much trouble, as Yatoro's Phantom Assassin managed to shut down SMG's heroes. Even Noone's Invoker and MindControl's (MC) Beastmaster couldn't counter the PA. However, the second game started in a good way for the SMG squad as they secured early kills with MC's legendary Nature Prophet.

MC's momentum was cut short as he was picked off by Yatoro's Wraith King and Miposhka's Tusk on the top lane. SMG managed to group up and execute successful ganks, helping their safelaner, Midone's Faceless Void, get some good items. As the void came online sooner than expected, SMG immediately started to take a fight in the midlane on the river.

Noone's Earth Spirit made the mistake of rolling onto the Dire side of the river, where he was instantly eliminated by the Wraith King and Tusk. This proved to be fatal as SMG lost their midlaner in the middle of a team fight. As a result, they started retreating. Then, Centaur, played by Collapse, used his blink and got a clutch two-man stand with his hoof stomp, catching MC and Ah Fu's Elder Titan.

Wraith King went on to kill them and chased the Enchantress to the Radiant jungle to finish the team fight with an ultra kill. This moment went on to help Yatoro become quite fat on his WK, thus carrying his team to victory to whitewash SMG in Dota 2's TI12 group stage matchup.