Barely a day off the playoffs, and we’ll get a closer look on the participating teams from the lower bracket. These are the teams who ended up on the bottom half of their group after the preliminary stages.

CLG vs. mTw
CLG – After a promising first day where the team ended up without a loss, it got off on the wrong foot on day 2 and never recovered from then. Their day 1 win against AL proved to be their last, as they proceeded to lose their next 8 games over the span of 2 days, including the all-important tiebreaking match with EG. Not only did they lose, one can say that they really struggled. Will CLG be able to regain its day 1 form, or will their downward spiral continue?

mTw – mTw received its the International ticket via winning the West qualifier, and they rode on the momentum to continue on rampaging through various competitions. However, they have been losing games that they shouldn’t every now and then, and they had this stump on the events leading to The International. The preliminaries didn’t spare them, as their singular wins against TongFu, Darer and coL proved to be their only wins of that round.


These teams have squared off several times in the past, with mTw wining out the earlier matches and CLG, with stand-ins, taking the latter ones. Both teams don't have the benefit of momentum, but CLG does have the better performance on this competition among the two. The winner of this match will get to play the loser of the LGD vs. Orange match-up.
mouz vs. EHOME
Mousesports was able to join as the last minute replacement of Malaysian team MUFC, and so far they haven’t shown anything to prove that they are more than just that. Their first game was a pleasant surprise, with ComeWithMe substitute KuroKy playing well and showing what proved to be nice team cohesion. It wasn't long however, until AL took command. Though mouz went off to win the second game, they can’t really find their groove – wining just 1 of their next 12 matches.EHOME will be distinctively remembered as the only team to beat iG in the preliminaries. While that may be a feat of itself, they have given 2 wins to TongFu and Upper Bracket-advancing Orange. Also, it can be noticed that they have been performing rather inconsistently. They have been showing flashes of brilliance (scored on 3 out of 4 Group B upper bracket-advancing teams), but they have also been disappointing at times.


These teams played at the BeyondTheSummit World Tour, where EHOME was able to take the helm on the match-up. Will mouz be able to improve their team chemistry over the off-days, or will the Chinese team employ a mastery over them? The winner of this match will get to play the loser of the coL vs Zenith match-up.
TongFu vs. Moscow 5
TongFu – Considered as the weaker of the Chinese teams, they proved themselves well-worthy of the slot they acquired through the East qualifier. The Chinese side actually looked to be advancing to the upper bracket through their fourth match, but they found themselves on a nasty slump which had them losing six straight. Included on these losses was a potentially tiebreaking match against Natus Vincere on the last playday, where they fought off 2 games against an almost similar opponent line-up.

Moscow 5 shared the bottom of the Group A with mouz, but you can say that they actually played better than what their score shows. With their naturally aggressive style, they were on a fighting chance on at least several of their games before ultimately bowing out later on. They have yet to show how effective can an over-aggressive style be on a regular basis, but they still have a chance to show their props. It can also be noted that they skipped their final play date (a match against DK).


These teams have yet to face off against each other in the past. Both have been relatively new teams on the Dota 2 scene, and the regional difference has not helped. However, if the preliminaries were any indication, we would see M5 trying to be super aggressive and aiming to prevent Hao from farming up. The winner of this match will get to play the loser of the DK vs Na`Vi match-up.
Darer vs. Absolute Legends
Darer scrapped off three wins from their group, only good enough for a tied last-place finish on their group. But despite their dismal performance, one cannot discount the individual talent that this group has. Still, ArtStyle is on a quest to prove that he still has it; while also proving to others that their team indeed deserves the slot given to them. A bright moment was their draw against EHOME, where they secured a match via a Tiny-Wisp Combo (curiously enough, EHOME used the Tiny-Wisp combo to score their win against iG).Arguably the most “silent” of all the participating teams, Absolute Legends has quietly managed five wins, including two over EG, on their group. They were also the only team to get a score off Zenith barring the latter’s first day performance. While not many have actually believed that this team could win, AL had proven that they are worthy of the slot given to them. They need to step up their game though, if they would want to proceed further into the tournament.


These teams have faced each other at SL Starladder before, where Darer comfortably won the game. It can be said though that on this tournament, AL has been the currently better performing team. Will this trend translate a win for them, or will ArtStyle and company prevail once again? The winner of this match will get to play the loser of the iG vs EG match-up.
The Lower Bracket, despite being a best-of-one match, does not in any way show that it would be impossible for a team here this early to advance. After all, the motivation of the championship trophy and purse, plus the fact that the upper bracket would hold no advantage on the grand finals can keep every team encouraged.

Also, it is on these games can we have the best chance of seeing those specially crafted cheese tactics. After all, best-of-one matches give little to no room for errors – and a little surprise can throw an opposing team off-balance. We will definitely see these teams desperately trying to keep the hope alive, as The International continues tomorrow.

This was part one of the preview series for The International's main event. The upper bracket's pairings will be dissected in a later article. Keep yourself pinned to GosuGamers to get all the latest information for the million-dollar event.