Yegor "Ark" Zhabotinskii Exclusive Prediction for The International 2023: Choosing Unusual Option

The International 12 will highlight the 2023 Dota 2 competitive season. The biggest cybersport event will take place in Seattle. Twenty of the best teams worldwide will compete for the right to raise the Aegis above their heads and 45% of the total prize pool, which will be finally known on the tournament's final day.

The International 12 Dota 2 tournament will be held from October 12 to 29 in Seattle, USA. The 20 best teams from all over the world will take part in the competition. 9 Pandas, Virtus.pro, Team Spirit, and BetBoom Team will participate in the tournament from Eastern Europe. Currently, the prize pool has yet to reach the 3 million dollar mark.

Unlike previous years, The International for this year is divided into two separate phases: the group stage and playoffs (up to the top 8) are announced as the «Road to The International» phase, while the playoffs for the remaining 8 teams are announced as The International itself.

Professional Dota 2 player, Yegor «Ark» Zhabotinskii, gave his prediction for the top 3 and the outsiders of the TI12, specifically for our portal.

S-tier: The ones I think can win the tournament and most likely will. Also, these teams are in the meta, and their heroes are super strong. Among them are Team Spirit (I think they'll win TI again), Gaimin Gladiators (I think they'll be in the top 3 but below Spirit), and Tundra (top 3, but won't win).

Yegor «Ark» Zhabotinskii

Yegor is in solidarity with bookmakers and experts but does not believe in Team Liquid. He met them in matchmaking and thought they were out of shape.

Ark mentioned that he expects Team Spirit to win at TI12. The Dragons have done well in recent tournaments, claiming victories at Riyadh Masters 2023 and DreamLeague Season 21. But it was evident that the team played on the last legs at the latter. Therefore, all experts estimate their chances as quite high, hoping that the Spirit performs at their beat while preparing for the tournament.

Gaimin Gladiators, in Zhabotinskii's opinion, will have a solid tournament but will not lift a trophy. It's hard to root for them after their failure at DreamLeague Season 21, but tOfu admitted that the team has not had time to rest after BetBoom Dacha. Nevertheless, Ark does not see the team as the winner.

Tundra Esports renewed the roster before the main tournament of the year: the fourth position was taken by Nine, and Topson came to the mid lane. The Finnish genius is especially dangerous at TI and will be the only Seattle player with two Aegis. There is evidence that Tundra Esports looks threatening in training, but judging by DreamLeague Season 21, their skills are the same as tough teams, but no more. However, Ark prophesizes a spot in the top 3 as they have hit the meta and a good character pool.

• We can look at the predictions for reaching the finals. The participation of Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators in the deciding match is very likely.
• And only Tundra Esports can prevent this outcome, according to Ark.
• Among the unusual options, we highlight the "Player with the highest GPM" bet on The International 12. Bookmakers consider Team Spirit player Illya Yatoro Mulyarchuk as the favorite for this indicator.