Shopify Rebellion's Arteezy on Muerta scores first Rampage of TI 2023 in win over Thunder Awaken
It was a cathartic ending for a difficult opening match for Shopify Rebellion, having been upset by Thunder Awaken in game one and having to grind out a late win in game two.
The International (TI) 2023, this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament, saw its first Rampage in just the first day of its preliminary Road to The International Group Stage courtesy of Shopify Rebellion's star carry player Artour "Arteezy" Babaev.
Arteezy on Muerta bagged the tournament's first Rampage late into game two of Shopify Rebellion's opening match in Group B against South American qualifier team Thunder Awaken.
With the game hanging in the balance, Shopify Rebellion boldly marched up Thunder Awaken's bottom barracks and initiated a teamfight as Arteezy quickly dispatched Mario "ILICH-" Valdivia's Dawnbreaker. The South American squad quickly responded as ILICH- bought back, but Arteezy then took him down again to score his second kill of the fight.
Arteezy used Refresher Orb to get off a second round of Black King Bar and Pierce the Veil to continue fighting as Aliaksei "Smiling Knight" Svirydau's Luna and Jordan "SLATEM$" Vega's Kunkka were bearing down on him.
However, timely Burrowstrikes by Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek's Sand King allowed Arteezy to win the manfight to get to an Ultra Kill. Finally, Arteezy secured his Rampage by finishing off Romel "Mjz" Quinteros' Phoenix.
Arteezy saves Shopify from potential disaster in their first match
With that huge teamfight win, Shopify Rebellion were able to claim victory in game two after a grueling 62 minutes. Arteezy finished the series with 18 kills and 14 assists, though he did have 10 deaths after a difficult early game where he was shut down heavily.
It was a cathartic ending for a difficult opening match fo r Shopify Rebellion, having been upset by Thunder Awaken in game one and having to grind out a 1-1 tie in a marathon game two.
That one loss may end up being crucial, as Shopify Rebellion are in TI 2023's 'group of death' alongside heavyweights like Team Liquid, BetBoom Team, and Azure Ray. Thunder Awaken was supposed to be the easy series for the North American squad before they faced the Group B gauntlet.
Even so, such a dramatic finish to the series should give Shopify Rebellion a huge boost as they prepare for the rest of the Group Stage. Shopify Rebellion's second match of day one will be against Liquid, with BetBoom and Azure Ray lined up in day two.
If Shopify Rebellion can hold their own against the other heavyweights of Group B while Thunder Awaken lose out as expected, the North American squad should comfortably advance to the next phase of the Group Stage.
TI 2023's Group Stage features an all-new format with two distinct phases.
The first phase will take place from 12 to 13 October and will split the 20 participating teams into four groups of five teams each, who will then go through a single round-robin with best-of-two matches. The bottom team of each group will be eliminated after the first phase while the remaining 16 teams will advance to the second phase.
The second phase will be held from 14 to 15 October and will have the remaining teams play in eight head-to-head, best-of-three matches to determine placement in the Main Event.
In this phase, the Top 2 teams from each group in phase one will get matched with either the third or fourth-placed teams from the opposite group. To clarify, the Top 2 teams from Group A will be matched against the third and fourth-placed teams from Group C while Group B's will face Group D's.
The winners of the eight head-to-head matches will then earn upper bracket berths in the Playoffs while the losers will have to start from the lower bracket.
TI 2023 will be hosted from 12 to 29 October in Seattle, the United States and will see 20 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world fighting to claim the coveted Aegis of Champions and the lion's share of a growing prize pool.
For everything you need to know about TI 2023, check here.
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