The International 12 Highlights – Our Special Selection of Insane Plays

The International 12 (TI12) has seen many victories, upsets, and unexpected comebacks. Here are the best highlights from the most exciting matches.

Image source: The International 12

Nouns.Moo lets it go with Witch Doctor

We start off with the first of five TI12 highlights in no particular order, but surely one of our personal favorites, featuring David “Moo” Hull.

The offlane player for nouns has been very impactful throughout their run at TI12, and deserves MVP in our TI12 highlights. Kicking off their decisive series in the Group Stage – Phase Two, nouns competed against TI11 Champions, Tundra Esports, themselves.

Yet, in one of the many decisive battles, Moo delivered a one-in-a-million Death Ward ultimate, which dealt so much damage. It would have earned Moo a rampage if it wasn’t for his teammate stealing one of the kills. Nonetheless, this team wipe essentially won nouns the first game of the best-of-three series.

Moo’s zero-cooldown Dazzle

Another TI12 highlight is a Moo special: his Dazzle game. His incredible positioning enabled him to deal so much damage and impact. He managed to zone out the enemy Primal Beast while remaining unscathed when the opponents attempted to kill him.

His elusive playstyle matches his low-cooldown Shallow Grave, which consistently kept his teammate, particularly, Nicolas “Gunnar” Lopez, alive. In this particular fight, it was his saving grace on Gunnar’s Earth Spirit that enabled nouns to disable the enemy Muerta, which had a Divine Rapier.

Although nouns eventually fall to Azure Ray in the Upper Bracket, they’ve garnered a following for their underdog status and North American pride. As they face Gaimin Gladiators during TI12 Finals Weekend, it’s all eyes on nouns to deliver yet another upset.

BetBoom mounts an impossible comeback vs Talon Esports

Down in lower bracket, BetBoom managed to clutch their elimination series against Talon Esports. Talon was a force to be reckoned with, having overwhelmed Gaimin Gladiators earlier.

Talon’s good use of hard carry Dark Willow draft made them an unstoppable siege against BetBoom. Dark Willow could safely chip away at BetBoom’s base using her permanent Shadow Realm ability. Yet, despite the hellish situation, BetBoom managed to leverage Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon’s mistake of getting too close.

As BetBoom forced unnecessary buybacks from Talon, it only took one more teamfight to truly put Talon down, leading to a third game. In game 3, Talon just couldn’t recover.

Tundra Esports exits TI12 at the hands of Entity

Many teams exited TI12 during the Playoffs Weekend, but Tundra’s early loss to Entity was truly a TI12 highlight. Entity came into the championship as a regional-qualified Western European team.

Yet, they put down Tundra in the lower bracket round 1, ending the defending champions’ run for two-time status. While it was no glamorous Echo Slam or wombo combo teamwipe, Entity played consistently and made sure Tundra didn’t stand any chance of comeback.

With one too many countermeasures against Tundra’s potential initiations, it just goes to show how careful Entity was against a more prominent opponent.

Yatoro shows off Team Spirit dominance at TI12

If there’s any team that has the best odds of winning TI, it’s Team Spirit. Coming into the tournament as Riyadh Masters 2023 Champions, Spirit was calm and calculated, a far cry from what they were previously at TI11.

Having won TI10, many fans still based Spirit, claiming their TI10 victory as a fluke because LGD Gaming choked. At some point, even Spirit players themselves had impostor syndrome.

Coming into TI12, we’ve seen a different composure, reminiscent of a proper TI Champion. Spirit’s undefeated streak, even up against their regional rival, is what truly makes them strong. And what better way to feature their glory with a Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk play on Muerta. Barely surviving and turning the fight around with his ultimate, Pierce the Veil, Yatoro showed why he’s considered one of the best carries in the world.

As an honorable mention in TI12 highlights, we’ve got LGD Gaming. Guo “shiro” Xuanang’s Spectre shot a blind Spectral Dagger at 9Pandas’ Alexey “Solo” Berezin. It’s just a cool skill shot, but it’s a testament to how comfortable LGD Gaming is, at the International 12.