The International 2025 Day 1 recap: The reigning champion's stumble

The International 2025 kicked off with a massive 16 games of Dota 2 action on Day 1, with every team playing two series to open the Group Stage.

Day 1 of The International 2025 came with a plethora of Dota 2 action. With the Group Stage kicking off, we had huge chances for upsets, as every team hoped to get their march towards the Aegis of Champions off to a strong start. With a busy day, it was great to see the meta begin to take shape as we figure out what to expect from the remaining journey in Hamburg, Germany.

Round 1 – Close calls and dominating victories

With Round 1 on Day 1 of TI 2025, we saw some near upsets and big plays. However, there were no major upsets which came out from the underdogs when the dust settled. BOOM Esports were almost able to take a huge win in their series versus Team Liquid, managing to take the reigning champions to the brink of an early loss. But it was not to be, with Liquid shutting the door in game 3.

Read more: Falcons survive a Nemesis scare

In the same light, Team Nemesis came very close to an opening series victory over Team Falcons. With a 70-minute brawl, Falcons were able to turn the tides and secure their first win of TI 2025. However, the biggest surprise from Round 1 probably came in Team Tidebound’s huge win over Natus Vincere. But another round awaited every team.

Round 2 – TI 2025 heats up

Following the antics of Round 1, the teams with wins under their belt were matched against one another. Inversely, those that lost in the previous round, faced other losing teams in Round 2. The teams that were able to secure two victories by the end of Day 1 would find themselves one step closer to avoiding the elimination phase.

Tidebound, XG, Falcons, and PARIVISION, were all able to cruise into the 2-0 bracket for Round 3. Surprisingly, after taking down NaVi during Round 1, Tidebound found themselves up against the reigning champions in Round 2. Having had a brief hiccup against BOOM, Liquid were dismantled by an extremely strong Tidebound squad. These four teams will now be first in line to reach Round 4 if they can survive their next series. The stakes are already high, with another two victories needed to secure a spot directly in the Main Event.

After an intense battle on Day 1 at TI 2025, there are, unfortunately, a few teams with no wins under their belt. Their future hangs in the balance, and they will need to pull out some new tactics in order to survive Round 3 and 4. September 5th will see Round 3 get underway, as well as a few series from Round 4 - including what will be the first definite elimination from the tournament.

Stay tuned to rdy.gg for more Dota 2 news and information from The International 2025.