The Major Curse Strikes Falcons at The International
Published: Sep 9, 2024
Absolute pandemonium has kicked multiple favourites down to the Lower Bracket of The International 2024. Of note, Team Falcons has faltered early and looks to be suffering from the classic Major Curse – let’s take a closer look in this betting preview.
Falcons Need to Wake Up
Any betting preview ahead of The International had Team Falcons as one of the outright TI13 odds favourites to win the entire tournament. However, after a shaky start in Group C netting them the first seed, they then struggled to close out a series against beastcoast which was meant to be one-sided.
Favoured in the match against Tundra Esports in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals according to the Dota 2 TI betting sites, Falcons simply wet the bed and were swept aside shockingly.
And now, conversations about the ‘Major Curse‘ have re-emerged. For those unaware, the Major Curse is a phenomenon seen in Dota where the team that dominates the regular season suffers at The International 2024, failing to meet Dota 2 The International betting expectations.
From what the brackets look like, it’s very likely that Falcons will rematch Team Zero – will they be able to reclaim their dominant form?
Xtreme Gaming – China’s Hope
Xtreme Gaming started off strong, meeting Dota 2 TI power rankings expectations, with a first-place seed in Group A. Maintaining this form as the dominant Chinese team, they then swept Talon Esports aside in the Seeding Decider.
Although the esports odds favoured Xtreme Gaming in their close match against Team Liquid, Xtreme crumbled under the pressure and seemed to be out of it. Specifically, Map 2 saw Liquid crush Xtreme in under 20 minutes – the quickest series in the Dota 2 TI bracket so far.
What’s more, is that Xtreme Gaming may face Team Spirit as early as the Lower Bracket Round 2, trying to keep China’s hopes alive.
Team Spirit Remain Inconsistent
The third Dota 2 TI team favourite currently sitting in the Lower Bracket is none other than Team Spirit.
Hopeful to be the first side to ever claim The International three times, Team Spirit looked phenomenal up to the Seeding Decider.
After being the only flawless team in the Group Stage, their match against nouns was supposed to be an easy victory for the Western European favourites. Now in the Lower Bracket, Spirit faces off against G2 x iG followed by Xtreme Gaming.
In order to make it to the Grand Final, Spirit will need to pull off the Lower Bracket run of the century – if anyone can do it, they can.
