The biggest tournament in Dota 2 history kicked off in Shanghai on August 13, and the first day played out almost exactly the way the oddsmakers predicted. Top-seeded teams swept or narrowly edged their opponents across the board, leaving few upsets to talk about.
TI 2026, hosted at Shanghai’s Oriental Sports Center, features 16 qualified teams competing in a Swiss-system format before the top finishers advance to the main playoff bracket. Day one’s Best-of-3 matches went largely according to script, with favorites like BoomBoys, Team Falcons, PARIVISION, and Team Yandex all picking up wins.
The marquee matchups
The most closely watched opening-round clash pitted BoomBoys against OG. BoomBoys handled it cleanly, taking the series 2-0 without dropping a map.
Team Falcons, the reigning champions from TI 2025, had a slightly bumpier ride. They took down LGD Gaming 2-1, needing all three maps to close out the series. Falcons came into this year’s event as strong contenders but not the outright favorites.
