The International 2023’s main event is yet to begin, but the North American Dota 2 scene has already secured a top-eight finish, marking its best performance in four years, thanks to a series of unexpected events.

To achieve the high water mark, Nouns faced off against reigning TI 2022 champions, Tundra Esports, early on. Tundra selected Nouns as their opponent after topping their group; a decision they would soon regret.

Nouns decisively defeated the reigning champions, securing a spot in the upper bracket and ensuring the highest placement for NA at TI in the last four campaigns. K1 led the charge for the team, shining as Naga Siren in the first game and as Chaos Knight in the second one, topping the damage charts in both. However, it was a group effort, with every team member contributing to a stellar overall performance.

Now, even if nouns lose in the upper bracket, one NA team is guaranteed to make it to the third round of the lower bracket. If nouns were to win against Azure Ray, two NA teams would have a chance to break into the top eight, as either Shopify Rebellion or TSM will have to head home after the first round of the main event.

During TI10, teams from NA struggled to secure positions higher than ninth, with Quincy Crew and EG both peaking at that rank. EG found themselves in a familiar spot during TI11, landing ninth once more. The region’s last standout performance was at TI9, where EG achieved a sixth-place finish. Now, at TI12, the region is already looking at an upgrade, though it’s a little tainted by the tournament’s lower prize pool.

While an eighth-place finish would be enough to take home $1 million, it’s only worth $75,000 these days. TI 2023’s prize pool distribution remains the same, but the prize pool itself flatlined after a disappointing Compendium 2023 update.