Commentator Daria "Eiritel" Morozova shared her thoughts on the format of The International 2024 on her personal Telegram channel.
She explained that the format this year is the same as last year's. The first two days will feature group stages, which will determine seeding for the decider matches. These decider matches will then establish which teams advance to the upper bracket and which to the lower bracket. The playoffs will follow.
Morozova noted that while it is somewhat disappointing that no teams will be eliminated during the group stage, she prefers this format to having five days of matches with multiple lanes, which can be difficult to follow. In this format, multi-lane matches are less decisive, and the playoffs will be played in a single stream.
She suggested viewing these two days of play as a warm-up for both the players and the viewers. She acknowledged that the results from the group stage might not impact the decider matches or the playoff outcomes, making predictions somewhat unproductive and meaningless. She recommended using this time to get a feel for the teams and their new strategies.
Morozova expressed a personal preference for the play-in system used at the Singapore International but indicated that she would now focus on supporting Spirit.
Previously, Morozova also shared her impressions of Valve's new project, Deadlock, on her personal Telegram channel.