Dota 2
Here is what happened in SEA and South America after Week 1 of the 2023 DPC Division II.
The end of Division I in most regions means that the 2023 DPC will now focus on Division II. Although the matches might not seem that interesting on paper, every region has its hidden gems that will be intriguing to keep an eye on. South America and SEA are not an exception, which is why Week 1 allowed us to watch several big matches.
Before sharing more information about them, don’t forget that The Lima Major is just behind the corner. The first Major of the new DPC will take place around three weeks from now, so you can count on BLIX.GG to provide you with more information about it. With that out of the way, let’s learn more about some of the hottest series in SEA and South America.
SEA
Division II in Southeast Asia will be very, very interesting to watch in Tour 2 because Fnatic and BOOM will go head to head. With that said, the current Tour also has its stars, and one of them is Polaris Esports. Once a TI contender, Mac and the rest couldn’t show their prowess in the last DPC and ended up in Division II.
Polaris defeated XERXIA and UD V
The first challenge for the team was XERXIA, a squad that consisted of several promising players from the Philippines. We expected this series to be one-sided, but XERXIA didn’t want to go down without a fight, which is why we got to see 2 games of 45 minutes each.
While XERXIA tried using innovative drafts, Polaris decided to stick to the meta. The team got Riki in both games and tried using TA/NP, followed by Leshrac and Ursa. Although the squad had some issues early on against Rupido and the rest, once it took the lead in both games, Polaris didn’t let go and won the match.
Following the impressive victory against XERXIA, Polaris Esports also dealt with UD Vessuwan, one of the newcomers in Division II. This team’s slot was for Nigma Galaxy SEA, but the latter decided to give up and gave it to this squad.
We expected the battle between them and Polaris to have more back-and-forth action. However, this wasn’t the case because Mac and the rest were on another level and defeated their opponents after 2 fast games
The first one was more interesting because UD V had their chances of winning. However, the team picked TB in the second game, which forced their counterparts to get a draft that focused on the mid-game. After getting Arc Warden and Primal Beast, Polaris dominated the early game and won the match in just 32 minutes.
Army Geniuses secured 3 victories
In addition to Polaris Esports, Army Genuises is another team in the Dota 2 2023 DPC Division II SEA that has a big chance of securing a slot for Division I. Following the results from the first week, it is safe to say that AG will be one of the main contenders.
The team started well after an easy victory against SPAWN Team. These two squads used similar drafts in both games, but AG was better and won the series.
After defeating SPAWN, Army Geniuses also overcame Atlantis. The Malaysian roster was no match for their motivated opponents, who ripped through them in just 50 minutes in total.
AG’s last series of the day was against UD Vessuwan. We expected this match to be more intriguing because the latter already won one match this week. However, AG was on another level yet again and finished Week 1 with a victory.
South America
South America’s Division II also has a couple of interesting names that people will keep an eye on in the upcoming DPC. Since all of them had the chance to play during Week 1, here are some of the more interesting matches you may have missed.
Mad Kings defeated Balrogs
The series between Balrogs and Mad Kings might not seem important to some people, but these 2 squads were among the favorites in the Division. Consequently, this match was key because only 2 teams would get the chance to go to Division I.
In the first game between the two, Balorgs and MD got two completely different drafts. Rena and the rest relied mainly on their Medusa, whereas their opponents focused on their big Morphling.
Although MD had a slight lead after the planning stage, both teams were neck and neck during the first 20 minutes. However, this was when Balrogs’s draft made the mistake of allowing Medusa to get too big.
The hard-carry had substantially more farm than its counterparts, and it seemed like this was enough for it to win the match for its team. Mad Kings used their Dusa’s power and won the map.
Game 2
After losing the first game of the series, Mad Kings looked even scarier in the second one. Even though Balrogs got their hands on Lina for Game 2, even the most broken carry in the current meta wasn’t powerful enough to stop them from losing.
No Runes won 2 series
Aside from Balrongs, which is one of the big names in South America’s Division II, No Runes is another team that has the chance to qualify for the 2023 DPC Division I. Following the first week, it is safe to say that this squad is one of the favorites because it won 2 series.
The first match for the Brazilian roster was versus Paradox Esports. Although we didn’t expect this series to be close, the two teams played really well and exceeded expectations. Paradox did everything in its power to win, but its enemies were better and secured the victory.
After winning the first series, mini and the rest had to face Qhali. This series was way more intense because the latter won the first map, which meant that No Rune had to win 2 games in a row to take the series.
Even though this wasn’t easy, NR’s hyper-aggressive lineup in the second and third matches allowed them to win. Despite having one hard carry in both matches, the predominantly Brazilian roster played really well and didn’t allow its opponents to utilize their draft. In the end, this was enough to win the match.