The Lima Major 2023 started a few days ago, but after 5 days of action, the Group Stage finally came to an end. Group A and Group B allowed us to watch loads of matches, some of which were a lot more interesting than the rest. With that said, the best 8 teams from both groups eventually made it to the playoffs.
Read more: Dota 2 Lima Major 2023 Group Stage Top Players
As mentioned in The Lima Major 2023 review, besides the 8 teams that will receive a slot for the Playoffs’ Upper Bracket, 4 additional teams will also head there. However, they will have to fight for their survival in the Lower Bracket. Sadly, the 6 remaining teams from both Groups will be eliminated from the event.
Now that the matches are over, it’s time to look at what happened in each group and see which teams prevailed. We will go through each squad that advanced in the tournament.
Group A
Even though some of the results were definitely not expected, in the end, the best teams from Group A secured slots for the Playoffs. Following the end of the matches, Gaimin Gladiators, Team Spirit, Talon Esports, and Evil Geniuses are the teams that will head to the Upper Bracket. As for the LB, the honor goes to PSG.LGD and Tundra Esports.
Gaimin Gladiators
The Western European powerhouses finished first in Group A after ripping through the competition. The team only had one loss and secured 4 victories, and 3 draws. In other words, GG had the same stats as Team Spirit.
Team Spirit
Speaking of the devil, the best team in Eastern Europe also lived up to the expectations. Like GG, Yatoro and the rest won 4 matches, got 3 draws, and lost only one match. Needless to say, they will be one of the main favorites in the Playoffs.
Evil Geniuses
EG is the big surprise in Group A. Although the South American team had no problems in the DPC, this was the first big event for the new roster. Despite that, EG only lost one match, which allowed it to finish third in Group A. This means we will see the South American squad in action.
Talon Esports
Although some people didn’t believe that Talon Esports has what it takes to be among the best, the SEA powerhouse secured its spot for the Upper Bracket. Like Evil Geniuses, Talon got 3 victories, 4 draws, and only one loss. It will be intriguing to follow the team’s performance in the playoffs and see what will happen.
PSG.LGD
Despite being one of the big favorites, PSG.LGD wasn’t able to live up to the expectations, and the team finished 5th. Even though it will advance to The Lima Major 2023’s next stage, the squad will be in the Lower Bracket.
Tundra Esports
The second team that definitely disappointed its fans is the current TI champion. Although the big favorite in Group A, Tundra lost 4 matches in total, which means the squad finished 6th.
Eliminated teams
After the action in Group A is over, we know that TSM, EHOME, and Execration are the 3 teams that didn’t make the cut. Execration and EHOME didn’t win a single series, whereas TSM came close to qualifying, but the team lost its final match.
Group B
Group B of The Lima Major 2023 was also interesting to watch, but Team Liquid was on another level and ripped through the competition like a knife through butter. Some results surprised us, so let’s give a quick overview of what happened.
Team Liquid
As mentioned, Nisha’s team was on another level and didn’t lose a single series. In fact, Liquid only got 2 draws, which means the squad achieved the most impressive result at The Lima Major 2023.
Entity
The second team advancing to the Upper Bracket is also from Western Europe. Entity had a few hiccups after getting 3 draws, but the team’s 4 victories allowed it to secure the 2nd spot in Group B.
Shopify Rebellion
EG’s ex-roster looked really strong in Group B and definitely exceeded expectations. Arteezy and the rest only lost one match and won 3 matches, which was enough to secure themselves enough points to qualify for the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs. Needless to say, it will be exciting to see the team against EG.
Team Aster
Although it seemed like Team Aster wouldn’t make it to the top 4, the Chinese squad took part in the Tiebreakers and won. So, despite winning 2 games and losing 2 series, Monet and the rest finished 4th and will advance to the Upper Bracket.
Beastcoast
South America’s best team had a pretty good run in Group B, but the team wasn’t able to secure a top 4 finish. Consequently, the roster will have to fight for its survival in the Lower Bracket.
HellRaisers
The last team from The Lima Major 2023 Group B that will advance to the Playoffs is HellRaisers. Despite winning 3 matches, the EEU squad lost 4, which means it finished 6th.
Eliminated teams
One of the things we didn’t expect to see here was BetBoom Team among the list of eliminated squads. We expected one of Eastern Europe’s best teams to have no problems and secure a top 4 finish. However, a series of disappointing results made it finish second-last.
The other team that won’t make it to the Playoffs is the Chinese powerhouse Knights. The latter lost almost all matches, and there was even a match-fixing scandal.
Lastly, we have Geek Slate, one of SEA”s most impressive teams. Even though the latter did really well in Division I, it wasn’t able to live up to the expectations here and finished 7th.