Dota 2
With the ESL One Berlin 2023 group stage wrapping up yesterday, the twelve teams in playoffs has been determined. With that, BLIX thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the group stage to see how our predictions held up as the remaining teams approach the grand finals on May 7th.
Group A
Group A of ESL One Berlin Major 2023 turned out to be something of a "group of death", with many of the event's favorites competing. As such, many teams had the potential chance to make playoffs and pick off potential rivals early. The only teams that fell flat here were TSM, Execration and BetBoom, with the trio failing to show their prowess in group play.
Gaimin Gladiators
Gamin Gladiators wasthe first team to make it out of the group stage. Fans of Dota 2 who’ve watched the last two big tournaments of the year won’t be surprised by this, as Quinn "Quinn" Callahan and the rest of his team have been among the best in the world.
As GG have achieved some remarkable results in the last couple of months, everyone expected the team to secure a spot for the playoffs and while the squad got a few draws, finishing first in Group A was no big surprise.
9 Pandas
Somewhat surprisingly, 9 Pandas was the second team toadvance to the event’s next stage. Most people were surprised by the ex-HellRaisers’ results as Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev and co. haven’t delivered many impressive performances on the international stage recently. However, the team found their path to success and achieved much better results than expected.
Evil Geniuses
As beastcoast were unable to survive in Group B, Evil Geniuses will be the sole South American representative in playoffs. Their path to playoffs say EG best BetBoom in the tiebreakers following an epic 70+ minute game, netting them a spot in the lower bracket. EG will have no room for mistakes as they take on Shopify Rebellion tomorrow.
Team Aster
Team Aster is the next name on the list who will continue in the Playoffs of the ESL One Berlin Major 2023. One of the best teams in China performed slightly worse than expected, but it was more than adequate while using a player who doesn't speak Chinese – Syed "SumaiL" Hassan
With that said, it seems like Aster needs to step up their game if they want to win against the best in the world. Judging from what we’ve seen, the team is set to struggle against the top WEU squads.
Team Liquid
Despite the somewhat shaky results we mentioned in our previous article, in the end, one of the best teams in Western Europe successfully secured its spot in the Upper Bracket of ESL One Berlin Major 2023. Following all of the matches, Michał "Nisha" Jankowski’s squad ended with three victories, four draws, and one loss. Although there are teams with better results, Team Liquid will be one of the favorites in the event’s next stage based on their results earlier in the season.
Group B
Regarding Group B, it’s safe to say Team SMG and beastcoast are the two big disappointments in this group. They failed to show up in the group stage and will be exiting Berlin with fairly poor records. Thankfully, some of the other big names in the business survived, so let’s learn more about the squads that stood out.
OG
The first and definitely most interesting name at ESL One Berlin Major 2023 so far is OG. Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov’s squad is playing with two stand-ins, after two of their players failed to secure visas for Germany. It seems like these roster changes were worth it however, as OG is performing far better than expected.
Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev and his crew had little to no problems in the Groups, and have already started playoffs strong with a win over Liquid.
Tundra Esports
The second squad from Group B taking part in the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 playoffs is Tundra Esports, The International 11 champions. Although Tundra finished 4th following DreamLeague Season 19, the team has seemingly learned how to play on the new patch, so most people aren’t surprised to see Leon "Nine" Kirilin and his squad have made playoffs.
Shopify Rebellion
Many pundits and fans alike are of the opinion that North America isn’t on the same level as the other Dota 2 regions. This might be true up to a point, but there’s no doubt Shopify Rebellion is one of the best Dota 2 teams in the world. The squad’s most recent results have been pretty impressive, so we weren’t surprised Artour "Arteezy" Babaev and co. advanced to the playoffs with with four ties against the best teams in Group B. Although they are now in the lower bracket following a loss to 9 Pandas, they are still a squad to be feared.
Team Spirit
Spirit are the final team heading to the Upper Bracket of the ESL One Berlin Major 2023. Team Spirit is among the best in the world, but it is yet to show what it’s capable of in 2023 up until their strong performance in Group B. Their loss earlier today against Gaimin Gladiators hopefully hasn't set the stage for a disappointing exit for the Eastern European squad.
Talon Esports
Even though most didn’t expect Talon Esports to be on the list, in the end, the Southeast Asian team earned its spot in playoffs. After an epic battle in the last few rounds, Talon finished fifth. In other words, they now have the difficult task of facing off against the loser of Tundra vs. PSD.LGD in the lower bracket.
Xtreme Gaming
Lastly, we have Xtreme Gaming, the second Chinese team from Group B. Despite the hiccups along the way, XG scored two draws, two victories and four losses, which was just barely enough for the sixth spot. They have a tough match ahead of them against Liquid in the lower bracket.
