🕹️ Esports 🎮 Prediction & Discussion Thread

[boyptc]

2 Chinese teams are already surely out for the Dota 2 Lima major's group stages.

For group A --> Ehome

For group B --> Knights

Both teams still has some remaining games for the last day but, it won't be enough for them to be saved.

More details about the group stage --> https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Lima_Major/2023/Group_Stage

[jakelyson]

What really surprised is that Shopify Rebellion exist while EG team is still active too. I thought EG rebrand to Shopify. 

The best of 2 in group stage is designed to make a quick result.

Why would they not exist? They are not connected to EG except for the fact that the roster is the previous EG roster before EG went to South America. They are a new organization now.

2 Chinese teams are already surely out for the Dota 2 Lima major's group stages.
For group A --> Ehome
For group B --> Knights

Not much expectation from these two teams anyway. What I do not expect is Tundra, the defending TI champion, dropping into the 6th spot. And they can be eliminated if either TSM or Execration can sweep their next matches. TSM is against EG while Execration will be against team Spirit tomorrow. They are against strong teams but they can at least get a draw which will put them into a tiebreaker against Tundra. One fatal mistake and Tundra can be out of the tournament.

[Balmain]

Eternal Fire managed to beat Mibr 2-0 without difficulty on both maps. It was an expected result, after defeating teams such as EG, MIBR, I don't think EF will be the underdog for such teams, of course, although the squad and the game seem to be settled now, the desired results cannot always be obtained. The Anubis map makes EF superior especially against such teams. As soon as this map came out, EF adapted very well and started working continuously. If you quickly make a new map the map you play best, you have an advantage in the map pool. Because the opponents may have played this map a little.

[dothebeats]

2 Chinese teams are already surely out for the Dota 2 Lima major's group stages.

For group A --> Ehome

For group B --> Knights

Both teams still has some remaining games for the last day but, it won't be enough for them to be saved.

More details about the group stage --> https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Lima_Major/2023/Group_Stage

Must have sucked for them to come into a game knowing that whatever the outcome is, they won't be able to proceed to the next stage. Then again, these teams performed quite poorly and does not really have any more weight in the tournament progression. Tundra is also a disappointment, but I guess that remark that they only win because they know how to exploit certain mechanics might be true; in a classic Dota with no cheeky plays available, they struggle in the laning phase and in the mid game which is quite uncharacteristic of a TI champion. Even Team Spirit is still a force to be reckoned with even after they lost some key parts of the original TI10 roster.

[ralle14]

Must have sucked for them to come into a game knowing that whatever the outcome is, they won't be able to proceed to the next stage. Then again, these teams performed quite poorly and does not really have any more weight in the tournament progression.

They might be eliminated but still, these teams will probably perform as usual and possibly play better since they can still bring down their opponents with them on their way out and that's one of the satisfying things to do when you're on the losing end.

Tundra is also a disappointment, but I guess that remark that they only win because they know how to exploit certain mechanics might be true; in a classic Dota with no cheeky plays available, they struggle in the laning phase and in the mid game which is quite uncharacteristic of a TI champion.

BetBoom looking bad as well, they're one map from elimination and I think they're likely going to end on a draw since Geek Slate looks better so far.

[Mauser]

Crazy week so far in the ESL Pro League Season 17, who would have thought that G2 would lose 2-0 against Cloud9. I lost some money on the match and need to recover it in today's matches. G2 is still one of my favourites this season and they managed to pull through the lower bracket of Group A to beat fnatic 2-1 in the lower bracket final. Now fnatic has to play against IHC in the last chance match before being out of the tournament. I will go with fnatic for the match as they will do everything to advance. The winner of the match will then have to play in the evening against Eternal Fire. Which is likely going to be fnatic, and even though Eternal Fire is a good team, fnatic should beat them. The 2 teams already played each other 2 days ago and fnatic won 2-1, so they should be winning again. The most interesting match of the day is going to be Outsiders vs Cloud9. I am going to go with Cloud9 for the match, after their 2-0 win against G2 they should be hyped to go deep in the tournament.

[execijutiere]

Eternal Fire managed to defeat Mibr as I expected. Now they will play the winner of the IHC-Fnatic match. Most probably Fnatic will win. I expect eternal fire to beat whoever comes from this fight and take the last slot. I hope it will be as I think. Xantares, who had a bad performance against fnatic yesterday, was the best of the team again today. It must be said that he played a big role in winning the match. When Xantares plays badly, the team's chances of winning go down. It shouldn't be like this. A solution needs to be found.

[inthelongrun]

I'm happy Geek managed to steal a map out of Liquid. That paid for my lack of sleep by staying overtime with the games. I believe they can enter the upper bracket as their last games are manageable but they need to focus and not choke their chances.

Yeah, they've snatched one win against Team Liquid and their first win was really convincing on how great they were.

But on the 2nd game, I think that they've been outdrafted and at the same time, they've been outplayed. Nisha stood out with his TA and how quick the farm he has made.

It's a good learning experience for the Geek since Team Liquid is one of the most desirable teams to be beaten out because they really are considerably a strong team.

Just as we thought that Geek will gain experience and learn a lot in that series against the top seed of DOTA, it headed in a different direction. Geek went winless in their last 2 series. Either Geek's mindset was affected when they were schooled by Liquid in their 2nd map or both Aster and beastcoast figured out how to out-draft them, set the pressure, and outplay them. I'm not sure if they still have a chance in the upper bracket if they can win their last games with BetBoom.

Great games in the next few hours. I'm torn between Shopify Rebellion vs beastcoast or the PSG.LGD vs GG.  

[jakelyson]

Looks like we will not have a tiebreaker in Group A of Lima Major 2023. Evil Geniuses and Team Spirit are ruthless against their respective opponents, TSM and Execration. TSM and Execration are on the verge of getting swept in their match. They need to get at least 1 win to force a tiebreaker against Tundra, but I do not think it is happening.

Good thing for Tundra, they do not have to go through a tiebreaker but they are still in a bad position. They will start in the lower bracket in the playoffs. Their games will all be an elimination game. That is tough.

[execijutiere]

Fnatic managed to defeat IHC. Now it's time for the Fnatic-EF match. I think Eternal fire will win this match, thinking that they will not make the simple mistakes they made in the first match. If Xantares focuses on this match, Eternal Fire will win this match more easily. It all depends on their tactics and timing. I hope EF will win this match and get the last slot. I think they are strong enough to beat Fnatic.

[Pulsar77]

Fnatic managed to defeat IHC. Now it's time for the Fnatic-EF match. I think Eternal fire will win this match, thinking that they will not make the simple mistakes they made in the first match. If Xantares focuses on this match, Eternal Fire will win this match more easily. It all depends on their tactics and timing. I hope EF will win this match and get the last slot. I think they are strong enough to beat Fnatic.

The maps are Inferno, Overpass and Nuke respectively. We have already left the first map behind which was EF's pick. They really showed a decent performance and won by 16-9. Calyx really carried the team by 26 kills as well. His clutch in the final moments was really nice. XANTARES didn't get as many kills as him maybe but the team effort was still solid. This is really what we want to see from them truthfully. Of course a player can make a big impact on a match but you shouldn't just rely on him only to win in the end.

Now we are on Overpass and EF are 4-0 ahead already. I hope this beginning doesn't end up with a loss on this map.

[dothebeats]

Fnatic managed to defeat IHC. Now it's time for the Fnatic-EF match. I think Eternal fire will win this match, thinking that they will not make the simple mistakes they made in the first match. If Xantares focuses on this match, Eternal Fire will win this match more easily. It all depends on their tactics and timing. I hope EF will win this match and get the last slot. I think they are strong enough to beat Fnatic.

The maps are Inferno, Overpass and Nuke respectively. We have already left the first map behind which was EF's pick. They really showed a decent performance and won by 16-9. Calyx really carried the team by 26 kills as well. His clutch in the final moments was really nice. XANTARES didn't get as many kills as him maybe but the team effort was still solid. This is really what we want to see from them truthfully. Of course a player can make a big impact on a match but you shouldn't just rely on him only to win in the end.

Now we are on Overpass and EF are 4-0 ahead already. I hope this beginning doesn't end up with a loss on this map.

EF could close this now, but unfortunately they have fallen 6-7 against Fnatic. The double peek strat of Fnatic taking out the awper every time is a beauty to watch. This isn't a one-sided match, although I'm quite worried about EF after the end of this half as that means Fnatic is going to be on the CT side, which OVP is known highly for.

I like that teams are getting creative with their boosts and I've seen 2 or 3 boosts thay have been successful thus far lol.

[sunsilk]

I'm happy Geek managed to steal a map out of Liquid. That paid for my lack of sleep by staying overtime with the games. I believe they can enter the upper bracket as their last games are manageable but they need to focus and not choke their chances.

Yeah, they've snatched one win against Team Liquid and their first win was really convincing on how great they were.

But on the 2nd game, I think that they've been outdrafted and at the same time, they've been outplayed. Nisha stood out with his TA and how quick the farm he has made.

It's a good learning experience for the Geek since Team Liquid is one of the most desirable teams to be beaten out because they really are considerably a strong team.

Just as we thought that Geek will gain experience and learn a lot in that series against the top seed of DOTA, it headed in a different direction. Geek went winless in their last 2 series. Either Geek's mindset was affected when they were schooled by Liquid in their 2nd map or both Aster and beastcoast figured out how to out-draft them, set the pressure, and outplay them. I'm not sure if they still have a chance in the upper bracket if they can win their last games with BetBoom.

Great games in the next few hours. I'm torn between Shopify Rebellion vs beastcoast or the PSG.LGD vs GG.  

Well, the eliminated teams have been proclaimed already. The following teams are already taking an exit for this group stages.

• Execration
• TSM
  
• Knights
• Ehome
• BetBoom

There's a tie breaker that's happening now between Geek Slate and HR whoever losses on this tie breaker is out.

While there's also another tie breaker for beastcoast and Team Aster and whoever wins/losses will be placed on top and lower bracket.

[Balmain]

Eternal Fire won the first map, Inferno. Eternal fire was very effective in defense, especially Calyx triggered A side defense very well. EF did good attacking and defense in general, they are starting to play quite compactly on this map now. Xantares did quite well in the Overpass map, and if the match went to overtime, I can say it was thanks to him. At the moment, the match ended in an equal draw 15-15 on the Overpass map. I think EF will win in overtime and close the series here. But I want them to lose and play the decider map, the games of these two teams are very balanced.

[arallmuus]

Well, the eliminated teams have been proclaimed already. The following teams are already taking an exit for this group stages.

• Execration

Totally cant believe that the winner of the SEA DPC is totally a trash in this major, they didnt win anything not even against EHOME the 2nd worst team in their bracket.

Well given the current statistic, it seems Team Liquid is probably going to win this Major. By far they are the best team not even just in their bracket but they havent lost to any team at all though. They havent lost against any team in DPC WEU and they havent lost in this group stage either, damn that total dominance right there

[dothebeats]

Eternal Fire won the first map, Inferno. Eternal fire was very effective in defense, especially Calyx triggered A side defense very well. EF did good attacking and defense in general, they are starting to play quite compactly on this map now. Xantares did quite well in the Overpass map, and if the match went to overtime, I can say it was thanks to him. At the moment, the match ended in an equal draw 15-15 on the Overpass map. I think EF will win in overtime and close the series here. But I want them to lose and play the decider map, the games of these two teams are very balanced.

Fnatic is really close to putting an end to this series. They are 5 rounds ahead of EF and are definitely putting on a lot of strain to Xantares and the gang. Krimz is doing a lot for Fnatic and it seems that there isn't any answer for his agression here on Nuke. Their CT setup seems impenetrable although we might see a repeat of Game 2 if EF pushed extremely hard and fight for the win.

[jakelyson]

Team Aster won over Beastcoast in their tie breaker match. Beastcoast dropped to the Lower Bracket while Aster is now in the Upper Bracket. Group stage is now over and the rankings are settled. Both EG and Shopify Rebellion ended up third on their respective  groups. I am not very aware how the matches are lined in the playoffs, but I think there is a high chance that EG and Shopify will meet each other. Anyone excited to see these two teams fight each other?

Here is the final ranking after the Group Stage:
 

[ralle14]

That tiebreaker was unfortunate for Geek Slate and I think they had it coming after not banning Lina twice in a row. I wonder why did they leave her out there, I know that there's a chance for HR to pick another carry but they should've prioritized her at least on the second map. Well played to HR though, I didn't expect them to qualify after their rough start but surprisingly they recovered mid-way through and even came out on top against a decent team like Aster.

Anyone excited to see these two teams fight each other?

Only if it's confirmed as it'll depend on GG and TL since they have the opportunity to choose between the third and fourth-seed teams.

[execijutiere]

Eternal fire unfortunately couldn't beat fnatic. If they had won this match they would have made the playoffs. Krimz's clutch round at 14-13 gave them the win. Xantares was pretty good this time, but the lack of igl in the team was obvious. Majer was a class act in this match. Too many unnecessary hands and rounds were given. The rotation and side holding at the beginning was very wrong. There was no reaction to this and the defeat could not be prevented.

[passwordnow]

I am not very aware how the matches are lined in the playoffs,

You can visit the liquipedia page which is where everyone is checking out the matches.
https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Lima_Major/2023

but I think there is a high chance that EG and Shopify will meet each other. Anyone excited to see these two teams fight each other?

Not really excited about that, I don't even think it's a rivalry since it's a normal thing for an organization to replace their roster and have it with another optimistic set of new players that they think shall raise their banner into a better place. The chance that these two teams will meet is if both of them advance to the upper bracket finals or if they go down to lower bracket semifinals.