After months of waiting, the DPC is back on our screens. Returns with matches of the top round of the Chinese region.
Matches of the region, once the titular and advanced, trendsetter. In the 2023 season, global changes have taken place in China that will affect the balance of power.
Now the teams from the Middle Kingdom are far from high-profile titles and it is unlikely that any of them will be able to win the championship in the international arena. However, this is still far away, because we are only at the stage of the second gaming day.
Team Aster and Team Knights will open the second day of DPC 2023: China Upper Division. Don't let the sign intimidate you - both teams claim the highest places in the draw and most likely will be in the first positions in the standings.
We figure out who will be stronger in the first b3 of the second game day of DPC 2023 and earn their first points in the first division.
Team Aster Uniform
Let's start with the Team Aster form. The Chinese Grand Club will act as a favorite in this match.
The bookmaker estimates Aster's chance of winning with odds around 1.15. Crazy figure for the first match of the season.
Obviously, having finished last season on a rather high note, Team Aster will be the favorites of the race, also with a margin, but here the pre-match gap is too big. It's not even so much about Aster, but about their rivals, who, in general, are not the most passable.
Team Aster roster
This season, Team Aster will appear before us in the roster with minimal changes. The club was forced to change the player of the second position and now the line-up looks like this:
- Monet
- xwy
- xxs
- BoBoKa
- Siamese.C
The backbone of Aster has remained unchanged from last year: Monet, Xxs, BoBoka and Siamese.C will continue to perform for the title club. Among other things, the players will mentor the newcomer Xwy, although the roster coach, rOtK, is better suited for this.
Xwy comes from Aster.Aries, and therefore the adaptation process should go more smoothly if he went with a player outside the Aster ecosystem. Concerns regarding the stability of the midlaner are in place. Having become a mid-laner, Xwy has replaced Ori, who was previously considered one of Team Aster's "drums" and will now receive increased attention from the public at least.
Team Aster Performance
Since the team actually retained its line-up from last season, it is worth mentioning for what merits the backbone remained with its own. And there were merits, where without them.
Aster started the season with a victory at the Intel WOrld Open Beijing, after which they immediately rushed into the cycle of DPC DotA. In the first round of the DPC 2021/2022, Team Aster took 2nd place in the regular league, and then finished in 3rd place in the regional finals, held instead of the first major of the season.
Then Aster played OGA Dota PIT China, where they also took 3rd place and started playing in the second round of the DPC. The final picture has not changed: Aster is third again, but this time they reached the TOP-2 at the regional finals.
Later, the most stable team in China plays the third round and again gets into the TOP-3, in third place, of course. The only Major of the season, the PGL Arlington Major, ends for the club in 3rd place.
Before the main events of last season, Team Aster play at ESL One Malaysia 2022, where they reach the grand final, but lose to OG with a score of 0-3.
At The International 2022, the team confirmed the status of the most stable team in the region, reaching the TOP-4, leaving behind PSG.LGD and other equally famous clubs along the way.
Heroes Team Aster
In patch 7.32, Aster didn't invent the wheel: they played as far as possible, which brought results. Of the three most chosen among which are Marci, Mars, Tiny, the first two have won 6 out of 10 matches each, but Tiny has won only four fights.
Like all teams, before the letter patch, they played on Puck (9 matches, 55% wins), Leshrac (8 matches, 75% wins), Snapfire (8 matches, 62% wins).
Team Knight uniform
Let's continue the review of the duel with the form of "knights". In this match, Team Knights are assigned the role of outsiders.
The chance of Team Knight winning is estimated at around 5. The figure is quite solid and I would say somewhat overestimated.
It is clear that Aster in a roster almost identical to last season will look head and shoulders above their counterparts, however, this does not mean that the Knights will be whipping boys. Definitely not with this roster.
Team Knights roster
Let the title not be misleading. Team Knights is the Royal Never Give Up that changed its name, if you exaggerate a lot.
After the failure at The International 2022, RNG decided to take a break from Dota 2, and the club's slot in the DPC was sold or transferred to former members of the roster. The Knights roster looks like this:
- eGo
- AlaCrity-
- flyby
- Felixciaoba
- XCJ
The Knights included strong “middle peasants”. Carrie eGo has been showing confident dota for a long time. While still in Team Serenity and ShenZhen, Luo Bin stood out among his colleagues and now he has the opportunity to gain a foothold in the first division.
AlaCrity is another up-and-coming performer who just can't find her place among the tops. The last club is Nigma Galaxy SEA, where he didn't manage to mark himself with an impeccable DotA, but he certainly wasn't a ballast.
Flyby and Felixciaoba are former members of Royal Never Give Up. No matter how sad it may sound, they are all that remains of the top club in Dota 2.
Five is combat-ready, that's a fact. The main thing is to play, not like at the last event.
Knights performance
Having gathered for the start of DPC 2023, the team managed to “prove” itself at a third-party event. They became the Star Series, held at the local level.
Knights played there against teams like Neon Esports, Team Flow, IG. Vitality and others. As a result of the championship, the team took 3rd place, which, frankly, is a rather strange result. I don't presume to say, but it seems that someone played there not only for the training game.
However, at DPC 2023 the team will give all the best, there is confidence in this. The winter tour provides a unique chance for triumph, which must be enjoyed here and now.
Heroes Knights
In this patch, the team played as Tiny (16 matches, 68% win rate), Treant Protector (8 matches, 87% win rate), Drow RANger (8 matches, 62% win rate), Snapfire (7 matches, 71% win rate), Lich (7 matches, 71% wins), Shadow Fiend (7 matches, 71% wins).
History of personal confrontations
Previously, the teams did not play each other. The fight as part of the DPC 2023 winter tour in China will be the debut face-to-face confrontation between the teams.
Match outcome
In this match, you can expect a rather vigorous DotA, given the level of performers of the clubs. Both Team Aster and Knights will claim the TOP-4.
In a good way, this series will be closed by Aster. The team kept the roster only minimally weakened after the departure of Ori. Nevertheless, in the Chinese winter season, I believe in the success of Aster, and even with a new mid player, they will achieve this success.
Bottom line: Aster wins.
