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The first tournament of the new Dota 2 competitive season - ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 - is gaining momentum with the group stage matches. We continue to talk about Group B, where Team Liquid and 9Pandas are among the contenders to qualify for the play-offs.
For the two teams, this will be the first game within ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. The format of the match is, as always, bo2.
We are trying to figure out which of the Europa will be stronger. Whether Liquid will be able to take the lead on the Dota 2 world stage as they did before, or whether new heroes will take their place.
Let's go.
Team Liquid's uniform
We open the match with an analysis of Team Liquid's form. In this match, Liquid will play the first number one, with odds to win at around 1.9.
At DPC 2023: WEU Division 1 Tour 1 Liquid did not lose a single match, and then took the top 2 at The Lima Major 2023, while playing with substitutes. More than decent.
The second round of the DPC was as similar to the previous round as possible. Liquid again took the Top 1, but now with only one loss in the table. On the international stage, Liquid shone again, but were still overshadowed by Gaimin Gladiators, who took their second Major a Champions Cup of the season.
In their third season, Liquid were no longer able to cement their supremacy. "Liquid" fell to the fourth place, but it was good enough to pass at Bali Major 2023, which in the case of the past at The International 2023 Team Liquid does not play any role.
- Liquid line-up: miCKe, Nisha, SabeRLight-, Boxi, Insania.
After the disappointing result at DreamLeague Season 20, where Team Liquid crashed out of the first group stage, there was a feeling that Bali Major 2023 would be held for Liquid at the International 2023. However, Liquid decided to switch on and play to the fullest.
And they almost succeeded: they took the top 2, losing in the grand final to Gaimin Glaidators! Again. Third time at a Major tournament in a year.
Riyadh Masters 2023 Team Liquid started at the Play-In stage, as they surprisingly didn't collect enough ESL ranking points. They finished the Play-In with a 3-1-1 score and second place in Basket A, and then played the group stage with a 3-3-1 statistic, advancing to the top set of play-offs.
At the end of the biggest tournament of the year, Team Liquid finished in the top 2, which can't be called a bad result. Unlike the top-10 at DreamLeague Season 21, which was after the Riyadh Masters 2023 and before Longsong The International 2023.
Team Liquid made it to the next round of the group stage pretty confidently from Group B. "Liquid" took the top 1 by taking a 3-1-0 lead in the series.
In the play-offs seeding match, Liquid faced Evil Geniuses. The Peruvians are not happy at this The International 2023, from which they expectedly lost 0-2 against Liquid.
In the first round of play-offs LIquid met Talon Esports. They won on class, taking two maps. What is true, further went not according to plan: a loss from Spirit and then Gaimin Gladiators, already at the bottom of the table. At the end of the main event of the year Team Liquid took the top 6.
Team Liquid's most popular heroes
Team Liquid has Crystal Maiden in the top picks with 7 games and 6 wins.
In addition to Crystal Maiden, Doom (4 matches, 100% wins), Sven (4 matches, 75% wins), Skywrath Mage (4 matches, 75% wins) are the picks.
Rubick (4 matches, 25% wins), Void Spirit (3 matches, 100% wins) appear in spades, Underlord, Pangolier, Storm Spirit have 3 matches each and all have 2 wins.
Form 9Pandas
We continue the match analysis with the analysis of 9 Pandas' form. In this match the Eastern European residents play as number two and the odds for their victory are at around 7.
9 Pandas started the year in third place in DPC 2023: EEU Division 1 Tour 1. However, at the first international tournament of the year - The Lima Major 2023 - while still under the banners of HellRaisers, playing with stand-ins, they managed to get out of the group. \
In the second season of DPC, 9Pandas made it to the top 1, beating all direct competitors, namely Team Spirit and BB Team. In addition, 9Pandas surprised everyone at The Berlin Major 2023. In Germany, the Pandas made it to the Top 3, which was the best result for the region in a year.
The third DPC cycle of 9Pandas ended with qualification to the last Major of the season - The Bali Major 2023 - with a third-place finish in the home league. Next up was the DreamLeague S20.
All year long, the team has been gaining in performance and it's primarily about the international scene. At DreamLeague S20 it was top 7 and at Bali Major 2023 it was top 6.
Before BB Dacha 9 Pandas made their mark with a performance at the Riyadh Masters 2023. There, the team finished in the Top 6, Ledgeiv in a match to advance to the Talon Esports Top 4. Later, 9 Pandas visited BB Dacha, where they could not jump higher than TOP-6.
The representative of Eastern Europe attended the main event of the year, The International 2023, where they reached the top-12. A series of poor results led to the expected roster changes.
- 9Pandas roster: V-Tune, kiyotaka, RAMZES, Afoninje, Solo .
With the updated roster, 9Pandas qualified for ESL One Lumpur 2023. But qualified from the second place.
Most popular 9 Pandas characters
The most piqued character of 9 Pandas is Skywrath Mage. He has appeared in Pandas games 6 times and has 3 wins.
He is followed by Bounty Hunter (4 matches, 50% wins), Tiny (3 matches, 66% wins), Bloodseeker (3 matches, 33% wins). Also in the pool are Chen and Doom (2 matches each, 100% wins), and Enchantress (2 matches, 50% wins).
Head-to-head history
The teams have played each other 4 times in 2023. Two times Liquid won, one time they won and one game ended in a draw.
Predicted result of Team Liquid vs 9 Pandas at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023
I don't have too much faith in this 9 Pandas roster, and believe that the previous one was much better. At the same time, Liquid's roster with Zai was also clearly stronger than it is now with a replacement in the form of SaberLight. Still, even with that said, I see Liquid winning.
Bottom line: Liquid wins.
