The primary week of the Western European Dota Professional Circuit is within the books. The standing of the leaderboard after week one is likely to be anticipated for some, as Group Liquid swept Tundra Esports whereas Secret bombed out with out a single win.
After beginning the season robust, Tundra dropped a map versus Nigma Galaxy. The Worldwide 2022 champions nonetheless clutched the sequence, however their run got here to an finish versus Liquid, the third place finisher at TI11, immediately.
The primary match between Liquid and Tundra featured some signature picks like Chaos Knight for Skiter and Tusk for 9, however Liquid was able to play across the phantasm and heavy bodily harm lineup of Tundra.
As the sport progressed, Liquid outmaneuvered Tundra in game-changing fights. The extent of coordination between Zai’s Darkish Seer, Insania’s Treant Protector, and the remainder of the group was an excessive amount of for Tundra to deal with because the TI11 champs threw within the towel on the 44 minute mark.
Coming into the second match, Liquid took a web page out of Tundra’s e-book and drafted Tusk for Nisha. Liquid ended up profitable all of the lanes, and their lead was giant sufficient to stop Tundra’s teamfight-centric lineup from making a comeback try.
In one of many early recreation fights, Nisha’s Tusk pushed himself out of a Chronosphere after his Section Boots energetic ran out, showcasing that just about nothing went in Tundra’s favor in recreation two.
Shortly after TI11 concluded, some professionals expressed how Liquid may have a greater likelihood versus Tundra within the finals. Liquid was eradicated by Secret in a detailed sequence, and the brand new season began in a manner that justified these doubts.
Earlier than all of this occurred, TI11 runner ups Secret have been busy dropping their ninth recreation in a row for the reason that match in October. One other 2-0 loss versus Gaimin Gladiators put Secret in final place whereas additionally marking one of many longest dropping streaks for the group since TI6.