The Lima Major 2023 Playoffs are set, and unfortunately, we did not hit all our predictions. For starters, BetBoom Team which initially had a phenomenal start in Group B quickly fell off and resulted in elimination.
As such, here’s a look at the Lima Major 2023 Playoffs to see what the teams are up against.
The Lima Major Group Stage Recap
Before that, a recap on the Lima Major 2023 Group Stage is necessary to understand how we ended up with the latest Playoffs bracket.
Group A, for the most part, went as anticipated, with most of the International 11 (TI11) participants advancing into Playoffs. However, the fact that PSG.LGD and Tundra Esports were the bottom seeds of the standings certainly upset fans’ expectations.
Sure, PSG.LGD didn’t have their golden boy in their line-up, aka Wang “Ame” Chunyu. However, considering the multi-TI finalist’s consistent performance in the first Tour of Dota Pro Circuit 2023 (DPC 2023), it’s not a good look for the proclaimed strongest Chinese powerhouse.
Nothing tops Tundra Esports, the TI11 Champions themselves, which narrowly qualified for the Lima Major Playoffs. Ironically, they lost every series in which they encountered past TI11 rivals, such as Gaimin Gladiators, PSG.LGD, Team Spirit, and Evil Geniuses (formerly ex-Thunder Awaken and beastcoast players).
After all, many opponents have called out Tundra’s notorious abuse of overpowered item builds at TI11, the Wraith Pact.
BetBoom hits rock-bottom
Over at Group B, BetBoom receives heavy backlash for their downhill performance after the first day. BetBoom was the highly-anticipated all-star team from Eastern Europe, comprising only high-profile players. One of them is no other than Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek himself, who was the ex-Team Spirit midlaner who won TI10.
In fact, BetBoom was unstoppable throughout EEU DPC 2023. Nevertheless, BetBoom has played underwhelmingly throughout every series, often only securing a tie. As such, this left BetBoom with insufficient points to even challenge the sixth place for a tiebreaker.
Instead, it was HellRaisers, which we initially undermined as a soon-to-be-eliminated team. HR was able to snatch the last slot to advance into Playoffs after a tiebreaker victory vs Geek Slate. Although Geek Slate did not proceed further into the Lima Major, their efforts were well respected. Considering they are a relatively new Southeast Asian team, which only had their first debut in a DPC Major.
Dota 2 Lima Major Playoffs Predictions
Most of our top candidates successfully make it into the Upper Brackets of Lima Major 2023 Playoffs. In this tier, it could truly be anyone’s game to advance, but we do have fan favorites going into the Playoffs.
We expect Gaimin Gladiators to defeat Team Aster since they aren’t as promising as their TI11 roster yet. While Evil Geniuses and Team Spirit will likely win against Entity and Shopify Rebellion respectively. Team Liquid has the best odds of winning against their match-up, Talon Esports, after their undisputed first place in Group B.
Down in the lower bracket, we don’t have any confirmed matchups for the awaiting lower bracket teams. However, all eyes will be on PSG.LGD and Tundra Esports to deliver a lower bracket run since they are supposedly fan favorites.
The Lima Major 2023 is looking spicy as we look forward to a more incredible showcase of Dota 2 than the group stage saga. Thus, catch the action live this week and over the weekend, when the Grand Finals unfold.