Day 1 of DreamLeague S21 ends with shocking results

Day 1 of DreamLeague S21 was proof that in Dota 2, not even the strongest teams can’t relax, even for one month. The day was full of surprises and beautiful games.

From Topson’s triple kill on Earth Spirit in the first game against Team Liquid, to kiyotaka’s performance on Earthshaker, the viewers really had a lot to learn from the matches.

Teams who finished the recent Riyadh Masters in the top three, such as Talon Esports and Liquid, finished the first day of DreamLeague S21 with four consecutive defeats. Even Gaimin Gladiators, who won BetBoom Dacha just a few days ago, lost three of their first four games.

Meanwhile, competitors like OG, 9Pandas, Shopify Rebellion, and Entity are playing the best Dota of the season.

The new meta, created by Dota 2 patch 7.34c, has clearly changed the game in ways that some teams seem to understand much better than others. This game is all about keeping up with the latest trends, figuring out what’s overpowered, and then implementing solid strategies with precision. And that creates the potential for upsets.

Tough day, tough opponents. We are down 2-0 on Day 1 of the DreamLeague S21. GGs go next! #ESLProTour https://t.co/spTIvN5jHW

— Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) September 18, 2023

Day 1 group A results

In group A of DreamLeague S21, 9Pandas won every game of the first four. Entity and Shopify Rebellion won three of them. Tundra went 2 W – 2 L. Talon and Liquid, the two biggest favorites in this group, finished the day with four defeats.

Some of the surprising facts about this group is that teams picked the supposedly broken heroes quite regularly, and often lost with them. Talon lost twice with Pangolier. They also picked Morphling and Terrorblade but got destroyed by 9Pandas.

Liquid tried to make Earth Spirit and Phantom Assassin work. But despite the natural advantages of these heroes, they got crushed every time. In the match against Entity, their opponents picked heroes like Kunkka and Centaur, and started to change the meta with them.

One hero that everyone seems to love right now is Vengeful Spirit. Her ultimate seems a bit broken.

Day 1 group B results

BetBoom Team, OG, and Team Spirit finished the day with 3 points. Evil Geniuses, Gaimin Gladiators, and Quest Esports finished it with 1 point.

The most picked heroes in this group were Vengeful Spirit, Phantom Assassin, Gyrocopter, Sven, Invoker, and Nature’s Prophet. Gyrocopter was the most disappointing of them all. It seems that the latest nerfs have seriously affected him.

Header: ESL