ESL One Berlin Major group stage results

The group stage of ESL One Berlin Major is over and apart from a few upsets, everything went according to what the statistics indicated. Once again, BetBoom Team failed to qualify for the playoffs despite their formidable roster. But all the other strong teams succeeded.

Unfortunately for beastcoast, Xtreme Gaming and Talon Esports were just a bit stronger and stole their spot in the last few days of the group stage. But they don’t need to worry because their regional results already put them in a comfortable position.

They are currently a top five team in the global rankings and will likely remain a top 12 team until the end of the regular season.

Group A results

As everyone expected, the battle in group A was won by Gaimin Gladiators. Their final record was 5 W – 3 D – 0 L, which is a strong indicator that they’ve already adapted to the new Dota 2 patch and know exactly what they need to do to win matches on it.

Only one other team in this group finished undefeated: 9 Pandas. They won twice and drew six times. This means they are probably hard to beat in a best-of-three, but certainly not harder than Gaimin Gladiators.

Team Liquid finished third with 3 W – 4 D – 1 L. The defeat came against Gladiators, who seem to have their number. The two teams encountered each other many times in the last four months and Gladiators won almost every single match.

The last upper bracket team from this group is PSG.LGD. Few people expected the Chinese competitor to play so well, but it seems that Zhang “xiao8” Ning has found a way to guide his team to success. LGD’s record was 3 W – 3 D – 2 L.

For a while, everyone was convinced that Chinese Dota was finished. The rumors of its demise have been a bit exaggerated. Or at least, that’s what PSG.LGD and Team Aster are trying to prove. Xtreme Gaming too.

It’s been a long time since we last saw three Chinese teams in the playoffs of a Dota Pro Circuit Major. Hopefully, at least one or two of them will finish in the top six. Their regional scene would benefit a lot from these results.

Because of the rules introduced last year by the Chinese government, confidence in Chinese esports is at an all time low. People are wondering: who’s going to replace the veterans when they are gone?

The fifth and sixth place teams in group A are Team Aster and Evil Geniuses. Both of them had a record of 2 W – 4 D – 2 L.

The three teams that got eliminated are BetBoom Team, Execration, and TSM. The last two of these teams were regarded as underdogs with little hope of success even before the tournament began. But BetBoom were supposed to be one of the favorites.

It’s a bit difficult to understand how a team like BetBoom can fail so miserably when the individual players are among the best in the world at their respective roles. The only excuse that BetBoom have for failing at ESL One Berlin Major is the absence of their carry, Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko, who had to be replaced at the last minute.

Hopefully, the last DPC Major of the season will bring better results for BetBoom. Otherwise, their epic project will have been a complete failure.

Group B

In group B of the Berlin Major, Tundra Esports proved to be a phenomenal competitor. It seems that the versatility they demonstrated at The International 11, where they won the Aegis of Champions thanks to their unorthodox tactics, is serving them well in the new patch.

Unlike the previous patch, this one offers numerous ways of playing the game and Tundra are the experts at finding viable strategies that nobody else has considered. Their group stage record says it all: 6 W – 2 D – 0 L. This was the best performance of any team at the Berlin Major.

Two other teams in group B finished unbeaten: OG (4 W – 4 D – 0 L) and Team Spirit (3 W – 5 D – 0 L). In OG’s case, this performance was very impressive given the circumstances. The team had to make two last-moment replacements and was coming from a tough Tour 2 in Western Europe.

Until the last few matches, everyone believed that OG would be relegated. But in the end, they qualified for the Major.

The fourth team that secured an upper bracket spot in this group was Shopify Rebellion. Their record was 3 W – 4 D – 1 L. The only problem is that they only won against the three teams that got eliminated. In a best-of-three match against a formidable opponent like 9 Pandas, their odds of succeeding are quite low.

The fifth and sixth place teams in group B are Talon Esports (2 W – 3 D – 3 L) and Xtreme Gaming (2 W – 2 D – 4 L). Both of them looked fragile but perhaps they can do better in the playoffs.

Header: ESL