ESL One Kuala Lumpur group A favorites

ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 uses a typical format made up of two groups followed by playoffs. Because there are only 12 participants, these groups will consist of six teams each.

The match format for this first stage is best-of-two. In the end, the top two teams advance to the upper bracket and the 3^rd and 4^th place teams advance to the lower bracket.

With 10 games played by each team, this will be a very intensive portion of the tournament. Both groups are full of strong teams and players. In group A, the biggest battles will likely take place between Gaimin Gladiators, BetBoom Team, and Team Secret.

We have some SPICY series lined up for the first day of #ESLOne Kuala Lumpur on December 11th! 🌶️#RiseAboveFate pic.twitter.com/ikUY9iQ1s6

— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) December 1, 2023

Group A teams and favorites

Here are the six teams that will compete in group A of ESL One Kuala Lumpur:

• Gaimin Gladiators
• BetBoom Team
• Team Secret
• Blacklist International
• Azure Ray
• Wawitas Sagazes

Because they’ve gone through qualifiers, all of these teams are strong. But relative to each other, some of them are much stronger than the rest.

Gaimin Gladiators did not make any roster changes, so it’s safe to say that they’re the same team that finished 2^nd at The International 12 and won all three DPC Majors in 2023. Based on that fact, they should be regarded as the number one favorite to win this group.

BetBoom have also decided to continue without changing anything. In 2023, they did surprisingly well both regionally as well as internationally. They were 2^nd at DreamLeague S20, 3^rd at DreamLeague S21, 5^th – 6^th at The International 12 and Riyadh Masters 2023, and 1^st in EEU’s Division I in Tour 1.

At this event, they should easily finish their group in the top four. If they play well, they will likely finish 2^nd.

Team Secret have had a poor season, but now that their roster has been substantially upgraded, we can expect them to do well again. Puppey is one of the most experienced captains in the game and MidOne is a highly technical midlaner who can implement his plans to perfection.

Blacklist International are now coached by Mushi. They have Raven as their carry and Abed mid, so they’re no longer a team to ignore.

Azure Ray lost all of their superstars in the last few weeks. With a completely new roster, their odds of playing well at this tournament are slim.

Wawitas proved to be a strong SA team, but internationally they’re still quite far behind the other competitors.

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