ESL One Kuala Lumpur group stage is behind us. We saw some shocking results, but in the end we got 8 teams that advanced to the playoffs of the event.
Group A
Azure Ray
Gaimin Gladiators
Team Secret
BetBoom Team
Group B
G2.iG
Team Falcons
Tundra Esports
Team Liquid
LGD Gaming – biggest failure
The biggest disappointment was definitely LGD Gaming. A team that was among the top 5 favorites of the tournament, was overshined by their countryman team Azure Ray and G2.iG. LGD was crushed 0-2 by their Chinese friends from G2.IG in their group B. With another devastating loss vs Team Falcons, LGD Gaming ended up in 5th place in their group and finished their Kuala Lumpur journey.
Team Falcons – biggest surprise
As we were announcing, the new Team Falcons are really a good underdog team here. They’ve managed to prove how strong they are. Beating Liquid, LGD Gaming and Tundra with 2-0 pushed them to the top 2 of their group. Seems like Chinese teams are their nemesis, as G2.IG beat them in the group stage, while Azure Ray did overcome them in the upper bracket semifinals or round 1 of the playoffs. The 2-1 result showed that the series was a close one, and the Falcons had the strength to fight such teams.
Playoffs – fight for the $300,000
Top favorites Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators are still here, fighting for the trophy. Gamin Gladiators did beat G2.IG with a close 2-1 in round 1 of the upper bracket, which brought them to the upper bracket final vs another Chinese team, Azure Ray.
However, two teams from the top 4 favorites are already in the lower bracket, where they will fight for their lives. Team Secret will try to knock Team Liquid out of the tournament, while BetBoom, a very strong Russian squad will try to overcome Tundra, another The International champion.
Lower bracket – All In
Team Secret vs Team Liquid
Secret did beat the 2 weakest teams in the tournament in their group A. But, now they need to take on a giant. Liquid had a bad start in this tournament. With 2 losses, 1 draw and 2 wins, they’ve barely advanced to the playoffs. Surely, they can go very far, and Secret shouldn’t be a big step for them. Their last series was in July where Team Liquid crushed Secret in a group stage of Riyadh Masters. Now it can be the same, as Liquid are big favorite here.
Tundra Esports vs BetBoom Team
New Tundra is not anymore that old amazing squad. Their rewarded and championship-winning squad is gone, as they have a new roster for this new 2023/2024 season. Their mixed American-Russian-Indonesian roster looks okay on paper, but they are not able to fight the strongest teams at this point. BetBoom Team has quality, team play, and more quality individual players that can make a difference. Their last match was won by BetBoom, in the Riyadh Masters. Russians are favorites here, and I don’t see a reason why they could lose this elimination match, even though their group-stage matches were a disaster. 5 matches, 5 draws.
New favorites
It seems like China is dominating this tournament. G2.IG and Azure Ray are the most dominant teams here, and none of those teams were in the top 4 favorites before the tournament started. G2.IG has one loss vs Tundra in the group stage and a loss vs Gaimin Gladiators in round 1 of playoffs, while Azure Ray hasn’t lost a single match so far. They have even crushed the Falcons in the playoffs to advance to the top 3 teams.
Liquid will need to fight across the whole lower bracket, to show the status of top favorites, if the Falcons don’t crush their dreams, possibly in the next round, as a big underdog. Keep your eyes on those teams.
