The ESL One Dota 2 Stockholm Major is finally here.
The first day of the Group Stage is already proving to be unpredictable, as OG and Thunder Awaken lead their groups while long-time powerhouse teams Evil Geniuses (EG) and Team Liquid start the tournament off winless.
The Group Stage of the Stockholm Major features the 14 best teams from five regions split into two groups of seven each.
The top four finishers in each group advance to the upper bracket in the main event. While the fifth and sixth place teams will start the playoffs in the lower bracket.
The last-place team in each group is eliminated after the Group Stage and won’t attend the playoffs.
OG Esports had the best performance on day one, as they swept Beastcoast 2-0 and drew against BOOM Esports, the strongest team in Southeast Asia.
This is the first LAN event for the new OG squad and day one of the tournament shows that they are ready to go all the way.
A four-way tie emerged for second place in Group A, as BetBoom Team, BOOM Esports, Tundra Esports, and T1 all ended the game with two wins.
While all four teams secured two wins, T1 and Tundra Esports managed to do so by winning their series, and BetBoom and BOOM drew in both their games, placing them in a worse position than the other two teams.
Beastcoast got off to a rough start in the day, as they lost their opening series against OG.
The South American team rallied in their second match of the day when they drew against BetBoom, arguably the strongest team in Eastern Europe right now.
Only one team in Group A lost all their games on day one and it was none other than Evil Geniuses.
The North American squad lost all their games against T1 and Tundra Esports, placing them in a precarious position. It would be a major upset if EG were unable to make it to the playoffs.
Over in Group B, Thunder Awaken ended the day with the best score among all teams.
The Peruvian team received a free 2-0 victory over Mind Games who were unable to attend their match. Thunder Awaken then went on to defeat Team Liquid in the best game of the day, establishing themselves as a serious threat.
Gaimin Gladiators are currently second overall in Group B, as they took down Team Spirit in a convincing 2-0 series. A draw against TSM saw the Western European squad end the day with a score of 3-1.
Southeast Asia continues to prove they are a strong region, as Fnatic tied with Team Spirit for third place in Group B. Both teams secured one win and one loss.
So far all three Southeast Asian teams are in the top four in their respective groups. That said, it’s still very early in the tournament though and things can change fast.
While Southeast Asia flourishes at the Major, North America stumbles.
TSM fared better than EG did on their opening day, but only slightly. TSM managed to take a game off Gaimin Gladiators, but proved unable to take down Fnatic.
It’s a dangerous position for the region as their two representatives only managed to win one game in eight games played.
Mind Games and Team Liquid are tied for last place in Group B. Mind Games have been unable to secure visas for three of their players, resulting in a forced forfeit for the team on day one of the Group Stage.
If Mind Games are unable to attend their second day of the tournament, it will almost guarantee they lose their chance to make it to the playoffs.
Here’s how every match of day one of the Group Stage went down:
Group A:
- Evil Geniuses 0-2 Tundra Esports
- OG 2-0 Beastcoast
- BOOM Esports 1-1 BetBoom Team
- OG 1-1 BOOM Esports
- Evil Geniuses 0-2 T1
- Beastcoast 1-1 BetBoom Team
Group B:
- Team Liquid 0-2 Thunder Awaken
- Fnatic 0-2 Team Spirit
- TSM 1-1 Gaimin Gladiators
- TSpirit 0-2 Gaimin Gladiators
- Fnatic 2-0 TSM
- Thunder Awaken 2-0 Mind Games (Forced forfeit by Mind Games)
Here are the standings at the end of the first day of the Stockholm Major Group Stage: