Hello again. Nice to see you on EGamersWorld.
We are still watching the Riyadh Masters 2023. The main event of the summer in the world of competitive dota offers battles of the best 20 teams in the world.
However, now there are 16 of them left - the group stage is gaining momentum. In one of the first matches of the third, penultimate game day in the group stage will play 9 Pandas and PSG.LGD.
The format of the meeting remains unchanged - it's bo2. The match will be intense for both sides and therefore it will be The International heresy to watch the battle.
We are trying to figure out who will be stronger in another confrontation between Eastern and Western school of Dota. By the way, both teams are the best representative of their region, and therefore this is an additional argument in favour of watching the match.
Going forward.
Form PSG.LGD
We open the match analysis with the analysis of PSG.LGD uniforms. In this match they will be playing as favourites.
I would say that the advantage of PSG.LGD is purely nominal. In reality, this is a matchup of close teams.
Their entire portfolio in 2023 consists of Top 3 regional league appearances: twice Top 1 (DPC 2023: Tour 1 and DPC 2023: Tour 3) and Top 2 at DPC 2023: Tour 2.
On the international stage, PSG.LGD fell to The Lima Major 2023, where they crashed out in the first round of play-offs. The second Major season was no better than the first, PSG.LGD again flew away with a first round play-offs ranking in the top 12 at the tournament. In addition, the team missed DreamLeague S19.
- PSG.LGD roster: shiro, NothingToSay, niu, planet, y`.
The heyday of PSG.LGD happened on DL S20, where the team reached the play-offs of DreamLeague Season 20, which was the loudest result of the club for the whole year. As a result, the Chinese finished in the top 3 at the prestigious championship.
The Bali Major 2023 was the last tournament before the Longsong Riyadh Masters 2023. PSG.LGD finished in the top 6 there, which was the club's best result at Valve tournaments in 2023.
I'm sure the Chinese want to improve their performance and show a decent game at the Riyadh Masters 2023. PSG.LGD got off to a good start after getting directly into the group stage: they took the first day 3-1, taking the series from OG and exchanging maps with GG.
The most popular PSG.LGD heroes
The most frequent guest of PSG.LGD peaks on DreamLeague S20 is Techies (5 matches, 60% wins). Next are Void Spirit and Magnus with 4 matches and 75% wins.
Opponents should beware of Phantom Lancer (3 matches, 100% wins). Skywrath Mage (3 matches, 66% wins), Ember Spirit (3 matches, 66% wins) are also peaking.
Form 9 Pandas
We continue the match analysis with the analysis of the 9 Pandas form. In this match the residents of the Eastern European DPC will play as number two.
The lag is explained by the fact that 9 Pandas got into the Play-In, but not into the group stage directly. All because of ESL rankings. There are no objective reasons not to trust 9 Pandas.
9 Pandas started the year in third place in DPC 2023: EEU Division 1 Tour 1. However, at the first international tournament of the year - The Lima Major 2023 - while still under the banners of HellRaisers, playing with stand-ins, they managed to get out of the group. \
In the second season of DPC 9Pandas took the top 1 spot, beating all direct competitors, namely Team Spirit and BB Team. In addition, 9Pandas surprised everyone at The Berlin Major 2023. In Germany, the Pandas made it to the Top 3, which was the best result for the region in a year.
The third DPC cycle of 9Pandas ended with qualification to the last Major of the season - The Bali Major 2023 - with a third-place finish in the home league. Next up was the DreamLeague S20
- 9Pandas roster: RAMZES, kiyotaka, MieRo, Antares, Solo .
All year long the team has been gaining in performance and this applies primarily to the international scene. At DreamLeague S20 it was top 7, and at Bali Major 2023 it was top 6.
Riyadh Masters 2023 started for 9 Pandas at the Play-In stage and almost ended with it. "Pandas" played for third place in the Play-In and had to make their way here through Decider.
They started the group stage worse than expected, although considering the Play-In game, it makes sense. They lost to EG and drew with Quest.
The most popular characters of 9 Pandas
The most piqued character in 9 Pandas is Skywrath Mage. He has appeared in Pandas games 6 times and has 3 wins.
He is followed by Bounty Hunter (4 matches, 50% wins), Tiny (3 matches, 66% wins), Bloodseeker (3 matches, 33% wins). Also in the pool are Chen and Doom (2 matches each, 100% wins), and Enchantress (2 matches, 50% wins).
Head-to-head history
The teams have played three times before in head-to-head matches. 9 Pandas won once, and the rest of the series went to PSG.LGD.
Match outcome
In my opinion, the easiest and safest bet is PSG.LGD. The Chinese are slowly but surely gaining momentum on the international stage and we can already see that there is progress.
Bottom line: +1.5 on PSG.LGD.