The confrontations in the second round of DPC 2023 in Western Europe are fast coming to an end. There are 2 matches to watch and Monaspa - Tundra Esports is the penultimate match of the tourney.
For Tundra Esports match does not make much sense: The reigning champions of The International already went to The Berlin Major 2023, so they can afford to experiment. Monaspa, on the other hand, has the exact opposite situation.
Tundra Esports approached the game in third place in the standings. The team has won 4 of their 6 matches.
Monaspa are at the bottom of the standings. The team shares fifth place in the tournament with Entity, Nigma Galaxy and OG.
Let's try to see if Monaspa has a chance of clinching a potential replay by the Berlin Major or if the title-winning Tundra will eat their opponents without any problems.
Tundra Esports form
Tundra Esports will approach the match as the undisputed leader. With them, and start reviewing the match.
Bookmakers are confident in the success of Tundra Esports. The odds on the victory of the club is at around 1.2.
Tundra Esports had a difficult first season of DPC 2023 and the new cycle has not been an easy ride for them. The fatigue of playing together is visible, but it did not play a cruel trick on the team: Tundra qualified for The Berlin Major 2023.
Tundra Esports line-up
Although the team is experiencing difficulties and stagnation, they are still made up of The International champions. They know how to play Dota, that's a fact.
Players Tundra Esports
- skiter
- Nine
- 33
- Saksa
- Sneyking
Tundra Esports' status shows in their matches when the team really needs to pull together. The strength of the team lies in their versatility and flexibility.
In last week's Tundra game, we saw clearly how the team is able to quickly adapt to the needs of a particular match. Monaspa cannot, if they want to, boast such abilities.
Tundra Esports' performance
The team finished 3rd in the first round of DPC 2023: WEU - Upper Division. The team finished 4-3 and qualified for the Lima Major 2023 thanks to round-robin play.
Tundra had a more confident showing in the BB Universe - Comics Zone. There, the reigning champions of The International managed to take first place, beating Spirit 3-2 in the final.
The Lima Major 2023 ended miserably for Tundra Esports. In spite of getting into the play-offs from 6th place in their group, their journey was cut short in the first leg of the lower divisions after their match against Aster (1-2).
In the new round of DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division, Tundra Esports made their debut with a match against OG (2-0). There were chances of falling behind on two maps, but Tiny by Saksa and Pango by Nine both turned things around in Tundra's favour.
Next, Tundra played against Entity. Not a chance for Fishman and company but 2-0 in favour of Tundra.
In the fourth match of the season, one of the main sensations of the tourney happened. Tundra Esports absolutely senselessly gave the match to Ooredoo Thunders with a score of 0-2, losing on the first map due to performance and drafting on the second with outright crap against the OT heroes.
In the match against Liquid Tundra, they looked like a "broken trough". The encounter ended with a 2-0 scoreline.
In the previous series, the team played against Gaimin Gladiators. Trailing nominally, Tundra used a fairly aggressive strategy with Night Stalker in first position on the first map, and on the second, they grinded down the Gladiators with Anti-Mag.
Tundra Esports Heroes
Undying remains Tundra's most popular character. The hero picked up 9 times, of which he won 7 matches.
Lina has appeared in 8 matches and has a 75% win rate. Also picked DOOM in 8 games, winning half of his games.
Enigma has appeared in spades 7 matches with 71% wins and Mirana, with a similar number of matches, has a crushing 28% win rate.
Monaspa Form.
Opposing Tundra Esports in this match will be Monaspa. The newcomer to the top division will face us as the catch-up side.
The chance of Monaspa winning is slim to say the least. Bookmakers are estimating a potential victory for the Greeks with odds in the region of 3.6.
It is worth noting that among all the matches of the last matchday of the DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division Tour II, Monaspa is the more likely to win than the other outsiders. There are reasons for this: the uncertainty of Tundra in most matches of the new season and the rudiments of chipper play from Monaspa themselves.
Monaspa line-up
Admittedly, I didn't expect to see Monaspa in such title company. To be in the replay zone for a place in the Berlin Major 2023 is already an achievement.
Monaspa players
- Nande
- W1sh
- Eleven
- dEsire
- SsaSpartan
The saddest thing will be flying out in this state of affairs. Someone will have to, and it seems Monaspa is one of the main contenders.
The team lacks discipline, although they have experience against some pretty serious opponents, but not the level of Tundra, unfortunately for them and the fans of the team.
Monaspa performance
Monaspa finished the second division of Western Europe with a 5-2 statistic. After the scheduled games they had to play in round-robin games for 3 teams.
During the regular season Monaspa managed to beat Ancien Tribe, Alliance, Bald Reborn, Water Rune Enjoyer and most importantly Ooredoo Thunders. Could have claimed the lead had they not stumbled over D2 Huslters and Ivy, who Ledge were 0-2 each.
Outside of the DPC ecosystem they played in third party events. The team finished top 6 at European Pro League Season 6, also won Winter Cup 2022.
From the more serious events was BB Universe: Episode I - Comics Zone. In the more serious company, Monaspa failed to prove themselves and finished in the Top-12 at that tournament.
In the first game at DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division Monaspa faced Ooredoo Thunders. Monaspa defeated their arch-rivals 2-0 without much trouble.
In the next match Monaspa played against Entity. The title team was expectedly stronger and ended the match 2-0.
Next Monaspa played against Gaimin Gladiators. What should have ended 2-0 turned into a full-blown bo3 with lingering maps, but still the Gladiators proved to be stronger.
Next, the team played against Nigma Galaxy. They should have won, but the breakdown went 2-0 in favour of Nigma.
Before the match with Team Liquid, Monaspa played against OG. Unexpectedly, the Greeks overcame OG on two cards and did it tastefully.
In the match against Liquid, the Underpassodogs of the second round of Western Europe didn't stand a chance. Liquid shut out Monaspa on two cards without much effort.
Monaspa heroes.
Playing the meta, without much experimentation, but with the inclusion of "their" characters. The most chosen hero is Rubick (26 matches, 65% win rate).
Undying (20 games, 80% wins), Leshrac (18 games, 77% wins), Viper (18 games, 66% wins), Earthshaker (18 games, 55% wins) are often used.
Also playing Snapfire (16 games, 43% wins) and Beastmaster (15 games, 40% wins).
History of head-to-head encounters
The teams have not previously played each other in official matches. The teams will meet each other for the first time.
Match outcome
If Monaspa win this match, they risk to dethrone the Ooredoo Thunders from the position of the season opener and take this title. That, however, is unlikely to happen.
Tundra Esports, although they qualified for the Berlin Major 2023, will not lose to the Greeks. At most, one map given, but if they play the way they did against the gladiators, they have no chance at all.
Bottom line: a 2-0 win for Tundra Esports.
