5 conclusions after the Lima Major 2023 group stage

On the night of February 27, the first stage of the Major ended in Lima. Over the 5 days of the group stage, we saw a lot of high-quality and no less than mediocre dota.

A long 5 days gave us an idea of what to expect in the playoffs starting tomorrow. Here are 5 takeaways from the Lima Major 2023 group stage.

1. Lina is easier to ban than to counter

Lima Major 2023 takes place on patch 7.32, which was released on August 24, 2022. After the release of the update, several letter updates were released to improve the balance of the game, but the global meta has remained unchanged for half a year.

During this time, the list of the most effective characters and contenders for blind FP and Lina has settled down among such characters on the leading lines. The group stage of Lima Major 2023 confirmed this.

According to the portal spectral.gg, the Character appeared in the pick of teams 39 times out of 144 games; in 105 matches, Lina was banned. The percentage of the contest for the hero is 96 points, which makes her the undisputed leader in the sympathy race.

Lin's success is stunning, arguing with the statement is stupid. This is despite a 45% win rate.

The terrible popularity of the fire sorceress is due to her versatility and strength at any stage of the game, but most often the hero went to the carry position. There, Lina destroys through a build with Falcon Blade + Gleipnir + BKB.

A vivid example of the thesis “it's better to ban than to counter” was the knockout game in group B between HellRaisers and Geek Slate. A team from Eastern Europe did not hesitate to play a “broken” character, and their competitors from Geek Slate tried to reinvent the wheel.

As a result, on the first map, Lina finished the game with a score of 16-1-10, and on the second one - 11-3-7. And this despite the fact that HR in Lima does not have a permanent carry: Yuragi plays as a substitute.

2. Western Europe is the best not only on paper

Lima Major 2023 is interesting not only as the first major of the season and place, but also because of the changed balance of power in competitive regions. After the autumn transfer window in Dota 2, the hierarchy of team strengths was greatly shaken, but on the example of the Lima Major 2023 group stage, we saw that something remains unchanged.

Western Europe is still the strongest region in the world. Of the 4 European teams, all made it to the playoffs: 3 teams guaranteed themselves a place in the upper bracket and only 1 will start their way to the trophy from the bottom.

It is noteworthy that the only team that did not reach the upper bracket of the playoffs was Tundra Esports. The reigning The International 2022 world champions are also the only ones who have not changed their roster during the reshuffle period.

3. South America is proving its worth

For the first time, South America received a Major status tournament. Lima Major 2023 was the first major event from Valve held in a rapidly developing region.

The prerequisite for organizing a major in South America, and more specifically in Peru, was the performance of local teams at The International 2022. Then two representatives of the region entered the TOP-8: Thunder Awaken got to the eighth line of the tournament table, and beastcoast finished sixth. There were Hokori at that tournament, who made a splash in the group stage, but stumbled upon the beastocast during the playoffs.

It would not have been possible to reach such heights without laborious work, and efforts should be rewarded. This season, the reward for the Peruvian teams was the holding of the Major in a homely atmosphere, and the clubs themselves are zealously striving to prove their ability and fully consolidate South America among the strongest regions of competitive Dota 2.

According to the results of the group stage of Lima Major 2023, they have a success. Both representatives of the economic region made it to the playoffs: Evil Geniuses to the upper bracket, beastcoast after replays - to the lower bracket.

Only Western Europe, along with South America, has a 100% representation in the playoffs. Of course, the number of participants directly affects this parameter, however, North America also had 2 residents at Lima Major 2023, but only 1 team managed to get through the group stage.

4. China is losing its former greatness, and teams from there are suspected of match-fixing

While the residents of the strongest region in DotA are basking in the glory and getting ready for the start of the playoffs, the main competitors of Western European DotA are going through the worst season in history. The Chinese teams at the Lima Major look weak and can no longer claim the status of the second strongest region.

Of the 4 teams that arrived at Lima Major 2023, only 2 from China remained afloat. Only PSG.LGD and Team Aster made it to the playoffs, and those with great difficulties: PSG.LGD did not make it to the upper bracket for the first time since ESL One Katowice 2018 playoffs, and Aster made it there through difficult replays.

The fate of the other two participants of Lima Major 2023, EHOME and Knights, is even more unenviable. Both teams showed the worst result in their groups, taking the last places there: EHOME failed group A with a score of 3-13, and the Knights even won only 1 map.

Truly mysterious things happened to the latter in Lima. In places, their game looked so absurd that the Dota community had questions.

So, for example, Storm, an analyst at the Maincast studio, doubts the “purity” of Knigths, and v1lat agrees with him. The Knights game also raised questions from Bafikk, who also suspects EHOME of unsportsmanlike behavior.

Naturally, it is too early to draw conclusions about the intentions of the Chinese DPC participants before the investigation from Valve and the organizers of Lima Major 2023, but in the 2023 season, the topic of potential cheats from Chinese teams pops up not for the first time. The Knights became the center of controversy during DPC 2023 when they unexpectedly outplayed PSG.LGD 2-0 and were accused of using the maphack. Then Perfect World started investigating the case, but as we can see, they didn’t go beyond verbal claims, and the performance of the Knights at Lima Major 2023 left much to be desired right up to their inglorious elimination at the group stage stage.

5. Self-confidence hurts, but health needs to be monitored

One of the biggest surprises of the group stage of Lima Major 2023 was the departure to the playoffs of BB Team, the strongest team in Eastern Europe. The reason for this is called excessive self-confidence and a careless attitude to preparation.

BB Team won the Eastern European Division 1 7-0 with little opposition in the home league. BB did not participate in third-party commercial tournaments, which were not shunned by teams like Tundra, Gaimin Gladiators and Spirit. BB came to the tournament with high expectations, because the roster contains some of the most skillful performers from Eastern Europe, but one skill alone will not go far, as we understand.

It looks rather strange that BB does not have a psychologist on staff. Such a specialist would look handy, especially given the temperament of the club's players. More careful control of "stars" from management would not be superfluous. Maybe then mid BB wouldn't have to play with the temperature after jumping into the pool half of the group stage.

Together, these factors led to a fair result. BB left Lima Major 2023 at the group stage, while Spirit returned (for now) to the status of the strongest team in Eastern Europe.

Approximately such points can be identified after the group stage of Lima Major 2023. Be that as it may, the big DotA is only accelerating: ahead of the playoffs of the first major in the 2023 season, and all the most interesting is ahead.

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