Dota 2 Lima Major 2023 Day 2 Group B Recap
| Tags: Dota 2
| Author The Old One
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The second day of Dota 2’s Lima Major was just as thrilling as the first, with heartbreaks, close shaves and comebacks evolving the table and furthering the progress of the tournament. With 16 Best of 2 series taking place in the space of just a few hours across four streams, it can be difficult to keep an eye on every match, so we’ve got short recaps for you so you can catch up easily. Our Group A Day 2 recap can be found here, and you can simply keep reading for the Group B highlights.
Contents
HellRaisers vs beastcoast
After an awful start to their campaign, HellRaisers were in a do-or-die situation as they went up against South America’s finest. On the other hand, beastcoast had had middling results, and were eager to secure their first successful series with a win over what appeared to be the whipping boy of the group.
The first game was a topsy-turvy thriller, with both teams taking and losing the lead in a bloodfest that saw a total of 95 kills in just 54 minutes. Both teams played their heart out, but in the end it was beastcoast who took advantage of a successful teamfight in the 44th minute to close out the game shortly after.
If the South Americans had been expecting an easy 2-0 sweep, they couldn’t be more mistaken. HR simply outclassed them, locking down the map and taking kill after kill to obtain and maintain a massive lead that eventually saw them finish things off in the 35th minute to level the proceedings.
Shopify Rebellion vs Entity
These two teams had had very successful first days, and both wanted to continue their run. However, things would be far from that easy for either. The Americans were still being driven by a strong urge to prove their relevance after major setbacks in recent times, while the Europeans were looking to make up for their underperformance at big events last year.
The first game was pretty even for quite a while with neither team being able to gain a decisive advantage. However, once Entity got going, they were so well-organized that they only lost one Hero between the 22nd minute and when the game ended in their favor 30 minutes later, with SR being utterly outplayed.
Speaking of being outplayed, however, it was SR who bullied their opponents in the second game. Entity didn’t stand a chance as SR’s fast push lineup tore through their defenses and closed out the game in just 21 short minutes, leveling the series and ending Entity’s unbeaten run.
Team Aster vs BetBoom Team
Aster had originally led the Chinese Dota Pro Circuit’s Winter Tour with a near-flawless run, but PSG.LGD managed to beat them in a tiebreaker to take their crown. BetBoom meanwhile had faced no such hiccups in their own domination of the Eastern European circuit, and were the marginal favorites to win this exchange.
Game 1 was one of the longest games at the event so far, with the match continuing until the 81st minute to yield a result. The early to mid-game saw BB gain a pretty decent lead, but Aster took over to gain their own significant lead. However, this was relatively short-lived, and the Chinese side’s failure to capitalize saw BB come back and gradually gain a mammoth gold lead that ballooned up to as much as 50k as they, too went through a near flawless period of only losing one Hero in the last 25 minutes of the match before closing it out.
After the shenanigans of Game 1, the second game was a bit of an anticlimax that harkened back to the early days of Dota 2. Aster won by slowly gaining a lead and maintaining map control, and with a kill score of just 15-10, there’s really not much to be said about the match except that it was 31 minutes long and equalled the series.
Team Liquid vs Knights
Knights may have come to Lima with high hopes following a controversial-yet-successful third-place finish in the Chinese DPC, but their miserable form in Peru has put more pressure on them than ever to prove themselves in the more transparent LAN environment. Going up against the might of Team Liquid, though, this would be easier said than done.
The first game was a pretty straightforward, clinical case of Liquid dominance, with the Western European side drafting a fast, aggressive lineup to close out the game within 27 minutes with little or no opposition.
Liquid completed the clean sweep shortly after, finishing even earlier, but this time with many more kills as they went ham on the Chinese underdogs. The game ended with the kill scores at 35-8, which says enough about how the match went.
Knights vs Geek Slate
While Liquid are currently way too powerful for almost any team in the world, it was Knights’ performance against Geek Slate that said much more about the state of the team and the viability of their presence at the Major. For Geek Slate, it was a welcome win that will help their aim of making it into the Playoffs.
Knights actually had quite a good lead for most of the first game, but once GS caught up in the mid game, they didn’t take any prisoners. After a couple of brilliant teamfights that left Knights in tatters, the Chinese team bowed out with their base in tatters.
Undoubtedly demoralized, Knights weren’t able to look convincing at any stage of their second battle against GS. The South-East Asians managed to keep a solid gold lead that grew to a whopping 35k by the time the game ended in the 38th minute, which again says all that needs to be said.
Shopify Rebellion vs HellRaisers
Fresh off of their even series against the likes of Entity, SR weren’t in a mood to give HellRaisers free points. The Eastern European team has been under heavy fire, and is on course to join Knights at the bottom of the Group B table. Up against SR, it’s not as though they had no shot, but they’d have to devise something special to take anything away from the fight.
Unfortunately for HR, things did not pan out in their favor in Game 1. SR took control early, and had a vice grip on the game by the time the mid-game came around. In fact, no sooner did the mid-game period begin that the Americans took a decisive teamfight that ended with their opponents calling GG.
Up against the wall at this point, HR brought a slightly better fight to Game 2. Things remained even until the 20 minute mark, when SR finally began taking charge. Ten minutes later, they were all but dominating, and had closed out the battle and the series within another 5.
Team Liquid vs Entity
Liquid had already faced Entity earlier this year during their unbeaten run in the Winter Tour of the DPC, and that encounter had not gone well for the latter. However, this time around it was Entity who were up on top, with Liquid having dropped a game to BetBoom. Nevertheless, the WEU champions were still the favorites to win — and for good reason.
Things began innocuously enough, but Liquid’s rising gold lead despite Entity having an Alchemist on board was the first sign of danger for the reigning group leaders. Soon, that Hero was sidelined completely as Liquid took charge with their faster-pushing Heroes to end the game in the 29th minute.
Unlike Game 1, Game 2 was much more heavily contested. Entity put up a strong fight despite trailing in gold, but Liquid’s teamwork was just too much for them in the long run. Following a decisive battle in the 35th minute that saw them get teamwiped, Entity called GG.
beastcoast vs BetBoom Team
Having conquered the EEU region, BetBoom would have fancied themselves against the mighty South-American DPC champs — especially after the latter’s capitulation , but that continent isn’t what it used to be as far as its Dota 2 scene goes. There’s a reason why beastcoast had made top 8 at The International 11, and they weren’t about to let BB walk all over them.
Going into Game 1, BB took an early lead before beastcoast took over for a while in the mid-game. Following a brief comeback by the Europeans, however, beastcoast took and maintained a sizable lead, and leveraged it into another important win.
To the Peruvian side’s despair, Game 2 would not go as they may have hoped. BB were ahead pretty much the entire game, and although that lead wouldn’t climb much higher until near the end of the game, it was sufficient enough for the EEU side to clinch the win and share the spoils of the series.
Join us again tomorrow for a condensed report on the third day’s plays, and check out our myriad of Dota 2 content while you wait for the matches to resume.