Dota 2: The Lima Major 2023 Playoffs Overview – Day 3

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Dota 2: The Lima Major 2023 Playoffs Overview – Day 3

All the action from Day 3 of the Playoffs at the Lima Major.


After the end of Day 2 of The Lima Major 2023, where we had the chance to watch 3 Lower Bracket series, it was time to prepare for Day 3 of the event. Today, we watched one more match from the LB, as well as the Upper Bracket Semifinals. As you can probably guess, each series was fun to watch, so let’s learn more about what happened in them.

Keep in mind that we still have a couple of days until the end of the first Major of 2023. This means you can use some of the top Dota 2 betting websites to wager on upcoming matches. Fortunately, we at ESTNN can provide you with the best options in the business.

Lower Bracket

Even though most of the matches during R1 of the Lower Bracket at The Lima Major 2023 took place yesterday, one match had to take place today. It was between Talon Esports and HellRaisers, and as expected, the match was very interesting to watch.

Speaking of this series, Talon Esports and HellRaisers put up a fantastic show in both games. The Eastern European squad tried to surprise their opponents in the match's first game by picking OD, Slark, and Magnus. On the other hand, Talon relied on the top-tier met heroes right now, such as Lina and Puck.

Although the early and mid-game were fairly even, once Talon’s draft gained an advantage, the team used it to win the game. HR’s draft was too greedy because OD needs a lot of farm to be effective. 

Game 2

After failing to surprise their opponents in the first game, HellRaisers got their Naga and Dark Seer, one of the combos that the team is known for. Even though it looked good on paper, Talon Esports out picked their counterparts because the squad got Sniper and Batrider.

Even though HR’s Naga Siren had a pretty good game and farmed a lot, the hero couldn’t carry her team. Talon’s cores allowed the SEA squad to win the early game and push several towers. This secured map advantage for the team, and it prevented HR’s cores from farming that much.

The Eastern European squad continued to rely on their Naga to carry them, but things didn’t look good once Talon’s Sniper got a couple of times. 39 minutes after the start, the SEA squad got more than an 18k net worth advantage. Unsurprisingly, this was enough for the team to win and eliminate their opponents.

Upper Bracket

After the match between Talon Esports and HellRaisers, it was time to watch the two matches from the Upper Bracket. Both gave us access to high-quality Dota 2 action, so let’s learn more about them.

Gaimin Gladiator defeated Entity

The match between these two Western European powerhouses was exciting because they’ve met numerous times. Even though Entity and Gaimin Gladiators know pretty much everything about the other team, they haven’t met in a Major yet.

The series started well for GG, who won the first match after 35 minutes. Entity relied on a late-game setup with their Naga, whereas Gaimin Gladiators used the QoP and Nature’s Prophet draft.

Although GG's draft was way better for the early game, the team wasn’t able to take the lead in the arrival of the mid-game. However, once that happened, GG had few problems and took complete control of the match.

Quinn and the rest got the mid-lane rax after just 26 minutes, which made Entity’s job almost impossible. Although the team had Naga Siren in its draft, it wasn’t enough to win the match. 

Game 2

After losing the first game, we expected Entity to come out a lot stronger for the second game. Even though we had the chance to see several new heroes, they couldn’t do anything as GG ripped through them.

The leaders in The Lima Majoer 2023 Group A played around their Terrorblade and slowly but steadily pushed a lot of towers. By doing this, they prevent the enemy’s Morphling from farming. Needless to say, Entity didn’t have any other hero to rely on because Leshrac also didn’t have the best game of his life.

Ultimately, GG needed just 23 minutes to destroy the mid-lane of rax and win the game. This allowed Quinn and the rest to qualify for the Upper Bracket final, where they must face the mighty Team Liquid.

Shopify Rebellion wasn’t able to deal with Team Liquid

The last series of the day was between Shopify Rebellion and Team Liquid. The latter hasn’t lost a single match so far and finished first in Group B at The Lima Major 2023. On the other hand,  the ex-EG roster dealt with Team Spirit in the previous round, which meant this match was very interesting to follow.

Even though we expected to watch a three-game thriller, in the end, Team Liquid won the match after 2 clean victories. SR couldn’t do much in the first game and lost after just 31 minutes. Fly, and the rest got a core Marci, but the hero couldn’t deal with the Lina and Puck combo.

Game 2

In the second game of the match, SR changed its draft and got their hands on Templar Assassin and Primal Beast. The North American squad has proven it knows how to use these two heroes together, which is why the game was way more interesting.

Despite the offensive setup, SR wasn’t able to close the game, which allowed Liquid’s Drow and Morph setup to become unkillable. Nisha and the rest got too big and eventually won the match, sending SR into the lower bracket.

Dota 2: The Lima Major 2023 Playoffs Overview – Day 3
Zlosterr
Zlosterr has been a fan of esports for many years and mainly focuses on Dota 2. He has more than five years of experience writing Dota 2 content for numerous platforms. Besides being a passionate fan of the game, he's also played for various amateur teams.