Crazy Day, Four Teams Bid Farewell - Riyadh Masters Play-ins Conclusion
The Play-ins stage of Riyadh Masters 2023 has come to an end, and four teams have already been eliminated two days into the event. The survivors of the Play-ins stage will move on to the Group Stage, where the likes of Gaimin Gladiators, Tundra Esports, PSG.LGD, and more await.
Direct Advancement Teams
The top two teams from each group will directly qualify for the Group Stage without playing any elimination matches. The four teams who topped their groups were:
Team Liquid was always expected to make it through easily, so there were no surprises. Quest Esports could still perform well without Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, but bigger competition lies ahead in the Group Stage. Both Chinese teams in the Play-ins made roster changes, and their changes seem to be working out.
Decider Bracket Results
The remaining eight teams from the Play-ins stage played in elimination matches against teams from their opposing groups. The matchups were seeded through the team's placings in the Play-ins Group Stage. The 3rd seed of Group A will face the 6th seed of Group B, the 4th seed of Group A will face the 5th seed of Group B, and so on.
Virtus.Pro and Execration were tied for 5-6th place, and the two teams had a 1v1 Shadow Fiend Mid to decide their seedings. Mark Anthony "Bob" Urbina defeated Ilya "squad1x" Kuvaldin in the 1v1, meaning that Execration will play against Team Secret, while Virtus.Pro face-off against 9 Pandas.
These elimination matches are Best of 3, with the loser of the match being eliminated and the winner advancing to the next stage. Here is a recap of the results:
OG 2-0 Team Entity
Two Western European teams meet in an elimination match. Entity would like to have their honeymoon period with their recent addition of Kim "Gabbi" Santos, but it wasn't meant to be. Despite a weak performance from OG in their past matches, they found form to defeat Entity with a clean 2-0 score to join the Group Stage teams.
Beastcoast 0-2 TSM
Beastcoast seemed like a severe competitor after their deep run in the Bali Major, and their opponents were TSM, a team that didn't even make it to the Major. However, TSM could show that their Bali absence was a fluke and win the series 2-0 against the South Americans. We had an exhilarating second game in the series, where TSM pulled off a Mega Creep comeback to advance to the next stage.
Team Secret 2-1 Execration
Execration is, unfortunately, playing this tournament without their captain, Carlo "Carlo" Manalo. Even with their entire roster, the Filipino team has always struggled in international tournaments. Their results in Riyadh were no different, as they were handed a 2-1 defeat against Team Secret. Talon will be the remaining Southeast Asian hope in Riyadh Masters 2023.
9 Pandas 2-1 Virtus.Pro
Due to squad1x losing his 1v1 to Bob, both Eastern European teams in the Play-ins will have to eliminate each other. We've had this exact matchup multiple times, and Virtus.Pro was never able to stand a chance against 9 Pandas. The result didn't change, as 9 Pandas could win the series 2-1 to send Virtus.Pro home.
The conclusion of the elimination matches means that these four teams will continue their run in the Group Stage:
Unfortunately, these four teams will go home early:
The Group Stage of Riyadh Masters 2023 will start immediately tomorrow. The Play-in teams have gotten the opportunity to warm up for their Riyadh run, but stronger opponents lie ahead in the Group Stage. Let's hope to see some incredible Dota in the next few days!