Esports World Cup Group Stage Preview

Image by EWC

In a couple of weeks the endgame of this year’s Dota season will kick off. Esports World Cup, formerly known as Riyadh Masters, will feature a massive $3,000,000 USD prize pool and all the best teams in the world. It will also have an extended group stage for Playoff seeding purposes and we already know the teams from each group. Today we would like to speculate on how the Group Stage might shape up.

Group A: Na’Vi, Talon, Spirit, Xtreme

BetBoom considers Na’Vi Junior squad to be the biggest outsider of the whole tournament and we tend to disagree with this assessment. What the squad might lack in experience it more than makes up for with creativity and high individual skill.

We’ve been hyping up this roster for several months now and given how they are now considered the main squad by the organisation themselves, the progress is undeniable. They also managed to qualify to the International through EUW qualifiers, solidifying their position as one of the bigger names in the scene.

It is unlikely they will be able to prevent Team Spirit from getting the top spot in the group, but we fully expect them to overcome Talon Esports, who have been faltering lately, as well as Xtreme Gaming, where XG.Ame has been going through a rough patch performance-wise.

Group B: BetBoom Team, Execration, Gaimin Gladiators, Falcons

If we look at how BetBoom gauges the relative strengths of the teams, this group should end up with Falcons in the first place, followed by BetBoom Team, Gladiators and Execration. However, if we take into account the recent performance of the squads, we would expect it to end with Gaimin Gladiators in first, Falcons second and BetBoom Team in third place.

There is no denying Execration is a bit of an outsider at the EWC. They managed to get through the qualifiers and showed some good Dota, but they are overall highly inconsistent. Their most recent result is a top4 placement in the International Qualifiers.

GG, on the other hand, are showing an extremely high paced Dota in Wallachia, one that allowed them to 3-0 the swiss group stage. Time will tell whether they will continue to play at that level, but for now they look exceptionally strong.

Group C: Aurora, Team Yandex, Tundra, Virtus.Pro

This is probably the weakest group of the tournament, especially considering the recent results from Virtus.Pro. Team Yandex, formerly known as Cyber Goose, is also far from being the top dog of the tournament. Don’t get us wrong, they looked good in both EWC and TI Qualifiers, but it is still more of a stack, rather than a team.

Both Aurora and Tundra are definitely worth keeping an eye on, though. Aurora are valued at 14.0 to take it all in the tournament, which is a bit high, in our opinion. Their recent results, as well as their run through TI qualifiers showcased them as one of the strongest EEU competitors.

And Tundra is Tundra. 33 is possibly the best Offlane player in the world right now and if the meta doesn’t change too much in the upcoming couple of weeks, we fully expect them to do well and maybe even claim the title.

Group D: Heroic, PARIVISION, Shopify Rebellion, Team Liquid

This group looks incredibly strong and potentially competitive. There are two big names here, with both Team Liquid and PARIVISION being favorites of the tournament as a whole. BetBoom places them in the Top3 most likely to win. However, we would point out that Heroic is definitely a team that can upset this balance.

SA Dota is highly volatile, but Heroic have been quite consistent this season, despite the roster changes. They have qualified to the two biggest tournaments of the year from a highly competitive region and continue improving.

If they use the upcoming couple of weeks to prepare, we can reasonably expect them to end up in top8. This is the only SA organisation that managed to win a LAN and while the level of motivation from their opponents is going to be higher at EWC, replicating at least some of the success is possible.

Closing thoughts

EWC is the first of the Big Two of the year and what it might lack in terms of status and legacy it more than makes up for in terms of match quality and tournament structure. We are excited to watch the best teams in the world fight for a massive prize pool and a chance to write themselves into the game’s history.

What are your thoughts on our group stage assessment? Do you think we are undervaluing some teams? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and spice up your spectator experience with BetBoom!