Talon Esports and Team SMG Are The First Teams to Qualify for Berlin Major 2023

Talon Esports and Team SMG have already secured a Top 3 finish in the Southeast Asian SEA Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) 2023 Tour 2: Division I with five wins each. As a result, both teams have secured their spots in the Berlin Major 2023 and have guaranteed themselves at least 160 DPC points from this tour of the DPC 2023. Teams from other regions are yet to secure their place at the Berlin Major 2023.

The Berlin Major 2023 features a $500 Thousand USD prize pool and 1,900 DPC points on the line. The tournament will take place from April 26th to May 7th with the Top 6 teams advancing to the stage at Velodrom arena and playing in front of a live crowd.

Talon Esports and Team SMG secure Top 3 finishes

Talon Esports are on quite a roll in the SEA DPC 2023 Tour 2: Division 1, winning five series in a row and is currently undefeated heading into its match against Bleed Esports later this week. The team has not lost a series since its defeat to Team Liquid at the Lima Major 2023 last season, where it secured a Top 3 finish.

The team has been in fine form with Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman, in particular, exceeding expectations with show-stealing performances from the mid-lane. The team has defeated Team SMG, Polaris Esports, Army Geniuses, Blacklist International, and Execration in its season so far and looks primed to finish with an undefeated record. As a result, it looks like Talon will be entering the DreamLeague Season 19 and The Berlin Major 2023 with serious momentum behind its back.

Team SMG has also been in fine form in Tour 2. Other than the solitary loss against Talon, Team SMG has looked like it is a level above the rest of the teams that it has competed against and has carved out a Top 3 finish in this tour. 

The team had missed out on qualifying for the Lima Major in Tour 1 and had to settle for a fifth-place finish and a paltry 30 DPC points. But a key roster change that saw the team drop Marvin "Boomy" Rushton and add Wilson "poloson" Koh to its lineup, has seemingly reinvigorated it and pushed it right back up toward the top of the SEA DPC tables.

There is only one spot in the Berlin Major 2023 that is left for grabs for SEA teams. While Army Geniuses and Execration are the only two realistic contenders for the spot, Blacklist International and Bleed Esports also have an outside chance of making it to the Major.