The Berlin Major 2023, the first Valve event to showcase teams playing on the new 7.33 patch in Dota 2, is currently ongoing with the top teams from each Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) region competing for a prize pool of $500,000 USD and 2700 DPC points. Team Liquid, considered one of the strongest teams in the world, finished in first place in the DPC WEU 2023 Tour 2 Division I standings and got second place at Dreamleague Season 19 after a close 5-game series against Gaimin Gladiators. However, the team has been struggling at the Berlin Major 2023 and is at risk of being eliminated from the tournament with its current standings in the bottom 3.
Berlin Major 2023 Group Stages and Team Liquid's Current Standings
Team Liquid is in Group A of the Berlin Major 2023, along with other strong teams such as Gaimin Gladiators, BetBoom, Aster, and EG. The team is currently ranked in 7th place in the group. The team has a score of 3-3, and it has played 3 series so far and all of them resulted in a draw. This puts the team at risk of being eliminated if it does not win its next few games and move up in the rankings.
Gaimin Gladiators and BetBoom are in the Top 2 of Group A with a score of 6-2 and 5-3 respectively. In Group B, OG and Shopify Rebellion are in the top 2 with a score of 7-1 and 5-3 respectively. This is an impressive feat, especially for BetBoom, who is playing with one stand-in, Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok, replacing Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko. OG is also playing with two stand-ins, Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov, and Kartik "Kitrak" Rathi, replacing Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin and Evgenii "Chu" Makarov.
Popular Dota 2 streamer Janne "Gorgc" Stefanovski also reacted to Team Liquid being at risk of being eliminated, expressing his surprise. “I feel like Boxi takes these losses so hard, harder than anybody. I mean it was a 1-1 series guys, it’s not that bad honestly for Liquid. 1-1 is fine. I mean obviously, they’re disappointed but… wait actually f*ck, no no no, this is not the regular Liquid we’re talking about. We’re talking about a Liquid that might not make it through Group Stages. Liquid are in big trouble guys, look at their score. They are 7th in the group. There are 6 teams above them and they needed this win (referring to the Liquid vs BetBoom series). Oh sh*t, there are actually 6 teams above them. They might not make it through Groups. Liquid? Guys what the f*ck?” Gorgc said.
The Berlin Major 2023 has 2700 DPC points up for grabs, which are very valuable as they can help teams qualify for The International 12. Team Liquid, a top contender for the championship, is currently in a precarious position in the tournament, and it remains to be seen if they can stage a comeback and secure its spot in the playoffs. The other top teams, such as Gaimin Gladiators, BetBoom, OG, and Shopify Rebellion, are all performing well, even with stand-ins, showing the depth and talent of the Dota 2 competitive scene.