Group A at Lima Major 2023 after the first day of play looks very interesting: in the TOP there are teams that logically should have been at the bottom, and the worst places are among the representatives of the title region.
That's the beauty of bo2, and it's also the format of the match between Evil Geniuses and Talon Esports. The match promises to be hot, because on the first game day you can't tell which team looks more confident.
Talon Esports, who took third place at DPC 2023: SEA - Upper Division, unexpectedly broke into the top of group A. In 2 matches, the team earned a victory on 3 maps, and lost only 1.
Major hosts EG are in the middle of the standings. Peruvians played only 1 match, drawing it.
We figure out what to expect from the match, as it turned out, the top teams from group A. Will one of a couple of teams be able to earn a clear victory or will we be in for a draw.
E.G form
Let's start the review of the match with an analysis of EG's game form. Not only are they the hosts of the major playing at the home arena, but also the favorite of the upcoming meeting.
The chance for the “evil geniuses” to win is estimated by a coefficient around 2. For bo2, this is quite a figure, but it is important to compare it with the indicator for rivals.
Looking ahead, it is worth noting that bookmakers draw a three-fold gap between the level of teams. Before the start of the tournament, I would have understood them, but as for me, Talon showed that they are ready to fight for high places in the group.
However, we haven't really seen EG yet.
Evil Geniuses line-up
"Evil geniuses" have not yet shown their entire arsenal. The team played only one match, and this is very little to make up some kind of optimal assessment, and therefore they are the favorite with a three-fold advantage - the names allow.
Evil Geniuses players
- Pakazs
- Chris Luck
- Wisper
- Matthew
- pandaboo
The best possible roster of Peru will still show itself in the Lima Major. At least that's what I want to believe.
Evil Geniuses Performance
EG made it to the Lima Major from second place at DPC 2023: SA - Upper Division. Above them were only beastcoast, which is quite logical.
Played the regular season with a 6-1 record. The only defeat happened in the 3rd week match against beastcoast.
That game was not easy for bc. The fight lasted 2 maps, but the first was delayed by 42 minutes, and the second by 60.
In the first match of Lima Major they met with EG. The fight between the main contenders for passage to the TOP-4 ended in a draw.
Heroes Evil Geniuses
Everything in the pool for EG is pretty standard, according to the canons of patch 7.32. However, there are some idiosyncratic choices.
The most picked character is Rubick. Appeared 11 times and won 9 matches.
Monkey King (8 games, 87% wins), Mars (8 matches, 62% wins), Timbersaw (7 games, 100% wins), Silincer (7 matches, 100% wins) are popular.
Talon Esports Uniform
Let's move on to the review of the Talon Esports uniform. Perhaps it was Talon that became the main discovery of the first gaming day.
The bookmakers were not impressed by what Talons showed. The team's chance of winning is estimated by a coefficient around 6.
Such a serious gap in performance hints at a potential rout from EG. I do not exclude such an outcome, but if we take into account dry statistics, then this should not happen.
Talon Esports roster
The weakest of the representatives of Southeast Asia publicly announced himself on the first day of the Lima Major group stage. 23savege and company can surprise.
Talon Esports Players
- 23savage
- Mikoto
- Jabz
- Q
- Oli
If you hit the analytics, then the situation with 3-1 after the first game day is quite normal. The level of Talon's players is decent, all of them have experience of playing in big tournaments, and now, you can show the level.
Talon Esports Performance
Talon Esports played the regional league with a score of 4-3. This result allowed them to take the last 3rd place for the passage to Lima.
However, I had to play in tiebreaks. There, Talon beat Blacklist 2-0.
The team played at the M.Invitational championship, where Talon managed to get into the TOP-4, which can not be called a good result. But the championship at BTS Pro Series Season 14 is another matter.
In the first match of the group stage, they played with Gaimin Gladiators. They showed the fight and deservedly took the card, using their heroes, which I warned about in that analysis.
The second game was even more interesting. Talon Esports shut out their colleagues from Execration with a 2-0 win in a head-to-head derby.
Heroes Talon Espots
Talon has very specific peaks. The team uses Rubick (10 matches, 9 wins), Tusk (9 games, 77% wins), but they also pick Elder Titan (8 matches, 100% wins), Templar Assassin (8 games, 100% wins).
History of personal confrontations
This match will be the debut head-to-head clash of the teams. Previously, the teams did not play against each other.
The outcome of the fight
Based on the opinion of the bookmakers, the logical bet would be “EG win”, but I would not be in a hurry with it. The ill-fated bo2 format will make its own adjustments, and it is especially difficult to work with it when the opponents have a team like Talon as the favorite.
We saw how a team from Southeast Asia in general, and Talon in particular, play. The latter have a unique playstyle for this tournament, which can only be compared with beastcoast. This will help them in practice and they will be able to pick up the card.
Result: +1.5 on Talon.
