The first day of ESL One Berlin Major 2023 is in full swing. One of the first matches of Group B stunting match between South East Asia representatives from Team SMG and two-time world champions, Team OG. On the one hand it may seem that everything is quite clear in this match, but it's worth taking a closer look at the situations.
In this betting series, we take a look at how the teams have been performing lately and their current form, and also examine the likely outcome of the match.
Team SMG Form
MidOne and their team are by no means the most active and strong team from Southeast Asia. If you look at their performance history over the last 4 months, the team has only managed to make a mark in the DPC 2023 ranking season.
In DPC SEA 2023 Tour 1: Division I Team SMG finished in 5th place and missed out on the Lima Major 2023, but they kept their place in the first division. The team came to Berlin thanks to a bronze medal in the DPC SEA 2023 Tour 2: Division I. There MidOne with teammates Ledge only Talon Esports and Bleed Esports, and lost the tiebreaker for second place to Execration.
Team SMG latest results statistics:
- 0-2 defeat to Execration
- Defeat by Bleed Esports 0:2
- 2-0 win over Army Geniuses
- 2-0 win over Geek Slate
- 1-2 defeat at the hands of Talon Esports
OG Form
The OG squad is still struggling to find their game and optimal squad. Compared to the golden roster era that won The International series tournaments, current OG boasts 'achievements' such as 5th place at DPC WEU 2023 Tour 1: Division I, 4th place at DPC WEU 2023 Tour 2: Division I and 5-8th at Pinnacle Cup: Malta Vibes #1.
The last tournament for OG was DreamLeague Season 19. There, the squad was placed in Group B as part of the first group stage. The 2-4-1 result forced Yuragi and his teammates to take on Team Spirit and beastcoast in a tiebreaker. OG managed to keep their place in the top four. In the second group stage, the European team played with a 2-5 statistic, defeating only Shopify Rebellion and TSM. OG earned $52,500 for their 5th place finish at DreamLeague Season 19.
At the ESL One Berlin Major 2023, the team will arrive with two stand-ins. Russians DM and Chu will not be able to attend due to visa issues related to the Russian Federation's full-scale aggression against Ukraine. They will be replaced in the OG line-up by MinD_ContRoL, representative of Nigma Galaxy, as well as Kitrak who recently played for Old G.
OG latest result statistics:
- 0-2 defeat to Team Liquid
- 1-2 defeat for Gaimin Gladiators
- 2-1 win over TSM
- 0:2 defeat at the hands of beastcoast
- 0-2 defeat for Tundra Esports
Team SMG vs OG match history
Teams haven't met before due to differences in regions and level of play.
Predicted Team SMG - OG result
The nominal difference in strength is obvious. Team SMG is clearly not an OG-level team, but in the case of the Europeans, there is the factor of two substitutions. It's unclear how well MinD_ContRoL and Kitrak were able to find synergy with the new line-up. Therefore, it's worth taking a chance and assuming that Team SMG will win one map in this bo2 series.
