Good to see you on EGamersWorlds.
We're back to parsing DreamLeague Season 20 again, this time with a betting tee on the Team Aster - 9 Pandas match. The second group stage is on the screens, which means the stakes have risen.
Both teams overcame the first group stage, but their path was drastically different. 9 Pandas won their group, while Aster, playing in the same basket as 9 Pandas, made it through to the next stage taking a borderline 4th place. However, the ups and downs of the past do not make much sense, because both teams will now start their way to the championship at DreamLeague S20 with a clean slate, and success at this tournament is needed for both the former and the latter.
Let's analyse the position of the teams before their first game in the second group stage of DreamLeague Season 20 and try to name the winner of the series.
Let's go.
Form 9 Pandas.
Let's open the showdown with an analysis of the 9 Pandas' jersey. In this match, the Eastern European representatives will play number one.
The advantage of 9 Pandas is also indicated by the bookmakers. The odds for the Pandas' victory are around 1.6, the bookies reckon.
But you can't really argue with that. Despite the overall status of the clubs and the "weight of the tag", on paper 9 Pandas are really better than Team Aster in 2023.
9 Pandas started the year in third place in DPC 2023: EEU Division 1 Tour 1, but they managed to get out of the group at their first international tournament of the year, The Lima Major 2023, still under the HellRaisers banner when they played against Aster. \
In their second DPC season, 9Pandas finished in the Top 1, beating all their direct rivals, Team Spirit and BB Team. Furthermore, 9Pandas surprised everyone at The Berlin Major 2023. In Germany, the Pandas made it to the top 3, the best result for the region for the year.
The 9Pandas finished their third DPC cycle with qualification for the last Major of the season, The Bali Major 2023, with a third-place home league exit there. Next up was DreamLeague S20.
- 9Pandas squad: RAMZES, kiyotaka, MieRo, Antares, Solo .
9 Pandas approached the DreamLeague in earnest. Unlike some top teams that play in a major championship with stand-ins, the Pandas are playing with a full squad and fully armed. This is evident from the result in the first group stage, where 9 Pandas proved stronger than the rest of the group.
In the first DL S20 group stage, the Pandas played to a 10-4 scoreline in the 4-2-1 series. This guaranteed them the top 1.
Most popular 9Pandas characters
The most picked-up character of 9 Pandas is Skywrath Mage. He has appeared in Pandas games 6 times and has 3 wins.
He is followed by Bounty Hunter (4 matches, 50% wins), Tiny (3 matches, 66% wins), and Bloodseeker (3 matches, 33% wins). Also glimpsed in the pool are Chen and Doom (2 matches each, 100% wins), as well as Enchantress (2 matches, 50% wins).
Team Aster uniforms
We continue with the analysis of Team Aster's form. In this match, the Chinese grandee will have to play in the second position.
The bookmakers confirm Team Aster's underperformance. The odds for victory in this match are at an average of 2.2.
The gap is small, but it's still there. And, again, it makes sense that Aster play number two: the overall performance of the club for the year, and also the recent results of the Chinese club directly in DreamLeague Season 20, but first things first.
In the first round of DPC 2023, Team Aster "gave away" the regional lead, Ledgeiv on the PSG.LGD. Following a top-2 at DPC 2023: China Upper Division, Team Aster went to Peru, where they played an "average" game, with Monet and company finishing in the top-8.
In the second round of DPC 2023: China Upper Division Team Aster finished in the Top 4, which was already noticeably worse than last time. However, it was enough to qualify for the Berlin Major 2023. At the Berlin tournament, SumaiL, the club's current star, made his debut for Aster. Truth be told, the debut was not the most successful (Top 8), but as a test for the new mid-laner - fine.
Before that, Aster played at DreamLeague S19. At DreamLeague S19, Aster were in the top 9-10: after some upsetting tiebreaks, they didn't manage to make it out of the group.
After that was DPC 2023: China Tour 3. In their home league, Aster ended up in TOP-3, a far cry from a top result.
- Team Aster line-up: Monet, SumaiL, Xxs, BoBoKa, Siamese C.
Team Aster had difficulties during DreamLeague S20, but managed to pull themselves together at the last minute. The team finished the first round of the DreamLeague S20 in 4th place with 8-6 stats and 2-4-1 in the series.
The most popular Aster heroes
Rubick was the most frequently picked, with 6 matches and 50% of the wins. Keeper of The Light, Storm Spirit (5 matches, 80% wins) were also in spades.
There was Monkey King, Underlord, Terrorblade, Pugna (4 matches, 75% wins each).
History of head-to-head encounters
The teams have previously crossed paths twice in official matches. The first time was in a draw at the Berlin Major 2023, and the second time at the DreamLeague S20.
The outcome
In this match I expect a very good Dota with roughly equal play on both sides. As I said before, both teams are very serious about this championship and will enter the second group stage from the very first game.
If we talk about the winner, I see Team Aster as the winner. For them, bo3 plays and will play to their advantage.
Bottom line: Aster win.
