New Frontiers 7.33 patch shakes up Berlin Major
Image via ESL One | Edited by Dave Bernasibo, Esports INQ
The New Frontiers 7.33 patch has shaken up the meta in pubs and the pro scene. With the patch being released a few days before the major, participating teams literally had to brave this new frontier coming into Berlin. The latest patch saw Western teams dominate the major, with Chinese teams slowly falling behind. OG, Gaimin Gladiators, BetBoom Esports, and Shopify Rebellion currently dominate their respective groups in the Berlin Major Groupstage. Meanwhile, Chinese teams like PSG.LGD, Team Aster, and Invictus Gaming trail behind, which is uncharacteristic of one of the scene’s strongest regions.
Mayhem! at the ancients
The first game between Gaimin Gladiators and Evil Geniuses on the first day of the Berlin Major showed the difference in having experience on the new patch. The game ended in 18 minutes, with Gaimin Gladiators dominating Evil Geniuses in a 19-3 score with a 20,000 gold lead. Given that Gaimin Gladiators have played pro games on the new patch during the Dream League season 19, they were certainly more familiar with the new map’s landscape and hero meta.
However, Evil Geniuses managed to bounce back hard in the second game, stomping Gaimin Gladiators in a 33-3 wipeout in 22 minutes. The South American played with a rather aggressive lineup: Bloodseeker in the safelane, Leshrac in the midlane, and Dark Seer in the offlane. This aggressive playstyle helped turn the tides in their favor, outpacing Gaimin Gladiators’ tempo. Gaimin’s Quinn Callahan tried to cook with a mid lane Riki, but failed to to beat out the scaling potential of a Leshrac in the midlane. Christian “Pakazs” Savina’s Bloodseeker also contributed a lot, going deathless and roaming the map for kills.
When asked post-match regarding their game 1 performance, midlaner Jean Pierre “Chris Luck” Salazar said that the air conditioning in the gaming hall messed with his tempo, stating that they lost because “it was too cold”.
The SEA is sinking
Despite the map being larger, and the meta favoring more aggressive picks, the region known for being the most aggressive somehow still fails to top the groupstage charts. Southeast Asian representatives Execration and Talon Esports are both in the 8th place of their respective groups as of writing. Both teams are still winless, with Execration barely holding on to group A with 4 losses and 1 draw, while Talon skirts the edges of group B with 3 losses and 1 draw.
Execration did manage to put on a show during their recent game against Team SoloMid. Justin Ryan “Tino” Grimaldo’s Beast Master refused to die, even when against a sea of illusions from TSM’s Enzo “Timado” Gianoli’s Phantom Lancer and the rest of the TSM crew. Armed with an Aghanim’s Scepter, Drum of Endurance, Helm of the Overlord and a dream, Tino charged into TSM’s lines, drawing attention and buying time for his team to respawn. Execration went on to win the game, the only game they won out of the 10 games they’ve played so far since the beginning of the Major.
HE'S LITERALLY UNKILLABLE @dota2tino_ @ExecrationGG 💀 #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/qTegzADRql
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) April 28, 2023
The Berlin Major group stage runs until Sunday, April 30. The top 16 teams from each group will then proceed to play in the playoffs starting Monday, May 1st. The games are streamed live on Twitch via the ESL One Twitch channel.
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