Playoffs: Lower Bracket Round 1
Team Spirit vs LGD Gaming
Format: BO3
Prediction for the Team Spirit vs LGD Gaming match which will take place on July 17th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Team Spirit
The big story of the first day of the playoffs was Team Spirit's defeat of Team Liquid. Spectators have come to expect the Dragons to turn up the heat and play at an entirely different level in big prize pool tournaments. But these playoffs have started with a bang, and Team Spirit has no room for error.
Yesterday's performance against Liquid dispelled the myth of Team Spirit's invincibility in Riyadh. The team didn't do too well in the group either. Although they beat Team Falcons, the rest of the matches were drawn. Raddan (Yatoro) is surprisingly inconsistent. Ilya alternates between good and bad matches, and there is no tendency for him to look like the strongest Carry in the tournament. Usually, in winning events, Team Spirit's Carry is fearless in taking on different characters, showing the breadth of his chiro pool. In Riyadh, however, he is sticking to a more modest pool. Looking at the matchup with Team Liquid, the Dragons lost both maps in the mid-game. The Eastern European team was not ready for Liquid's early aggression, and the opponent did not allow a comeback to demolish the throne academically.
The myth of the Cash Tournament and the strength of Team Spirit has been dispelled. However, it's too early to bury the team, as they will now face a comfortable opponent. Perhaps Team Spirit's ascent to the title will be via the lower bracket, especially as they've already shown in the PGL Wallachia Season 1 that it's not crucial to be in the top bracket.
LGD Gaming
The xiao8 team reached the playoffs, although no one expected LGD Gaming to do so well. Against the backdrop of other Chinese teams, LGD Gaming performed poorly on the international stage, and no one believed in another success for the legendary coach. But the Chinese rallied at the right moment, scoring the points they needed to leapfrog Blacklist International and Heroic in Group A and start their run at the Riyadh Masters 2024 from the bottom of the draw.
Interesting fact: LGD Gaming only commits 28 denials per game, less than any other team. This means that when laning, they allow their opponents to farm extra creeps. In drafts, xiao8 uses characters that stack well in global battles. He likes shiro on Carry, niu on the usual initiator, and the supports always have stacks and pick-off options. It's hard to single anyone out, as the Chinese do everything in an organized way - win together, lose together.
LGD Gaming rarely appeared in Tier-1 tournaments, and the team was on the verge of being completely disbanded. The roster was saved for the Riyadh Masters 2024, for which three slots were allocated in China. The future of the top five is in serious doubt, with the organization facing severe debt problems and the threat of closure. Perhaps external factors are affecting the Dota 2 line-up.
Expert Betting Tips
Team Spirit is stronger than LGD Gaming, and a draw in the group stage should not be taken seriously. The Dragons let up in their last match but do not need to repeat it. Neither the community nor the bookmakers believe Team Spirit will fail in the Riyadh Masters 2024 play-offs.