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Dota 2 ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 commenced with the group-stage matchups. Two groups, each comprising six teams, are competing for a total prizepool of $1,000,000 USD and 20,000 EPT Points. Azure Ray and Blacklist International are the leaders of Group A, while Team Falcons and Tundra Esports share the spotlight in Group B.
The first day housed twelve Bo2 series with distinctive teamfights and memorable gameplay moments in almost every match. From the newly formed Saudi-backed Team Falcons routing the European powerhouse Team Liquid to Team Secret finding themselves at the bottom of Group A, we've got the best highlights covered.
Dota 2 ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 Day 1 highlights
1) Skiter's rampage on Weaver
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After winning the first match against Liquid, Team Falcons started the second in the same dominant fashion. Right from the laning stage, both teams were at each other's throats. However, Falcons executed an amazing tactical move by giving space to Skiter's Weaver.
While his team engaged in fights across the map, Skiter was busy clearing the jungle. This proved to be beneficial as he managed to get an early Linken's Sphere and joined teamfights.
Liquid's Luna, played by Micke, made a huge mistake by not joining a vital fight in the middle lane. Falcons used this ploy, took over the map, and claimed two sets of racks within a few minutes.
In the game's final moments, a teamfight broke out in front of Dire's top racks, where Luna and Enigma managed to kill the Weaver with their ultimates. Skiter immediately bought back and used Time Lapse on Weaver to return to Liquid's base. Within a matter of seconds, the TI11 champion eliminated Luna, Enigma, Void Spirit, and Gyrocopter, securing an ultra kill.
With Barathrum respawning, Enigma and Luna bought back for one last stand. Weaver, with the help of Centaur, killed Enigma and Luna to secure a double rampage. Finally, he dispatched Spirit Barathrum to end Dota 2 ESL One Day 1 with a triple rampage.
2) Azure Ray dismantles Team Secret
Azure Ray locked horns with Team Secret in their first Dota 2 ESL One KL 2023 Bo2 series. The Chinese team went on to win the first game and marched onto the second with an aggressive lineup.
Azure Ray won small skirmishes in the early game and set up a gold lead. Bloodseeker, played by Crystallis, had a horrible start as he was constantly pressured by the Chinese players.
Lou's Naga Siren, on the other hand, used his illusions to farm, push, and clear jungles. Additionally, after obtaining Manta Style, he started picking off Secret's heroes.
Azure Ray extended their gold lead by securing the first Aegis and went on to claim all the tier 2 towers. However, their push was halted by Secret as the fight concluded with Bloodseeker getting an ultra-kill.
This did not turn the tide, and both teams started engaged in fierce battle. However, this time, Secret somehow managed to withstand the pressure. Azure Ray sneakily secured Aegis on Zeus but got ambushed by Secret.
Xxs' Primal Beast popped his BKB and used his Pulverize on Ogre and Underlord via Soulbind. Phoenix used the egg at the perfect timing, and when Secret started to flee, Naga instantly used Song of Siren, catching the fleeing ones in the process.
Secret, unable to withstand this onslaught, began to capitulate and were team wiped out. Without wasting a minute, Azure Ray went on to hit the tier 4 towers while Team Secret tapped out with GGs.
3) BetBoom Team defeats Gaimin Gladiators
BetBoom Team surprised everyone by defeating Gaimin Gladiators, Dota 2 Major winners and TI12 finalists, in the Bo2 group stage matchup. Both teams were securing back-to-back kills from the laning stage to the late game.
Teamfights weren't enough to separate the two, with towers also being destroyed in the process. However, the fight that changed the entirety of the game happened at the 54th-minute mark.
What's strange is that, before pushing Radiant's bottom lane, GG claimed the Aegis on Dazzle, played by Ace, an offlaner. If Dyrachyo's Terrorblade or Quinn's Pangolier had taken the Aegis, then the fight might have turned against BetBoom. Whatever the reason, it proved to be costly, as GG lost the game due to this mistake.
The fight started with TorontoTokyo's Tusk kicking tOfu's Tiny into the former's team. Pangolier used his ultimate and jumped into the middle of gpk's Huskar and Nightfall's Windranger. Windranger with Focus Fire, Windrun, and BKB inflicted significant damage on Pangolier.
Seleri's Phoenix instantly popped his Supernova. Simultaneously, Nightfall used Powershot and killed the fleeing Pangolier. With their midlaner down, GG started to fall one by one and eventually lost the game as BetBoom capitalized on this fight, winning the final Bo2 game against GG in Dota 2 ESL One KL 2023.
4) New Tundra Esports Dota 2 roster's undefeated debut
Tundra Esports' new roster, consisting of former TSM players, shocked many by topping the Group B. The newly formed lineup defeated the likes of G2.iG and 9Pandas in Dota 2 ESL One KL 2023.
The first game between G2.iG and Tundra was a complete stomp, as the former was emphatically outplayed. Kasane's Lone Druid and Timado's Faceless Void were too much to handle. G2.iG's heroes couldn't do anything as they lacked damage.
The second game depicted the same story. Despite a good draft from the Chinese team, Tundra's heroes with global spells shut them down. The combination of Zeus, Nature's Prophet, and Ancient Apparition was simply too much to handle.
In the first game, Tundra had the better heroes when compared to 9Pandas' lineup. Kisane's Wraith king and Timado's Terrorblade slowly turned the tide of the game. Coupled with that, Bryle's Zeus was also contributing a lot in picking off enemy heroes.
9Pandas got outdrafted in the second match and slowly started to lose teamfights, leading to their loss. Bryle's Necrophos and Kasane's Wraith King were tanking most of the spells thrown by 9Pandas.
The gameplay cohesion and drafting style of Tundra Esports were pivotal to their perfect start at Dota 2 ESL One KL 2023.
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