Match Prediction: Azure Ray - BetBoom Team | Dota 2
The International 2023Welcome to EGamersWorld.
The International 2023 main event at Climate Pledge Arena is heating up. There are 5 participants left in the race for the Aegis of Champions and eternal glory, including Azure Ray and BB Team.
The duel promises to be hot for several reasons. Firstly, this is the final stage of The International 2023 with a live audience on the top stage. Secondly, we are waiting for a rematch of the group stage, where BB already outplayed Azure Ray.
We are trying to figure out who of the BB - Azure Ray pair will be stronger and will play the winner of the GG/Liquid pair in the next round, and who will have to say goodbye to the prospects of continuing participation in the main tournament of the year.
Let's go.
BB Team Form
Let's open the match with an analysis of BB Team's form. In this match they will play as favourites with odds to win at around 1.8.
In the first season of the regional league BB Team took the top 1, very confidently running over their main opponents Spirit and HR. However, this success was quickly overshadowed by their performance at Lima Major 2023, where BB failed to make it out of the group.
A few inconclusive events later, BB Team began play in the second division of the DPC. This time the situation changed dramatically, from top 1 to top 3, but on the international stage everything was stable: another failure to get out of the group at the Major e.
The third season of DPC was held under the slogan "it's time to get back", but somehow it didn't work out, something didn't go well and in the end - TOP-2. Again, kind of significant, but if we compare Western and Eastern Europe, TOP-2 in the first case is much more prestigious than BB's achievement.
- BB Team line-up: Nightfall, gpk, Pure, Save, TORONTOTOKYO.
BB Team's moment of glory was DreamLeague Season 20. Having got to the tournament quite by chance (they replaced Execration), the Eastern European residents managed to make it to the grand final of the tournament, where they beat Gladiators, but eventually lost with the score 2-3.
After a solid group stage at The Bali Major 2023 with a 4-2-2 from BB, Eastern European Resident made it to the top set of play-offs. There the team outplayed Tundra Esports, but due to a tournament rules violation that result was cancelled. As a result, Bali Major 2023 ended for BB Team in the top 12.
After the last Major tournament of the season BB Team attended a number of other events. Among them is the Riyadh Masters 2023. At the biggest commercial tournament of the season, BB Team made it to the top 6, which is pretty good.
In addition to the Riyadh Masters 2023 BB Team also made an appearance at the BB Dacha. The tournament from the main sponsor BB Club finished without having started: BB Team failed to get out of the group and as a result finished in the top 8.
In the group stage of DreamLeague Season 21 BB Team played in Group B. They managed to take the 2nd place, passing only Team Spirit.
The International 2023 BB Team did not start on a good note. They looked good in the group stage, which allowed them to take the top 2 of Group B, but in the match for seeding at the play-offs Ledge and 9Pandas.
In the play-offs BB Team has two wins under their belt. They shut out Keyd Stars in the first round without any problems, and then defeated Talon Esports in a very tense series where Ledge and 9Pandas were on the first map.
In the previous play-offs match of The International 2023 BB played against Vp. The Eastern European derby ended with a confident 2-0 victory for BB.
The most popular BB Team characters
The most used BB Team character is Storm Spirit (5 matches, 60% wins). The team also plays with Primal Beast and Pugna at position 4, and both heroes have 4 matches and 100% wins each. In spades was Enchantress (4 matches, 25% wins), Beastmaster (4 games, 0% wins).
Form Azure Ray
We continue the match breakdown by analysing Azure Ray's match form. In this match, Azure Ray are the underdogs with odds to win at around 2.
In general, Azure Ray at the Long Season looked like a team playing exclusively for results, i.e. getting to the Major . We've seen a similar story with super teams getting together, some results in the first few months and then falling into oblivion.
I'm not sure that Azure Ray will follow the same scenario, but there are concerns about it. For now, though, we'll see.
Azure Ray made it to Bali Major 2023 by playing their home league. They played on the top-4, which is not a decent indicator for a team with such names.
- Azure Ray lineup: Lou, Somnus, chalice, fy, 天命.
"Retirees" have decided to shake up the old days. So far, so good.
At Bali Major 2023 Azure Ray were one step away from being eliminated from the tournament. Team Somnus managed to beat Bleed on tiebreaks for the top 6 of Group B.
They didn't make it far in the playoffs, but top-8 is already an indicator. Especially if we take into account the "freshness" of the team as a unit.
Due to poor performance due to lack of practice, Azure Ray could not guarantee themselves a direct entry to The International 2023. The slot had to be earned during the qualifiers and Azure Ray managed it: in the final of the qualifiers they beat Xtreme Gaming with a score of 3-1.
At the main tournament of the year the famous Chinese got into Group B, where they faced top teams like Liquid and the same BB. They managed to secure the third place, after which they easily defeated Entity 2-0 in the knockout matches for seeding in the play-offs.
Azure Ray started the playoffs with a victory over the main tournament opener - the Nouns team. After beating the Americans, Azure Ray faced perhaps their main rival at TI 12 - their compatriots from LGD Gaming. And that match they lost without a chance, with the score 0-2.
The most popular Azure Ray heroes
The most popular hero of Azure Ray is Storm Spirit. The character has appeared 9 times and has a winrate of around 66%.
Next are Pugna (8 matches, 62% win rate), Pangolier (7 matches, 71% win rate), Batrider (7 matches, 71% win rate), Techies (7 matches, 57% win rate).
There is also Keeper of the Light (6 games, 66% win rate), Silincer (6 matches, 50% win rate), Medusa (6 matches, 50% win rate).
History of head-to-head meetings
The teams have already played at this tournament. The match took place in Group B, where BB Team won 2-0.
Predicted result of Azure Ray vs BB Team at The International 2023
If we look at the odds, we should expect a pretty even match. However, somehow I'm not sure about the close outcome of the match. BB still seem to be the more promising team at TI 12, if only because they have more experience playing together, and have better button presses, you'll agree. Nightfall is not Lou's level, or vice versa, whatever you want to call it.
All in all, my bet is BB Team victory.
Bottom line: BB Team wins.
Bookmakers & Statistics
Now, the majority of bookmaker companies believe in Azure Ray victory. Odds on them are equal to 2.071. According to bookmakers data, BetBoom Team are the outsider and odds on their victory amounts 2.66.
Team statistics in recent matches
Last Matches | Azure Ray | BetBoom Team |
5 matches (wins) | 3 | 4 |
10 matches (wins) | 8 | 8 |
It will also be necessary to mention the history of face-to-face meetings between the opponents. The participants in the battle before the meeting played 3 matches with each other. And Azure Ray won 1 times while BetBoom Team correspondingly became the winner 1 times.