Match Prediction: Nigma Galaxy - Tundra Esports | Dota 2

DPC will not let you get bored. The second round of the top division in Western Europe resumes on 17 March.

Nigma Galaxy and Tundra Esports will open the new day of confrontation. The match is certainly of great importance to the two sides, as it cannot be otherwise at the start of the DPC.

The teams have started the tournament differently and are on opposite sides of the table. With only 1 series under their belt, there is time to get up and running, so they need to switch on and score points.

Tundra Esports will approach the game with their only win of the first game day. The squad closed out their series with a 2-0 win.

Nigma Galaxy has the opposite result. The team lost their match and is now in penultimate place in the table.

Let's see who will manage to earn points in this match, and who will have to put up with an upset defeat in the game.

Tundra Esports form

Let's start the breakdown of the game with an analysis of the playing form of Tundra Esports. The champions of The International 2022 will play in this match in the status of the favorites.

Bookmakers believe in the success of Tundra during this match. The odds of Tundra winning are estimated at odds in the region of 1.15.

Based on the pre-match figures, it is safe to say that Tundra are several heads above their rivals. That's considering their recent performance in the Lima Major 2023, by the way.

Tundra line-up

It was already clear during the Lima Major 2023 that Tundra was in a period of stagnation. There had been no changes to the champions' roster since The International, but their performance had been falling smoothly.

Tundra Esports players

• skiter
• Nine
• 33
• Saksa
• Sneyking

After The International, the Tundra Esports players studied and researched their style of play. Over time, the champions' particular "visceral" style of play ceased to bear fruit as the teams trivialised the game against it, but there was no fundamental transition to a new performance format from Tundra.

In the new season, the team remains with its problems, but for now, with the release of the new patch, Tundra have managed to start the DPC 2023 run with a win.

Tundra Esports' performance

The team finished 3rd in the first round of DPC 2023: WEU - Upper Division. The team finished 4-3 and thanks to round-robin replay, qualified for the Lima Major 2023.

Tundra had a more confident showing in the BB Universe - Comics Zone. There, the reigning champions of The International managed to take first place, beating Spirit 3-2 in the final.

Lima Major 2023 ended miserably for Tundra Esports. Although they qualified for the playoffs from 6th place in the group, their journey was cut short in the first leg of the relegation round after their 1-2 draw with Aster.

In the new round of DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division, Tundra Esports made their debut with a match against OG (2-0). There were chances of falling behind on two maps, but Tiny from Saksa and Pango from Nine turned things around in Tundra's favour on both occasions.

Tundra Esports Heroes

Undying remains Tundra's most popular character. The hero has peaked 9 times, of which he has won 7 matches.

Lina has appeared in 8 matches and has a 75% win rate. Also picked DOOM in 8 games, winning half of his games.

Enigma has appeared in spades of 7 matches with 71% wins, and Mirana, with a similar number of matches, has a crushing 28% win rate.

Pango and Tiny remain the successful characters for Tundra. Both have won 2 cards each in their first match.

Nigma Galaxy Form

Let's move on to a review of Nigma Galaxy's form. Quite expectedly they are predicted to be the underdog in this match.

Although bookmakers do not believe in Nigma Galaxy, and the odds on Tundra are ridiculous, they leave room for manoeuvre. The odds on Nigma Galaxy's victory are estimated at around 3.7.

The number is, of course, quite depressing and hints at Nigma's inability to pick up the game, but it's not fatal. Still, Nigma still have a chance to clinch, if not the series, then certainly the card.

Nigma Galaxy roster

Nigma Galaxy's roster just keeps storming ahead. With ATF joining the team, the roster looks as chaotic as possible.

Nigma Galaxy players

• SumaiL
• ATF
• MinD_ContRoL
• GH
• KuroKy

After their defeat in the first round of DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division Nigma Galaxy have changed their coach. ImmortalFaith was replaced by March.

Quite a weighty personality in the world of Dota should help the established players find themselves. I don't know if the role swap process has anything to do with that search, but maybe that's March's approach.

In the first game of the new cycle, Nigma Galaxy swapped roles and it seems to have worked. Let's keep watching.

Nigma Galaxy's performance

Prior to the start of DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division - Tour 1 Nigma Galaxy played BB Xmas Show, where they finished in the top 8, with a straight playoff inclusion.

Nigma Galaxy failed in the first round of the DPC, but still escaped the collapse. They finished the season 2-5, which was enough to save their place in the top division.

In the first match of the new season, Nigma Galaxy were defeated by Entity (1-2). A serious contender in the home league proved to be stronger, but here it's interesting how the los happened.

On the first card, Nigma were thrown in with a combination of Io and Leshrack, and that's rare. On the second, ATF and MC switched roles: the former played a nominal three, but with Heart of Tarrasque on Razor, and MC performed a Spectra curry.

History of personal confrontations

The teams had previously played each other as part of the first DPC cycle. Tundra Esports won then, but won 2-1.

The outcome of the match

In this duel, we would like to see a full-fledged bo3. Several factors hint at such an outcome.

First, March has begun Nigma's transformation and you can see from their first series that the team is trying to modernize, which was lacking in previous seasons. Second, the Tundra failed to shut Nigma out in the last round and are unlikely to be able to do so again.

My bet would be a +1.5 handicap on Nigma. This season there is, probably not entirely due, but faith in the "revival" of Nigma, and the process can begin with a card taken from Tundra Esports.

Bottom line: +1.5 on Nigma.