We continue our look at the start of the second round of DPC 2023: WEU - Upper Division. Coming up next is a heavyweight clash.
OG and Tundra start their run in the second DPC round. Both teams are still in contention for high places and passage to the Berlin Major 2023.
Tundra Esports have retained their slot in the top division of Western Europe since the last round. At last year's DPC 2023: Weu Upper Division - Tour 1, the team finished 3rd.
OG also saved their slot. At the end of the first cycle, the team finished in 5th place.
Let's see which of the title teams will prove stronger in this clash, and who will have a losing start and move away from the coveted top 4 of the season.
Tundra Esports form
Let's start our review of the match by looking at the playing form of Tundra Esports. They are predicted to be favourites for this match.
Bookmakers believe in the success of Tundra Esports, despite the controversial performance at the end of the first round. On the victory of the champions of The International 2022 give odds in the region of 1.5.
Tundra is a capable team, no doubt, but it does not look intimidating in the new season. After the Lima Major 2023, the team needs to reboot, but so far they are not doing so.
Tundra Esports line-up
The Tundra roster has been playing together since February 2022, and the backbone has been playing together even longer since April 2021. They have been through fire and water together, but have had time to get tired.
Players of Tundra Esports
- skiter
- Nine
- 33
- Saksa
- Sneyking
In the new season the squad will try to get back to Olympus and take a leading position in the first division. On their way they should help the new patch, which came out on March 6, because on the old Tundra no longer capable of surprise, as we saw in Peru in the Lima Major 2023.
Tundra Esports results
Tundra Esports played a lot of Dota this past cycle. They played DPC, side events and the majors.
In the first round of DPC 2023: WEU - Upper Division, the team finished 3rd. The team finished 4-3 and thanks to round-robin replay, qualified for the Lima Major 2023.
In the first round, the team won the BB Universe - comics zone. Huge problems caught up with Tundra at the Lima Major 2023.
The team finished the group stage of the first major in 6th place of the group stage. After falling into the loser's net at the Lima Major 2023, the team lost their first bo3 clash against Aster and left the championship in 12th place.
Tundra Esports Heroes
Undying is Tundra's most selectable character. The character has been picked 9 times, of which he has won 7 matches.
Undying is followed by Lina, who has appeared in 8 matches and has 75% wins. Also appearing in 8 games is DOOM, who has won half of his games.
Enigma appeared in spades of 7 matches with 71% wins and Mirana, with a similar number of matches, has a crushing 28% win rate.
Let's see how much of an impact the new patch will have on Tundra.
OG Form
We continue our review of the match with a breakdown of OG's playing form. They are playing this match in underdog status.
The bookies don't have much faith in OG and for good reason. The odds on OG's victory are estimated at around 2.4.
OG do look like the underdog of the match and that's considering the sluggish performance from Tundra Esports for virtually the entirety of last season. OG had an even worse one, and there are other factors on top of that, such as substitutions in the lineup.
OG line-up
There have been substitutions in the OG line-up. I can't say they were expected, but the fact that they had to be changed is evident.
OG Players
Chu, who has previously been the team's head coach, has been promoted to full back-up role. I believe the player will fit into the roster as he's already had experience playing for OG at a high level. The player himself has played for the title club at ESL One Malaysia 2022 and there together with his teammates became the champion, beating Aster 3-0 in the final.
Whether the new and old squad will play or not is a rhetorical question. We'll know the answer very soon.
OG performance
At DPC 2023: WEU Upper Division - Tour I OG finished 5th. The team went 4-3 in regular season play.
The team defeated Entity, Secret, Gaimin Gladiators and Into The Breach on their way to the top 4, but lost to Tundra, Nigma and Team Liquid. That's how they got to the re-match.
In the round-robin replay, OG played against Tundra and Entity. Both OG and Entity lost twice, which ultimately prevented them from qualifying for the Lima Major 2023.
However, Yuragio played in Lima, which is true of HR and not very successful. The team reached the bottom of the playoffs, where they crashed out in the first round and finished in the top 12.
OG Heroes
Last season OG played clearly in the meta, and it turned out so-so. The most picked character was Rubick (8 matches, 50% win rate).
Also took Lina (6 games, 83% wins), Treant Protector (6 games, 50% wins), Death Prophet (6 games, 33% wins), Tiny (5 games, 80% wins), Snapfire (5 games, 40% wins).
History of head-to-head encounters
Previously, the teams have managed to meet each other more than once. They have played 3 series in DPC 2023: WEU - Upper Division: one in the regular season, two in the re-match.
All three times Tundra have outlasted their opponents.
The outcome of the matchup
This matchup is like a pig in a poke. For some reason it's extremely difficult to decide the winner.
It would seem that the points should go to Tundra, who easily beat OG last season, but somehow there is little faith in them after the Lima Major 2023. Also, they have no faith in OG who failed to get to that Major, and after that they even swapped coaches and players.
Add to that the factor of the new patch and you get a mind-boggling spectacle. But that's not for sure.
All in all, there is a desire to bet on OG. It seems to me they can surprise and throw something unexpected that Tundra will not be ready for. On the other hand, we mustn't wait for a clear victory, because OG is still behind me in level of play, that's why I see the most obvious result in 3 cards.
Bottom line: total +2.5.
