Welcome to EGamersWorld.
We are finally getting close to the end of Play-In Riyadh Masters 2023. The last main match (possible tiebreaker) of Group B is on the line.
Closing the stage will be OG and Xtreme Gaming. The format of the match, as before - bo2.
The game promises to be The International heresy, because in fact they play identical teams. Both OG and Xtreme Gaming are not shining success and do not grab stars from the sky. Nevertheless, they are here and ready to show their game.
The battle of the West and China with a small correction. The players are not the top representatives of the regions, but in some cases it is even The International. We've already seen the matches of GG, Liquid, PSG and Aster, but OG and Xtreme have received little airtime this season due to their results.
Let's find out how the last match of Riyadh Master 2023 Play-In Group B will end, whether any of the teams will be able to close the stage with a win and what the teams are all about.
Ahead.
OG Form
Let's start the match breakdown by analysing OG's match form. They are slight favourites in this match.
Bookmakers believe in the success of the European club, but are not in a hurry to give low odds as a favourite. The indicator for the victory of OG is at the mark around 2.6.
Such a figure is not surprising. OG is far from the peak of their form, but it is enough to outperform the clearly sluggish Xtreme.
At DPC 2023: WEU Division 1 Tour 1, OG could not guarantee themselves a top-4 finish and consequently missed out on The Lima Major 2023. Things seemed to pick up during the second round of DPC 2023: WEU Division 1. Then OG made a strong-willed comeback and made it to the Top 4 after tiebreaks.
At the Berlin Major, the team played with two stand-ins and made it to the top 6, but it seems that those stand-ins were the secret to their success. After returning to regular season matches with a full roster, OG looked critically bad, but at the last moment they improved.
At DPC 2023: WEU Tour 3, OG Long Team went down to the wire, but managed to keep their place in the top division by finishing in the top 5 in the third round of the professional season. By the way, at the last DreamLeague S19 OG also took the 5th place and this is an indicator, but it is unlikely to be repeated in the new season.
- OG roster: Yuragi, bzm, DM, Ceb, Taiga .
After a year-long extravaganza, Ceb is the new OG player. OG resorted to their ultimatum weapon during DreamLeague Season 20, but it didn't help them and OG finished in the top 20.
Riyadh Masters 2023 is definitely an important event for OG, but don't forget about the looming qualifications for The International 2023. Ceb definitely wants his 3 Aegis, but before that there are qualifiers to be played. And that's a priority.
Most Popular OG Characters
Favourite OG characters include Keeper of the Light (6 matches, 83% wins), Phantom Lancer (5 matches, 60% wins).
Among the most successful ones: Crystal Maiden (4 matches, 100% wins), Underlord (4 matches, 100% wins), Alchemist (3 matches, 100% wins), Storm Spirit (3 matches, 100% wins), Void Spirit (3 matches, 100% wins).
Form Xtreme Gaming
We continue the match analysis by analysing Xtreme Gaming's form. In this match they are number two, but with a small gap.
This is what the bookmakers are talking about. The odds for Xtreme Gaming to win this match are estimated at 3.4.
All because of the instability of OG themselves. If they played more clearly, the current Xtreme would hardly compete with the team from Western Europe.
The Xtreme have been having problems all year. They started with a regional league in China.
At DPC 2023: China Upper Division, Xtreme Gaming finished in the top 5. For a team with such a roster, that result was not just unacceptable, but rather terrible.
The deplorable state of Xtreme Gaming became even more evident after The Lima Major 2023, where Paparazzi and company did not qualify. At the tournament in Peru, only Aster and PSG.LGD showed some promise, while Knights and Ehome, who Xtreme Ledge played in their home league, were suspected of using cheats and ceased to exist after Lima.
However, Xtreme managed to pull itself together. The team called up the experienced Kaka for the fourth position and started to play. Xtreme won their home league with this squad. In this lineup they travelled to Berlin, where they made it to the group stage of The Berlin Major 2023. However, they finished in the top 12, which is not very good.
The third round was a nightmare for Xtreme. They finished in the top 5, which is not a critical indicator, but for teams of Paparazzi and company level, not making it to the Major with not the strongest competition is a failure.
- Xtreme Gaming lineup: Ghost, Paparazzi, JT, XinQ, Dy .
Before the Long Copeg Riyadh Masters 2023, Xtreme Gaming invited XinQ to the team. I'm not sure if the PSG.LGD legend will help Xtreme Gaming in the long run, but so far it seems to be as good as the previous roster.
Xtreme Gaming's most popular heroes
Xtreme Gaming's most popular hero is Storm Spirit. Paparazzi played it 5 times, but won only 2 matches.
We also took Alchemist (4 matches, 75% wins), Phoenix (4 matches, 50% wins), Keeper of the Light (4 matches, 25% wins), Rubick (4 matches, 25% wins).
There was also Pangolier, Underlord, Pugna, Dragon Knight. All heroes appeared 3 times and won 2 matches each.
Head-to-head history
Previously, the teams played each other in the group stage of Berlin Major 2023. Then OG won 2-0, but it was OG with two stand-ins.
Match outcome
I don't expect a repeat of Berlin Major 2023 in this match. I am more inclined to a draw, which is what I will bet on.
Bottom line: draw.
