The first day of the Last Chance Qualifier is in full swing. There is a lot of DotA ahead, but matches like ours are special.
When else will you see in a head-to-head fight, actually for life, three champions of The International? So also on different barricades.
Team Liquid meeting T1 in the second match of group B. The winner of the match is an intriguing question and we will try to find an answer to it.
We figure out who will be stronger: the once thunderstorm of Southeast Asia with two world champions, or the once strongest team in Western Europe with one victor.
Form Team Liquid
Team Liquid will be the favorite for this match. The chance of their victory at the bookmakers is estimated by the odds around 2.25.
Quite an indicator for a duel of this caliber. However, pre-match statistics can be deceiving.
Let's clarify that Team Liquid will play with Xtreme before T1 Liquid, and as a result of that match, the coefficient may go down or vice versa. You will find an overview of the match between Liquid and Xtreme in the Dota 2 predictions section, and we continue.
Liquid is arguably the biggest disappointment of the season. After Alliance, of course.
The club had everything, and everything remains: a powerful squad with a well-played backbone and two players from the TOP-3 of the past The International. The team plays well in the home arena, taking the top places, but after that it just disappears in the international arena.
It would be nice if this applied to commercial tournaments like Riyadh Masters and Malaysia, but this happens at championships with Major status, which already hints at problems.
They really are. The departure of Taiga, the transition of miCKe to the position of the midlaner, the drawdown of MATU - all this spoils the faith in the success of "liquid".
Team Liquid roster
- MATUMBAMAN
- miCKe
- zai
- Boxi
- iNSaNiA
I have a very strong feeling that Liquid is just tired. They are always somewhere in the list of favorites and always fail. I say this for the entire line-up, including the backbone of miCKe, Boxi + iNSaNiA, not to mention zai and MATU. The latter, after The International 2021, failed to build up their former form.
Heroes Team Liquid
In their picks, Liquid focuses on Death Prophet (4 matches, 75% wins), Mars (4 matches, 50% wins), Slark (3 matches, 66% wins), Vengeful Spirit (3 matches, 66% wins), Marci and Pudge (3 matches, 66% of wins).
Form T1
T1 will play in the status of catching up in this match. The chance of winning a club from Southeast Asia is estimated at odds of 4-5.
Keep in mind the fact about Liquid and they have one match played. Now let's move on to T1.
After analyzing the above again, I came to the conclusion that Liquid is not the biggest disappointment of the season. It's a shame for them, because this is a club with an iconic identity, which you recognize both in the playstyle and outside the game. But T1, this is a completely different matter.
At the last The International 10, the team made a qualitative breakthrough both personally and regionally. Having made their way into the TOP-6 of the best teams in the world, the young roster promised a bright future for itself if internal disagreements had not begun.
We will not delve into someone else's underwear, but in the end we have a replacement of two core players. The “great and terrible” ana and Topson, two-time DotA champions and icons of the competitive MOBA world from Valve came to T1.
In fact, the transfer of Topson and ana to T1 is at best a controversial idea: the players have not actually played at a professional level for a year, and it seems that they joined the club in order not to miss the opportunity to play for a large sum at the main event of the year.
The ambitions of the updated T1 were big, at least a direct pass to the group stage. In fact, they just flew away from Polaris, finishing the qualification in Southeast Asia in 3rd place.
I do not think that after such a performance T1 will emerge.
Composition T1
- ana
- Topson
- Kuku
- Xepher
- whitemon
My opinion regarding the composition, I essentially stated above. One can only add a few words about Kuku: once one of the T1 engines is now not close to its best condition.
Heroes T1
T1 often play with Morph (5 matches, 80% win rate), Marci (4 matches, 50% win rate), Undying (3 matches, 66% win rate), Clockwerk (2 matches, 100% win rate).
History of personal confrontations
Previously, the teams did not play official matches with each other in these lineups. This will be the debut face-to-face fight for the teams.
Outcome
In this match, I have doubts about the teams on both sides. As for me, the teams are worth each other, but Liquid at least have a win, unlike Anathan and Topias. I am for a healthy approach to competitions, and therefore I will believe in the victory of Liquid, who, moreover, will “turn on” against Xtreme before this match.
Bottom line: Liquid wins.
