SEA and SA Dota 2 dominates Riyadh Masters 2024 day one
Riyadh Masters 2024 day one concluded, showcasing unexpected performances and surprising setbacks. Southeast Asian and South American teams rose to the occasion, with Blacklist International, beastcoast, Aurora, and HEROIC topping their respective groups. Meanwhile, Chinese Dota 2 powerhouses find themselves in unfamiliar territory at the bottom of the standings.
The tournament kicked off with broadcast delays and four consecutive ties in Group A, highlighting the closely matched skill levels among the participating teams. However, as the dust settled, clear patterns of overperformance and disappointment became more apparent.
Welcome to tie city. Credit (Liqupedia)Riyadh Masters 2024 day one saw the rise of SEA and the downfall of China
Blacklist International's strong showing caught many off guard as their recent struggles in The International 2024 qualifiers shadowed their potential. Following that gigantic setback, some even started considering the possibility of Blacklist walking away from Dota 2. Still, the organization could be here to stay longer as the star Pinoy roster defeated G2.iG, two-to-zero while drawing with beastcoast.
While Aurora matched Blacklist's performance in group B, HEROIC and beastcoast are currently on SEA's tail. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Chinese teams failed to find footing during Riyadh Masters 2024 day one.
G2.iG, in particular, seems to be repeating a concerning pattern of underperforming in international LAN events despite dominating regional qualifiers. This disparity may become a habit unless the team bounces back on day two.
The coach's got it all figured out. (Credit: Aurora)Azure Ray also faced a notably difficult start, with their performance falling short of expectations. Most of their struggles started in the safelane, where questionable positioning and decision-making led to lost advantages in winnable lanes. The team's drafting strategies were also all over the place, with core picks like Chaos Knight being effectively countered by Aurora first and PSG Quest later. Considering AR was one step short of qualifying for TI2024, fans expected a strong performance from the team to make up for that absence, but that hasn't been the case so far.
Aside from the competition, Twitch streams for Riyadh Masters 2024 day one averaged around 30,000 concurrent viewers. This figure, while not astronomical, is reasonable given the event's midweek kickoff and current play-in phase. Many Dota 2 enthusiasts see the initial group stage as a warm-up act, with anticipation building for the main group stages, starting on July 10.
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Featured Image Source: Aurora