Dota 2 Bali Major Group Stage day 2: Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators top the standings

Through the first two days of the Dota 2 Bali Major Group Stage, two teams have staked their claims as the biggest favourites to claim the championship.

And, surprise surprise, it's the two juggernauts of Western Europe and the finalists of the previous two Majors: Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid.

Team Liquid have racked up the best record of the Group Stage so far, topping Group A with a 7-1 record. After going 3-1 in day one, they scored back-to-back 2-0 sweeps over Southeast Asia's Execration and China's Team Aster.

Over in Group B, two-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators sit in first place with a 6-2 record. After also having a 3-1 outing in day one, the defending Major champions were forced to a surprising 1-1 draw by slumping Southeast Asian squad Bleed Esports before bouncing back with a resounding 2-0 sweep over Chinese powerhouse PSG.LGD.

But while Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators lead the pack, there are many teams nipping at their heels.

In Group A, The International 2022 (TI 2022) champions Tundra Esports are in second place with a 5-3 record. Just behind them are TI 2021 winners Team Spirit, who racked up a 4-2 line.

In the middle of the pack are South America's Beastcoast (4-4), North America's Shopify Rebellion (3-5), as well as Invictus Gaming (3-5) and Team Aster (3-3) from China.

After going winless in day one, the Southeast Asian squads in Bali have begun to show signs of life. Blacklist International are now 2-4 while Execration are 1-5, though they have quite the uphill battle ahead of them if they hope to qualify for the Playoffs.

Meanwhile in Group B, heavyweights and upstarts alike are vying for position behind Gaimin Gladiators.

Eastern European powerhouse BetBoom Team and Western European newcomers Quest Esports are tied for second place with 5-1 records apiece. Tied in fourth with 4-4 lines are PSG.LGD and North American upstarts Nouns Esports.

On the outside looking in are Eastern Europe's 9Pandas (3-3) and China's Azure Ray (3-5). Finally, sitting dead last in Group B are Bleed Esports (1-5) and South America's Evil Geniuses (1-7).

Evil Geniuses are notably looking very disappointing in Bali so far.

After finishing in the Top 6 at the Lima Major and the Top 4 at the Berlin Major, the top dogs of South America seem headed for a very early exit at Bali.

Here are the results for all the matches in day two of the Bali Major Group Stage:

Group A:

• Beastcoast 1-1 Blacklist International

• Tundra Esports 2-0 Shopify Rebellion

• Team Spirit 2-0 Invictus Gaming

• Team Liquid 2-0 Execration

• Team Liquid 2-0 Team Aster

• Tundra Esports 1-1 Invictus Gaming

• Shopify Rebellion 1-1 Blacklist International

• Beastcoast 1-1 Execration

Group B:

• BetBoom Team 2-0 Nouns Esports

• PSG.LGD 1-1 Evil Geniuses

• Gaimin Gladiators 1-1 Bleed Esports

• 9Pandas 2-0 Azure Ray

• Gaimin Gladiators 2-0 PSG.LGD

• BetBoom Team 2-0 Evil Geniuses

• 9Pandas 1-1 Nouns Esports

• Quest Esports 2-0 Azure Ray

Here are the standings after day two of the Bali Major Group Stage:

Group A:

1. Team Liquid: 7-1

2. Tundra Esports: 5-3

3. Team Spirit: 4-2

4. Beastcoast: 4-4

5. Team Aster: 3-3

6. Shopify Rebellion: 3-5

7. Invictus Gaming: 3-5

8. Blacklist International: 2-4

9. Execration: 1-5

Group B:

1. Gaimin Gladiators: 6-2

2. BetBoom Team: 5-1

3. Quest Esports: 5-1

4. PSG.LGD: 4-4

5. Nouns Esports: 4-4

6. 9Pandas: 3-3

7. Azure Ray: 3-5

8. Bleed Esports: 1-5

9. Evil Geniuses: 1-7

The Bali Major is split into two stages. The first is the Group Stage, taking place from 29 June to 3 July, and the second is the Playoffs, set for 5 to 9 July.

The Bali Major Group Stage will see the 18 participating teams split into two groups of nine teams each. They will then compete in a single round-robin featuring best-of-two matches to determine which teams will advance to the Playoffs.

Six out of the nine teams in each group will earn Playoff spots. The Top 4 teams of each group will advance to the upper bracket while the fifth and sixth-placed teams will have to start from the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, the bottom three teams in each group will be eliminated early.

The Bali Major Playoffs will follow a double-elimination format. All Playoff matches will be a best-of-three except for the Grand Finals, which will be a full best-of-five series.

While the competing teams in Bali are fighting for their cut of the US$500,000 prize pool, they have their eyes set on a share of the 3,500 DPC point pool.

Those DPC points will go towards securing all-important direct invites to The International (TI) 2023, this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual multi-million dollar world championship tournament that will be held in Seattle this October.

For everything you need to know about the Bali Major, check here.

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