Dota 2 Riyadh Masters: BetBoom get off to perfect 4-0 start to open the Group Stage

The Dota 2 Riyadh Masters 2023 Group Stage kicked off on Friday evening (21 July), where 16 teams will be fighting to be among the 12 advancing to the Playoffs.

Eastern European powerhouse BetBoom Team lead the pack after the opening day of the Group Stage, finishing with a perfect 4-0 record to top the standings of Group B.

Chinese teams PSG.LGD and Team Aster as well as Southeast Asia's Talon Esports and South America's Evil Geniuses also enjoyed strong starts with a 3-1 record apiece.

But with a total of four days of Group Stage action to go through, it's way too early for the leading teams to even think about resting on their laurels.

Here's how all the action in day one of the Riyadh Masters Group Stage went down:

Evil Geniuses, PSG.LGD lead Group A

Group A is looking like the most competitive group of the Riyadh Masters Group Stage, as Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD both finished day one with a 3-1 record to lead a very stacked field.

Four teams with 2-2 records nip at the heels of Group A's leaders: three-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators, Quest Esports, The International (TI) 2021 champions Team Spirit, and Xtreme Gaming.

Meanwhile, 9Pandas and OG sit at the bottom of the standings after they both only managed a 1-3 outing.

The opening day of competition in Group A has certainly produced its fair share of surprising results.

For one, Evil Geniuses are looking strong after an abysmal showing in the Bali Major earlier this month, where they finished dead last.

Gaimin Gladiators, far and away the best team in the world right now, seem to be caught in a championship hangover after they bagged their historic third-straight Major championship at Bali.

Even so, the reigning three-time Major champions are expected to play themselves back into form in Riyadh and remain the biggest favourites to claim the championship.

BetBoom Team top the standings in Group B

While the competition in Group A is looking fierce, things seem more settled in Group B as BetBoom Team have established themselves at the top of the pecking order with a perfect 4-0 start to the Group Stage.

Not far behind are Team Aster and Talon Esports, both with 3-1 records and eager to prove themselves as top teams in the circuit. Three-time Major finalists Team Liquid and TSM are also tied at fourth place after splitting both of their matches in day one.

North America's Shopify Rebellion and TI 2022 champions Tundra Esports are off to rough starts, however, after they only managed to win one out of the four games they played.

Finally, Team Secret are the only team to go winless through the first day of the Group Stage. While it's too early to count them out, it will certainly be an uphill battle for them to advance to the Playoffs.

Here are the results of all the matches in day one of the Riyadh Masters Group Stage:

Group A:

• Quest Esports 1-1 Xtreme Gaming

• Gaimin Gladiators 1-1 Team Spirit

• 9Pandas 0-2 Evil Geniuses

• PSG.LGD 2-0 OG

• Gaimin Gladiators 1-1 PSG.LGD

• Team Spirit 1-1 Evil Geniuses

• Quest Esports 1-1 9Pandas

• Xtreme Gaming 1-1 OG

Group B:

• BetBoom Team 2-0 Tundra Esports

• Team Liquid 1-1 Team Aster

• Shopify Rebellion 1-1 TSM

• Talon Esports 2-0 Team Secret

• Team Aster 2-0 Team Secret

• Tundra Esports 1-1 Talon Esports

• BetBoom Team 2-0 Shopify Rebellion

• Team Liquid 1-1 TSM

Here are the standings after day one of the Riyadh Masters Group Stage:

Group A:

1. Evil Geniuses: 3-1

2. PSG.LGD: 3-1

3. Gaimin Gladiators: 2-2

4. Quest Esports: 2-2

5. Team Spirit: 2-2

6. Xtreme Gaming: 2-2

7. 9Pandas: 1-3

8. OG: 1-3

Group B:

1. BetBoom Team: 4-0

2. Team Aster: 3-1

3. Talon Esports: 3-1

4. Team Liquid: 2-2

5. TSM: 2-2

6. Shopify Rebellion: 1-3

7. Tundra Esports: 1-3

8. Team Secret: 0-4

The Riyadh Masters Group Stage will be held from 21 to 24 July. Two groups of eight teams each, comprised of eight directly-invited teams and eight teams from the Play-Ins, will be battling in a single round-robin to be among the 12 teams advancing to the Playoffs.

The Top 4 teams of each group will earn upper bracket berths in the Playoffs while the fifth to sixth-placed teams will have to start in the lower bracket. Meanwhile, the bottom two teams of each group will be eliminated.

The Riyadh Masters Playoffs will take place from 25 to 30 July with a double-elimination format. All matches in the Playoffs will be best-of-three series except for the Grand Finals, which will be a best-of-five.

The Riyadh Masters 2023 is the biggest Dota 2 event this year outside of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, featuring a massive US$15 million prize pool. The champions of the Riyadh Masters will go home with a handsome US$5 million grand prize.

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