Week 1 of the 2023 Western Europe DPD Division I is over, and with it, Team Liquid, Gamin Gladiators, and Tundra Esports are leading the charts. Following 9 epic series, Team Liquid finished with 2 victories, whereas The International 11 champions lost only one match. Interestingly, GG also secured 2 wins after defeating Entity and Secret.
With that said, Week 2 was even more important for all teams in Western Europe, especially those who want a top 4 finish. We are just one week away from learning the names of all teams that will attend the first Major. With that said, let’s go over some of the most exciting results and the things we had the chance to watch.
OG put an end to GG’s streak
Similar to Week 1, OG had the honor of playing in the first series of the WEU 2023 DPC week 2. After losing to Tundra last week, bzm and the rest defeated none other than Gamin Gladiators, a team that won 2 matches last week. The series wasn’t easy, but in the end, OG prevailed.
The first map between the two was way more interesting than most experts expected. Even though we thought that OG’d win faster because of their excellent draft, GG played really well and even got the lead. However, this didn’t last long because OG bounced back and eventually wiped all 5 members around 41 minutes after the start.
GG tried to surprise their enemies with several smoke ganks, but Storm Spirit and Lina were too far ahead to lose, and OG won game 1.
Game 2
The two Western European powerhouses chose utterly different tactics for the second game of the series, OG decided to focus on the late-game Naga, whereas GG wanted to end as fast as possible with Broodmother and Ursa.
As expected, Quinn and the rest had a good start and started pressuring their opponents. After 25 minutes of play, GG”s lead was more than 10k, so we expected to see game 3. However, this was when the two-time TI-winning organization turned things around.
Suddenly, their Naga Siren became the strongest hero in the game. After several minutes of back-and-forth fines, Naga eventually got the Aegis, and Yuragi carried his team to victory.
Liquid continues to dominate
As mentioned, Team Liquid became one of the 2 teams that didn’t lose a single series during WEU DPC 2023 Week 1. What’s even more surprising is that Nisha and the rest defeated none other than Tundra Esports.
Following the impressive performance, Liquid continued to dominate. The first victory for the week was against Entity, a series that most players expected to last for at least 2 hours. However, it seems like Entity wasn’t focused enough because Liquid had no problems in both maps.
Game 1 was easier for them because the team’s Drow and Brood pick was way too strong for Entity’s heroes. Despite having Slark and Riki, even they weren’t strong enough to stop the WEU powerhouse from winning.
Following game 1, Entity tried using their classic TB and BM pick and focused on the late game. Realizing the threat, Team Liquid rolled out the dangerous Nature’s Prophet and started playing really aggressively. 35 minutes later, Nisha and his team forced the GG call and won the match.
The match vs ITB
After defeating Entity in its first series of the week, Team Liquid also dealt with ITB. As expected, this series wasn’t difficult because the team looked highly motivated to win. Hence, Nisha and the rest dominated in both games and deserved their victory.
Into The Breach picked Storm Spirit in the match’s first game, but their opponents quickly countered it with Nyx Assassin. In game 2, ITB decided to roll out Invoker, a hero that we haven’t seen in the 2023 DPC so far. Although the team had some success early on, Liquid’s Sniper and Primal Beast combo proved to be too strong, and Liquid won.
NGX continues to lose
The 2023 Western Europe DPC Division I is extremely interesting to watch for several reasons. One of them is NGX and Secret, two of the big favorites that continue to lose one series after Another. Secret is leading the chart so far, but NGX is close behind because the team lost 2 matches.
The first challenge for the week was against GG, a team that lost a match against OG. Everyone expected SumaiL and the rest to win this match, but the game didn’t go as planned, and they lost.
Gaimin Gladiators took control of game 1, and thanks to their TB they won. However, the same didn’t happen in game 2 because Nigma used the deadly Magnus and Sven combo. These two heroes are incredibly strong when they get the chance to play in a team, so we weren’t surprised that they ripped through their opponents.
As for game 3, Nigma’s attempt to surprise their opponents with Ember and Viper didn’t work. Thanks to the hot carry in the current meta (Lina), GG didn’t have any problems in game 3 and won the match.
Their match against Team Liquid
Just when we thought that it couldn’t get any worse for Nigma, the team had to face none other than the leaders in Division I. Since Nisha joined Team Liquid, they have been flawless and Nigma was just another number in their book.
The first game between the two was fun and more interesting than expected. Nigma decided to stick to the new meta and get Lina and Timber, whereas Liquid relied on their trusty Ursa and Rubick. Following the laning stage, which was pretty even, Team Liquid quickly gained control of the match and slowly but steadily suffocated their opponents. Hence, TI 7 champs had nothing to do but use the GG call and prepare for game 2
Sadly, Liquid didn’t give Nigma Galaxy any chances of bouncing back in the series, even in Game 2. The team picked a very, very strong draft with Magnus, Ember, and Templar Assassin. After ripping through their opponents in the laning stage, Liquid quickly snowballed out of control and won the series.
Team Secret
Before we conclude the WEU DPC 223 Division I Week 2 overview, we have to mention some words about Team Secret. Despite reaching TI 11’s final, the team has loads of problems, and it seems like it will head to Division II.
After losing 3 series in Week 1, Secret lost their first match against Entity. Sadly, the team wasn’t able to take revenge against Tundra Esports and lost yet another match. With 5 losses after 5 series, the team is currently last in Division I.
