Stockholm Major group stage day 1 recap: Thunder Awaken surprises, EG still finding groove
Gaaa!
The ESL One Stockholm Major is underway, and the first day has already produced some stunning results.
OG topped Group Adespite losing their captain for the tournament, while Thunder Awaken showed that South American Dota doesn’t start and end with beastcoast.
Here are the Stockholm Major standings at the end of day one.
Group A
Group B
Follow along for live updatesthrough days two and three of the group stage.
Surprise of the day: Thunder Awaken
Only the most ardent South American Dota fan would have put Thunder Awaken at the top of Group B. But for day one at least, that’s not a dream — that’s a reality.
Though the South American team had a fortuitous default victory after opponents Mind Games missedday one of the event due to visa issues, their series against one of thetournament favorites, Team Liquid, was anything but.
Thunder Awaken made a statement against Liquid, finishing off the star-studded roster with aplomb. They played one of the best games of the Major so far, with an amazingmega creeps comeback in game one, and amethodical slow-roll in game two.
In just one series, the team has already displayed incredible resilience against the odds, as well as the patience to close out games against top-tier opposition. Thunder Awaken is looking dangerous — and Group B is far more wide open than previously thought.
Still finding their way: Evil Geniuses
Going north, Evil Geniuses isn’t looking too hot.
They are back to their usual drafting strategies — first phasing Storm Spirit in three games out of four. The only time Abed Azel L. Yusop didn’t play Storm was in game two against T1, where the Southeast Asian team opted to ban the hero.
They are the only team to lose two series against Tundra Esports and T1 on day one, and the only team in Group A to not yet win a game. It’s a marked disadvantage heading into the rest of the group stage, but EG is notorious for starting slow and picking up their pace later in tournaments.
Thankfully, only one team will be eliminated at the group stage instead of two, because of the fewer teams present. There are still four more series for EG to kickstart a winning campaign and show that North American Dota still has some life left in them.
Best game of day one: Thunder Awaken vs Team Liquid game one
If there’s one game you have to watch from day one, Thunder Awaken’s first match against Team Liquid was a spectacular finish from the underdog South American team.
Despite a terrible start to the game, Thunder Awaken went toe-to-toe with Liquid throughout the game. The South American squad consistently executed high-quality plays, resulting in a massive megacreeps comeback.
Thunder Awaken’s mid laner Herrera Martínez “Darkmago” Oswaldo Gonzalo put in a star turn after enduring a 0/3 start in the lane, turning both his own and his team’s fortunes around with several spectacular Batrider initiations.
Fans can watch the Major live onESL ONE’s official Twitch streamfrom May 12 to 22.
During thegroup stages, two additional streams will also be broadcasting. You can findStream BandStream Chere.
you’re able to check out the upcoming playoff schedule and more information about the Majorhere.
READ MORE:Win a year of Dota Plus with the ONE Esports Fantasy ESL ONE Stockholm Major Challenge
