“Set A looks like an incubation pool.”

RuHub analyst Yaroslav Vladimirovich “NS” Kuznetsov believes Bali Major 2023 Group A will not be an interesting watch due to the lack of competition

After the rallies for the 2023 Bali Major were announced, former pro and current analyst Yaroslav Vladimirovich “NS” Kuznetsov shared his thoughts on the matter. He took to Telegram to express his disappointment about Group A. Although he thought watching Group B would be exciting, Group A seemed less interesting to him due to the absence of notable teams.

Bali Major Collections! 🔥 🔥

Who will come out on top in each group? 🤔🤔#WhereLandMeetsSea pic.twitter.com/A3eHRempUt

– IO Esports @ Bali Major (@ioesportsgg) June 21, 2023

In his own words:

“Group B feels like proper esports, and Group A is a kiddie pool.”

Gaimin Gladiators are favorites to top Group B as the WEU giants enter the competition looking to claim a third straight major win. They’ll mark Evil Geniuses as one of their biggest challenges in the group.

The US-Peruvian team is the current DPEC SA champion. While they do have a few Tier 1 trophies in their locker, their most recent win was at the 2016 Manila Masters. Evil Geniuses haven’t been winning major titles lately, but they’ve been steadily improving in the major tournaments. They did a 9-12 finish at the PGL Arlington Major last year, followed by a 5-6 finish at the Lima Major. Continuing its upward trajectory, EG finished fourth in the Berlin Grand Prix. Heading into Bali, they are determined to maintain their lead and put in a solid championship showing.

Evil Geniuses went to The Bali Major 2023.

The team has won six consecutive DPC League matches. She was the first from the region to qualify for the specialty.

Team Spirit, PSG.LGD, Team Aster, Tundra Esports and Bleed Esports have all qualified for the Bali Grand Prix.#Dota 2 #dpc #Main #EG pic.twitter.com/DTQuSnZHez

– dota2_brief (@dota2_brief) June 2, 2023

PSG.LGD can also give Gaimin Gladiators a run for their money. The Chinese DPC giants won the Riyadh Masters last year and entered the competition strongly on the heels of a regional tour title. They also do great in DreamLeague Season 20.

While 9 Pandas, BetBoom Team, and Quest Esports may not have as large a prize pool as the aforementioned teams, their recent performance indicates that they have the potential to exceed expectations. 9 Pandas achieved 3rd place in the Berlin Grand Prix, BetBoom Team was a standout performer in DreamLeague Season 20, and Quest Esports finished 3rd in the DPC WEU Tour 3 Division I, widely regarded as the most ferocious regional tour in the world.

Group A also has some big names Shopify Rebellion is definitely one of the headliners out there. But the North American giants were knocked out of DreamLeague Season 20 Group Stage I just before the tournament. WEU powerhouse Tundra Esports also crashed out of the DreamLeague Season 20 Group Stages and performed well below expectations at PGL Arlington Major 2022 and Lima Major 2023.

Although they showed some improvement with fifth- and sixth-place finishes at the Berlin Grand Prix, Tundra fans are understandably unsure about their chances at the upcoming Bali Major, given their previous struggles in the DreamLeague. On the other hand, Team Liquid, runners-up in DreamLeague Season 19 and Berlin Major 2023, will participate with a greater sense of confidence. Evil Geniuses haven’t challenged for the title in Level 1 competitions for years. Invictus Gaming won the Singapore Major in 2021, but finishing 17th to 18th in Berlin could take a toll on their belief in themselves.

Aster have caught the eye with their impressive performances in several top-flight tournaments recently, but their form in recent weeks has been wildly inconsistent. The likes of beastcoast, Blacklist International and Execration are already appearing on paper, but it remains to be seen how they fare as candidates.