Riyadh Masters Group Stage Ends - Here Are The Results
The Group Stage of Riyadh Masters has reached its conclusion, and things are set in stone for the playoffs stage. Here's everything that happened on the last day of Groups!
Group A
Here's a recap of the Group A results!
Upper Bracket Finishers
Quest Esports maintain their first-place spot in Group A. Many fans expected them to under-perform with Abdimalik "Malik" Sailau as a stand-in, but they have defied expectations.
Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators finished in second and third place with a tied score of 8-6. The reigning champions will once again start their playoff run in the Upper Bracket, while Team Spirit, who underperformed at Bali, will look to prove their worth in Riyadh.
Upper Bracket Tiebreakers
The final Upper Bracket spot was decided through a three-way tiebreaker. The participants include:
In the Group A tiebreakers, only one round was required. 9 Pandas could easily defeat Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD to secure the fourth and final Upper Bracket spot from Group A.
PSG.LGD and Evil Geniuses aren't eliminated but will continue their Riyadh run through the Lower Bracket.
Eliminated Teams
The two suspects for elimination end up bidding farewell: OG and Xtreme Gaming. OG had always been at the bottom of the group since the first day, and they couldn't convert any series wins and will be exiting the tournament.
On the other hand, Xtreme Gaming had immense potential in the first two days of the Group Stage. However, they started to fall off and will join OG in flying home.
Group B
Here's a recap of the Group B results!
Upper Bracket Finishers
The BetBoom team had an excellent Group Stage run, finishing 12-2. They surprisingly dropped a series 0-2 to Team Secret, but they 2-0'd every other team. A dominant performance from the Eastern European team.
Team Liquid and Team Aster claim the second and third spot, with 9-5 finishes in Group B. Both teams had some shaky performances throughout the Group Stage, but regardless, they finished the job and secured their Upper Bracket placements.
Talon Esports, the last Southeast Asian team, will join the Upper Bracket party with a comfortable 8 points, two higher than Team Secret, who is sitting behind them.
Speaking of Team Secret, Puppey and his boys will begin their playoff journey in the Lower Bracket. Despite a 0-4 start, they could finish 6-4, safe from the elimination tiebreaker.
Elimination Tiebreakers
The three teams below Team Secret had to battle it out in a three-way tiebreaker for survival, with only one team staying alive; the rest were eliminated. The tiebreakers consisted of the following:
Similar to Group A, Group B's tiebreakers only required one rond, as the TI winning roster defeated both North American representatives to continue their run. Despite a very weak showing due to Martin "Saksa" Sazdov's Tundra could recoup and live to tell the tale in Riyadh.
This result means that Shopify Rebellion and TSM will head to the Nearest Airport to fly back home.
The tournament's playoffs will immediately begin tomorrow, so the Dota action doesn't stop. All four Upper Bracket matches will be decided tomorrow.