With three days of group stage play now behind them, teams at ESL One Bangkok look towards advancing in the playoff bracket — and it’s BetBoom Team who stand out among those that have scored victories so far. The champions of the inaugural BLAST Slam have not stepped on the brakes since winning their first major LAN just over a week ago, and they don’t seem to be interested in slowing down in Bangkok either.
Their 2-1 result over Team Falcons sees them through to the upper bracket final, where they could get a chance to really solidify themselves as a powerhouse in the competitive Dota 2 landscape. It seems like BLAST Slam 1 was just the beginning for them, but before they can call themselves just that good, they’ll have to prove it by capturing the trophy here.
Eastern European Derby
Joining them in the upper bracket final is PARIVISION, their Eastern European rivals and a squad that is also shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with on the world stage. These guys have really hit the ground running, as this will be their second consecutive appearance in a LAN top 4 this season despite only existing for just as long. They advanced to the next round of the upper bracket by beating AVULUS two games to one as well.
Our second #ESLOne Bangkok Upper Bracket Finalists are @parivisiongg!
Looks like we're guaranteed an EEU team in the Grand Finals! 👀 pic.twitter.com/0gBSxws6NL
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) December 12, 2024
The matchup between these two clubs is sure to cause sparks to fly given their history together over the last two months, and the fact that their playstyles are equally flashy and entertaining. Both teams will likewise hungry to get themselves to the grand finals — with PARIVISION seeking to level up quickly and BetBoom Team looking to prove themselves more than they have this year.
The Lower Bracket Awaits
Before that, however, we have the lower bracket matches to look forward to. Shopify Rebellion missed out on the upper bracket despite a good start in Day 1 of the group stage, but will probably be happy to face a wounded Team Liquid in the first round. Of course, Liquid still have the talent advantage on paper, but their form has not looked good throughout this tournament so far.
The other lower bracket match will feature Nigma Galaxy versus Team Spirit, which we’re sure the whole Dota 2 community will be keeping a close eye on. This new look Nigma roster has not gotten very far in tournaments this year, but this time might be different. They have two of the best players in the competition thus far in Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi and Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan — so if those two show up, they could just turn some heads here.
