What Did We Learn From The PGL Wallachia Season 3 Group Stage?

After DreamLeague Season 25, LAN Dota is finally back with PGL Wallachia Season 3. The Swiss Stage has just ended, with eight teams eliminated from the event and the remainder being sent to the Playoffs. Here are some key takeaways from the action we’ve seen so far. 

Are We In 2023 Again? Liquid and Gaimin Are Back?

Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators are off to a roaring start in Romania, finishing the Swiss Stage 3-0 and 3-1 respectively. We haven’t seen these two household names at the top of the scene for a while, so it’s nice to relive some memories and see some success out of them. 

One of Team Liquid’s biggest issues at the moment is their laning stage, and though it hasn’t been perfect, it has definitely improved here at Wallachia. And when they don’t win their lanes, they are still figuring clever ways back into the game, as shown in the matches against Tundra and Aurora. 

Though it’s something of a relief to see Gaimin finally find some success, I won’t get too excited for them just yet. I’d argue they got some lucky draws and found easy matchups, but they are still playing much better than they were a month ago, so that’s always a good sign. 

Chinese Dota Is Here To Play

I heavily underrated China on my PGL Wallachia power rankings, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. Team Tidebound and Xtreme Gaming both made it through to the Playoffs with 3-1 scorelines, and it’s not like they were up against easy opponents either. 

It feels great to see NothingToSay, Faith_bian, and y` back on the stage, as Team Tidebound put up a great fight against Tundra and even 2-0’d Team Falcons. They have exceeded my expectations by a considerable margin, and I pray those wins weren’t flukes. 

But the team that really impressed me was Xtreme Gaming. Similar to their countrymen, XG also played against Team Falcons and Tundra Esports, winning against the latter after pulling off a 20,000 gold comeback, leading to a reverse sweep. Seeing Ame flourish in late-game situations is beautiful, something we’ve been missing for quite a while. 

What’s Happening With Tundra And Falcons?

As expected, two of the favorites made it past the Swiss Stage, but not in the fashion we were thinking. Tundra and Falcons barely scraped by with 3-2 records, which is not a great look for teams of their calibre. Still, I wouldn’t hit the panic button just yet. 

I feel like Tundra was just doing a little bit of trolling in the Group Stage, as they were in winning positions in almost all of their games, but they threw it and lost. I’m sure they won’t make the same mistakes twice, and we’ll see their regular selves for the Playoffs.

I’m a little bit worried about the Falcons, on the other hand. They aren’t looking as sharp as they usually are and have been playing some scrappy Dota at times. Falcons have been experimenting with newer heroes, so they should be back on track once things are figured out and polished. 

How Far Will Aurora Go?

Aurora entered Wallachia with a star-studded lineup, but their results haven’t reflected that just yet. The new band of brothers collected their wins against some pretty easy opponents, such as Yellow Submarine and Wildcard Gaming, but they didn’t stand much of a chance against Gaimin Gladiators. I don’t know if they’re quite ready for the Playoffs, where the competition only gets tougher. 

They put up a great fight against Team Liquid in their second series, finding themselves in good positions in some of the games. But Nightfall was getting picked off for no reason, and the team chemistry was not yet there. 

Still, this team is only two weeks old, playing with a stand-in and also without the presence of a coach. The team has not appointed a coach yet, and their CEO, who is 2,000 MMR, is the man on the mic. So, maybe this event isn’t the time for Aurora to shine, but we’ll see them gradually improve in the near future. 

Team Spirit Might Be Looking For Back-To-Back Titles

And, of course, we can’t ignore Team Spirit, who went on a flawless 6 – 0 run to qualify for the Playoffs. Sure, they took down a weak OG in their first series, but they proceeded to maul Gaimin and the Falcons with relative ease. 

Coming off a hot win at DreamLeague Season 25 just a week ago, the two-time TI winners are still riding on their momentum and look as good as ever. With Tundra looking a little shaky, Team Spirit might be the favorites to win this event.