Once one of the strongest regions, China struggles at the first Major of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit.
EHOME and Knights came at the Lima Major as China’s third and fourth seed teams respectively. But being top four in their region didn’t mean much at the first international battle of the year. They are the first two teams to be eliminated from the Major on the second to last day of matches in the group stage.
Both EHOME and Knights are going home without a single full series victory in the groups. However, Ehome has slightly better stats with draw scores against Team Spirit, Execration and Evil Geniuses, but still not enough to save them from an early exit from the Lima Major.
A total of three teams from each group will be eliminated at the end of the group play and EHOME are the first to bow out from Group A with four defeats, three draws and one more series to play on the last day of the group stage schedule.
Knights had a far worse performance in Lima, going home with an abysmal 1-13 game score in Group B. Their only draw score, which gives them the face-saving one game victory was registered on the third day of matches, versus Shopify Rebellion. Much like EHOME, Knights still have one more series to play in the groups. Their final appearance at the Lima Major will be against HellRaisers, who are also on the brink of elimination. The series will be played Sunday, February 26, at 18:00 CET/12:00 PET.
With just a few more matches to go, several more teams are in real danger of cutting short their journey to Lima Major. In Group A, TSM and Execration are for now in the bottom three, while in Group B the two Eastern Europe representatives, HellRaisers and BetBoom Team have a high chance of being sent packing.
