BetBoom, Team Falcons start strong in opening day of ESL One Bangkok 2024 Group Stage

Images: BetBoom Team, Team Falcons, ESL

The likes of BetBoom and Falcons had strong starts as expected, but Liquid only managing one win is a suprising result for most.

ESL One Bangkok 2024, the last big Dota 2 tournament of the year, kicked off on Monday (December 9) with its Group Stage. 12 teams from all across the world will be competing across the three-day Group Stage for eight spots in the Playoffs, where the lion's share of the tournament's $1 million prize pool will be up for grabs.

Three powerhouse European squads in BetBoom Team, Team Falcons, and PARIVISION enjoyed strong starts in the Group Stage as many expected. However, North America's Shopify Rebellion also sit at the top of the standings at the end of the stage's opening day – a surprising result when considering that this was the roster's first LAN tournament together.

Meanwhile, reigning The International (TI) champions Team Liquid are struggling with only one win out of four games played. Natus Vincere (NAVI), which picked up the PuckChamp roster ahead of the event, notably didn't manage to score a single win.

Here's how all the action in day one of the ESL One Bangkok 2024 Group Stage went down:

BetBoom, Falcons, PARIVISION, and Shopify Rebellion start strong

Falcons and Shopify Rebellion ended the opening day of the Group Stage atop the standings of Group A with 3-1 records apiece. Falcons swept Team Spirit in their first match of the tournament, but were forced to a 1-1 draw by AVULUS while Shopify Rebellion swept NAVI and drew with BOOM Esports.

AVULUS, BOOM, and Spirit occupy the mid field of Group A after earning 1-1 draws in their two matches for day one. Meanwhile, NAVI were the only team to go winless to start the Group Stage after suffering back-to-back 0-2 sweeps at the hands of Shopify Rebellion and BOOM.

Over in Group B, BetBoom and PARIVISION also finished day one with 3-1 records to lead their group. The two Group B leaders faced each other in the opening match of the group, which resulted in a 1-1 draw, before scoring 2-0 sweeps in their second matches against Liquid and M80.

While M80 recently entered the Dota 2 scene by acquiring beastcoast, the roster will notably compete in ESL One Bangkok 2024 under their former organisation's banner as the acquisition occurred after ESL's deadline for finalised rosters.

In contrast to Group A's tight mid field pack, Group B is more stratified as two teams finished day one with 2-2 records: Gaozu and Nigma Galaxy. Both squads drew their two day one matches, with Gaozu opening their campaign against Liquid and Nigma Galaxy getting M80 as their first opponent. Gaozu and Nigma Galaxy then faced off in their second match and scored their second 1-1 draw of the day.

Sitting at the bottom of the standings in Group B are Liquid and M80, having only managed a 1-3 record each. While this result isn't particularly surprising for a dark horse team like M80, Liquid's poor start is very concerning for a TI champion just months removed from raising the Aegis of Champions. While it's a bit too early to say for sure, Jonáš “SabeRLighT-” Volek seems to be struggling to have the same impact as Neta “33” Shapira.

Here are all the results for day one of the ESL One Bangkok 2024 Group Stage:

Group A:

Team Falcons 2-0 Team Spirit
AVULUS 1-1 BOOM Esports
Natus Vincere 0-2 Shopify Rebellion
Team Falcons 1-1 AVULUS
Natus Vincere 0-2 Team Spirit
Shopify Rebellion 1-1 BOOM Esports

Group B:

BetBoom Team 1-1 PARIVISION
Team Liquid 1-1 Gaozu
M80 1-1 Nigma Galaxy
BetBoom Team 2-0 Team Liquid
Nigma Galaxy 1-1 Gaozu
M80 0-2 PARIVISION

Here are the standings after day one of the ESL One Bangkok 2024 Group Stage:

Group A:

Shopify Rebellion: 3-1
Team Falcons: 3-1
AVULUS: 2-2
BOOM Esports: 2-2
Team Spirit: 2-2
Natus Vincere: 0-4

Group B:

BetBoom Team: 3-1
PARIVISION: 3-1
Gaozu: 2-2
Nigma Galaxy: 2-2
M80: 1-3
Team Liquid: 1-3

ESL One Bangkok 2024 will be hosted from December 9 to 15 and is split into two distinct stages: the Group Stage, running from December 9 to 11, and the Playoffs, running from December 13 to 15. The Group Stage will only be broadcasted online, but the Playoffs will be hosted in front of a live audience in Bangkok's Royal Paragon Hall.

For everything you need to know about ESL One Bangkok 2024, check here.