2023's first Dota 2 Major is nearly upon us, with the strongest teams on the Dota Pro Circuit currently on their way to Peru for the Lima Major!
The action will kick off on February 22 with the Group Stage, which will run until February 26. The 18 teams participating have been separated into Groups A and B, and will be fighting it out to see who will survive to reach the Playoffs.
It's an absolutely packed schedule, with plenty to look forward to for DPC fans, regardless of which team you support. You'll be able to follow along with every match right here on Luckbox - and we've put together just a handful of our favourite matches taking place on February 22.
Group A schedule and betting odds
Over in Group A, we'll soon have the opportunity to see PSG.LGD going up against TSM, in a match due to begin at 19:00 GMT.
As the winners of the first tour of the Chinese DPC league, expectations are understandably high for PSG.LGD. The team has had a terrific start to the 2023 season, having lost only a single match so far this year - which took place in their January 10 match against Knights. This impressive run comes after the team closed out the 2022 season on a similarly promising note when they came in 5th - 6th placement at The International 2022 and 2nd place at the PGL Arlington Major. Of course, the highlight of the 2022 season was arguably their victory at the Riyadh Masters 2022, where they emerged victorious over Team Spirit in the grand final. The team clearly has some strong momentum behind them, and we should expect some terrific performances at this year's Winter Major.
TSM meanwhile emerged as the champions of the North American DPC tour, having won every single match so far this year - defeating the likes of Shopify Rebellion and nouns. It's a terrific performance for TSM, especially for a team who only entered the DPC for the first time in January 2022. That first year was an impressive one too, with TSM managing to qualify for The International 2022 (where they placed in 19th - 20th place) and a second-place result at BTS Pro Series Season 13: Americas.
The odds are in PSG.LGD's favour here, at 2.50 vs TSM's 4.20.
Another Group A match worth keeping your eye on will also take place at 19:00 GMT - when we'll have the chance to see Tundra Esports competing against EHOME.
Tundra Esports (1.52) vs EHOME (8.00)
Tundra Esports is a team that requires no introduction, after their fantastic victory at The International 2022 - taking home the grand prize following their 3:0 win over Team Secret in the final. It's hard to think of a better way to close out the 2022 season than that, and Tundra have managed to maintain much of that momentum coming into 2023. The team ranked third in the Western Europe DPC tour, where they pulled off another victory against Team Secret, as well as repeatedly winning against OG.
EHOME meanwhile ranked in fourth place in the Chinese DPC tour, meaning they're the lowest-ranked team from the DPC CN league to have made it to the Lima Major. Still, EHOME proved themselves capable of pulling off wins against the likes of Knights during the first tour of the year, so they've certainly earned their spot at the Lima Major and aren't ones to be written off just yet.
With that said, however, they're facing steep odds - with Tundra heavily favoured to win with odds of 1.52 against EHOME's 8.00.
The full Group A match schedule for February 22 is as follows:
Evil Geniuses (4.00) vs PSG.LGD (2.60) - 15:00 GMT
Execration (7.50) vs Tundra Esports (1.68) - 15:00 GMT
Gaimin Gladiatiors (1.82) vs Talon Esports (6.00) - 15:00 GMT
TSM (4.50) vs Team Spirit (2.25) - 15:00 GMT
PSG.LGD (2.50) vs TSM (4.20) - 19:00 GMT
Tundra Esports (1.52) vs EHOME (8.00) - 19:00 GMT
Team Spirit (3.20) vs Gaimin Gladiatiors (3.20) - 19:00 GMT
Talon Esports (3.50) vs Execration (2.90) - 19:00 GMT
Group B schedule and betting odds
There's plenty of excitement over in Group B too - such as the 17:00 GMT match between Team Liquid and HellRaisers.
Team Liquid (1.38) vs HellRaisers (10.00)
This match may seem a little one-sided, but there's a good reason for that. Team Liquid has been on an absolute tear through the Dota Pro Circuit in recent months. The team closed out the 2022 season with a third-place ranking at The International 2022 - an incredible result for a team who earned their invitation to the tournament via the Last Chance Qualifier. Since then, they've gone on to win the first tour of the Western Europe league, defeating the likes of Gaimin Gladiators and Tundra Esports to earn the top spot.
HellRaisers meanwhile have been caught up in some behind-the-scenes drama, that kicked off just after they qualified for the Lima Major. Despite being part of the roster that earned the team their invitation to the Lima Major, HellRaisers has since parted ways with Nikita "Daxak" Kuzmin - amid stories of internal conflict on the team. In his place, HellRaisers is fielding OG's Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev as a stand-in player, who joins the team with an impressive track record of his own. Of course, it remains to be seen if Yuragi can make the difference here, as HellRaisers is facing some profoundly steep odds.
Team Liquid is heavily favoured to win here, with odds of 1.38 vs HellRaisers' 10.00.
Our next selection in Group B meanwhile is the face-off between Team Aster and Shopify Rebellion, taking place at 21:00 GMT on February 22.
Team Aster (2.60) vs Shopify Rebellion (4.20)
Team Aster are coming into the Lima Major following a respectable second-place result at the end of the DPC CN winter tour - coming in just behind PSG.LGD. That result came at the end of a near-undefeated run through the winter tour, with Aster claiming victory against the likes of Knights and EHOME. Aster closed out the 2022 season on a similarly strong note too, claiming a 4th place position at The International 2022, after being knocked out of the tournament by Team Liquid.
Shopify Rebellion meanwhile are fresh faces to the Dota Pro Circuit. The Canada-based organisation launched their Dota 2 roster back in December 2022, and have already seen some fantastic results. They came in second place in the North American winter tour, coming in just after TSM in first place. That result was shortly followed by a terrific victory at BTS Pro Series Season 14: Americas, where Shopify emerged victorious following a 3:0 win over nouns in the grand final.
The full Group B match schedule for February 22 is as follows:
beastcoast (5.30) vs Team Aster (2.00) - 17:00 GMT
Geek Slate (6.30) vs Entity (1.80) - 17:00 GMT
Team Liquid (1.38) vs HellRaisers (10.00) - 17:00 GMT
Shopify Rebellion (4.50) vs BETBOOM TEAM (2.25) - 17:00 GMT
Team Aster (2.60) vs Shopify Rebellion (4.20) - 21:00 GMT
BETBOOM TEAM (3.80) vs Team Liquid (2.60) - 21:00 GMT
HellRaisers (3.20) vs Geek Slate (3.00) - 21:00 GMT
Entity (2.60) vs Team Knights (4.00) - 21:00 GMT
Which team are you supporting? There's no shortage of matches at the Lima Major this week - You can see the full match schedule right here. And whoever has your backing, make sure to sign up to claim your free 100% bonus!
