Dota 2 Elite League: Falcons, Azure Ray advance to upper bracket finals while Tundra, G2.iG eliminated in lower bracket

The first day of the Dota 2 Elite League concluded on Saturday (13 April) with two out of the eight Playoff-qualified teams making the Top 3 while two others saw their campaigns come to an end.

MENA-based juggernauts Team Falcons are looking primed to add the Elite League trophy to their ongoing championship streak after BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 and DreamLeague Season 22. Falcons soundly swept China's Xtreme Gaming (XG), 2-0, in the first of two upper bracket semifinal matches to advance to the upper bracket finals.

The other Chinese squad in the Playoffs, Azure Ray, fared better than their peers as they overcame Western Europe's Team Liquid, 2-1, in the other upper bracket semifinal to also make the Top 3.

Meanwhile, Tundra Esports and G2.iG were eliminated in the first round of the lower bracket at the hands of PSG Quest and Gaimin Gladiators, respectively.

Here's how all the action in the first day of the Dota 2 Elite League Playoffs went down:

Lower bracket round 1

Gaimin Gladiators 2-0 G2.iG

The opening day of the Elite League Playoffs started with the first round of the lower bracket, with Gaimin Gladiators kicking off the action by making short work of G2.iG in a 2-0 sweep where both games didn't even reach 39 minutes.

Game one saw Marcus "Ace" Hoelgaard put on a show with Axe, notching 17 kills and seven assists on three deaths, as Gaimin Gladiators got their first win of the series with a 32-19 kill lead in just 38 minutes.

The closeout game was an even more one-sided affair, as Gaimin Gladiators sent G2.iG packing in a 36-minute stomp. Quinn "Quinn" Callahan on Leshrac had a perfect 11-kill, 19-assist showing to fuel a lopsided 34-9 kill lead for his team. Anton "dyrachyo" Shkredov on Chaos Knight and Ace on Dark Seer also added eight kills on two deaths apiece alongside a combined 26 assists.

PSG Quest 2-0 Tundra Esports

The second series of the day then saw PSG Quest knock out Tundra Esports in another 2-0 sweep.

Game one was a bloody, back-and-forth affair where PSG Quest overcame an early Tundra lead to take their first win of the series after 56 minutes. Tony "No!ob" Assaf had a standout performance on his mid Tiny, finishing with 12 kills and 14 assists on five deaths to pace his team's 33-22 kill lead.

Game two followed a similar script, as PSG Quest came out the better from an action-packed early game before proceeding to claim the 2-0 series victory after 37 minutes. No!ob put up another spectacular showing, this time with a clean six-kill, 16-assist line. Aybek "TA2000" Tokayev on Gyrocopter also joined in on the heroics with a game-high nine kills and six assists on three deaths.

Upper bracket semifinals

Team Falcons 2-0 Xtreme Gaming

After a dominant 10-4 run through Group Stage 2, Falcons carried their momentum into the Playoffs with a sound 2-0 sweep over XG.

Falcons came out swinging to start the series by stomping XG to the tune of a 37-7 kill lead in 32 minutes. Star position 4 support Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen on Hoodwink led the way with a perfect 10-kill, 13-assist performance while Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak on a mid Razor pitched in with 11 kills and five assists on just one death.

XG put up a better fight in game two and were even leading early on, however, Falcons pulled off a late game comeback to secure the 2-0 series sweep in just under an hour of action.

Malr1ne had another standout performance, this time on a mid Timbersaw, and notched 13 kills and 14 assists on five deaths out of Falcons' 35-25 kill lead. Oliver "skiter" Lepko on Chaos Knight also had eight kills and 15 assists on three deaths.

Azure Ray 2-1 Team Liquid

The other upper bracket semifinals match saw Azure Ray advance to the Top 3 after a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Liquid.

Game one saw Zeng "Ori" Jiaoyang on a mid Sniper lead Azure Ray to their first win of the series, notching 12 kills and two assists on two deaths in the 44-minute rout. Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida on Dark Seer also had eight kills and 14 assists on two deaths to help pace his team's 28-13 kill lead.

Liquid struck back hard in game two, dominating Azure Ray with a 44-22 kill lead in 48 minutes to force a deciding game three. Michał "Nisha" Jankowski on Leshrac led the way with 20 kills and 15 assists on five deaths while Michael "miCKe" Vu on a carry Windranger added 12 kills and 17 assists on four deaths.

Game three then saw Azure Ray secure the 2-1 series victory largely off an outdraft, though Liquid put up a valiant last stand before calling GG after 52 minutes.

Ori put up another stellar performance on his mid Sniper, this time with 18 kills and 21 assists on four deaths, to pace Azure Ray's 47-37 kill lead. Faith_bian on Centaur Warrunner also had 11 kills and 24 assists on four deaths.

With the day's results, both Team Falcons and Azure Ray have guaranteed themselves at least a third place finish and US$80,000 in winnings. They will then face each other in the upper bracket finals for the first spot in the Grand Finals, where the US$300,000 grand prize will be up for grabs.

Gaimin Gladiators and PSG Quest also locked in at least a 5th-6th place finish and US$40,000. The lower bracket quarterfinals will see another showdown between storied rivals Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid as well as a battle between PSG Quest and Xtreme Gaming.

Meanwhile, Tundra Esports and G2.iG end their runs in 7th-8th place and will go home with US$30,000 in consolation.

The Elite League Playoffs will take place from 12 to 14 April and will follow a double-elimination format. All Playoff matches will be a best-of-three except for the Grand Finals, which will be a full best-of-five series.

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