posted by NanaKrustofski,
The first day of the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore group stage already showed some interesting themes. The tournament is stacked with strong tier-1 teams and has offered the highest level of competition in all events this season so far. In such an environment, not all big teams can make it to the top.

Liquid: struggling again



Team Liquid have faced a lot of hate since their roster shuffle. After a weak kickoff, they overcame their struggle and dominated the DreamLeague S13: EU Qualifier. Their winning spree did not last long, though, their first encounter at ONE Esports against AS Monaco Gambit resulted in a 2-0 loss for them. Newcomer Danil 'gpk' Skutin played two kill-heavy matches and crushed Liquid on his 10/0/6 Templar Assassin in game two.



TNC: no chance against Alliance



MDL Chengdu Major winners TNC Predator have also had a weak performance so far. They ended their series against J.Storm 1-1, followed by a 2-0 loss against Alliance. Game one was a stomp by [A] who scored 32/7.

In the second game, TNC fell short to an outstanding Neta '33' Shapira 11/0/16 Brewmaster and a Nikolay 'Nikobaby' Nikolov Shadow Fiend carry.

Timothy 'Tims' Randrup even managed to snatch the Aegis, but they quickly lost the fight nevertheless.



Na'Vi too much for LGD to handle



Powerhouse PSG.LGD prevailed over their competition in their home country, but on the international scene they face problems: their match against Natus Vincere ended in a 2-0 loss.

Idan 'MagicaL' Vardanian picked Templar Assassin and went on a killing spree in both games, having top net worth and dealing most damage. He went for a classical Desolator, Blink and BKB build in each game. In game two, Pavel '9pasha' Khvastunov torched his opponents with a 12/3/16 Phoenix.





Do you think Liquid can find their form back?



Photo credit: ESL Helena Kristiansson

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