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October's biggest online tournament, DreamLeague Season 24, is heating up. The championship is worth $1,000,000, which is good money. That's why the world title teams are playing here.
We will talk about Group B, where Tundra Esports and Azure Ray are making their way to the next round. We will talk about their head-to-head match in more detail.
Let's try to see if there will be a winner in this Bo2 match, which in the long run will significantly improve the position in the Group A table.
Let's go.
Tundra Esports uniforms
We open our analysis of the Tundra Esports vs Azure Ray match with an analysis of Tundra's form. In this match they will play as favourites with odds to win at around 1.4.
In the first cycle of DPC 2023, Tundra only made it into the top 4 via tiebreaker, finishing in the top 3 at the end of the season. This gave them an opportunity to play at The Lima Major 2023, which they failed, finishing in the Top 12.
Things got better in the second DPC cycle. Tundra had re-matches again and again they did well, except now it was a Top-2 division match. Things also got better on the international stage at ESL One Berlin Major 2023, where the reigning world champions from The International finished in the top 6.
In the third cycle, DPC Tundra returned to the top of the competitive dota. The reigning World Champions of The International finished in the top 1 in their home league.
Tundra attended DreamLeague Season 20, but they didn't have much zeal to win there. The team failed to make it past the first group stage, finishing in the top 9-10.
At Bali Major 2023, Tundra had a forced stand-in. Saksa left the squad due to illness, but it didn't stop Tundra from reaching the top 3 of the tournament.
In Riyadh, Tundra again resorted to Aui for the same reason. With him they were able to get through the group stage and survive the round robin tiebreaks. All in all, there's an OG vibe of 2022 in Tundra. However, they failed to reach the top-12.
After the not so successful Riyadh, Tundra also failed at The International 2023, finishing in the top 16. After that, they finished in the top 7 at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
- Tundra Esports roster: Nightfall, Lorenof, 33, Saksa, Whitemon.
In the 2024 season, Tundra played all sorts of qualifiers, for which they spent the first half of the year. The European-born club went on to finish top 10 at DL Season 22 and top 8 at Elite League.
Tundra's partial rise came at ESL One Birmingham 2024, where the team managed to finish in the top 3. The peak of the 2024 season was TI 24, where Tundra reached the Top 3 and were close to reaching the Grand Final, but failed to do so. Later, with a revamped roster, they reached the top 3 at PGL Wallachia Season 2.
At DreamLeague S24, Tundra Esports drew with Falcons and beat Talon Esports and Heroic. Prior to the Long Sogpeg match, Azure Ray drew with Spirit and Waska.
Most popular Tundra Esports characters
Among the most popular characters in Tundra spades is Techies. The character has been picked 9 times, and his winrate is at 66%.
Next is Bloodseeker, who has been picked 8 times. His win rate is 50%. Batrider (7 matches, 71% win rate), Doom (7 matches, 57% win rate), Timbersaw (6 matches, 66% win rate) were also picked.
Azure Ray's Form
We continue the analysis of Azure Ray vs Tundra Esports match with the analysis of Azure Ray's playing form. In this match, the Chinese club is playing as the number two with odds to win at around 3.
Azure Ray looked like a team playing for results, i.e. to get to the Major. We've seen a similar story with super teams getting together, some results in the first months and being forgotten in the end.
I'm not sure that Azure Ray will follow the same scenario, but there are concerns about it. For now, though, we'll see.
Azure Ray made it to Bali Major 2023 by playing their home league. They played at the top-4, which is not a decent indicator for a team with such names.
At Bali Major 2023 Azure Ray were one step away from elimination from the tournament. The Somnus team managed to beat Bleed on tiebreaks for the top-6 of Group B.
They didn't make it far in the playoffs, but top-8 is already an indicator. Especially if we take into account the "freshness" of the team as a unit.
Due to poor performance in the absence of practice, Azure Ray could not guarantee themselves a direct entry to The International 2023. Azure Ray had to earn a slot in the qualifiers and they did it well: in the final of the qualifiers they beat Xtreme Gaming 3-1.
At the main tournament of the year the famous Chinese got into Group B, where they faced top teams like Liquid and the same BB. They managed to secure the third place, after which they easily defeated Entity 2-0 in the knockout matches for seeding in the play-offs.
Azure Ray started the playoffs with a victory over the main tournament opener - the Nouns team. After beating the Americans Azure Ray met perhaps their main rival at this tournament - their compatriots from LGD Gaming. And that match they lost without a chance, with the score 0-2. Then Azure Ray beat BB Team, but in the match for the top 3 Ledge and Gaimin Gladiators.
At the end of The International 2023, Azure Ray finished in the top 4. At the Long Season 2024 they rebuilt the roster, significantly strengthening it.
- Azure Ray roster: Lou, Han, niu, planet, 皮球.
Azure Ray's first major appearance was ESL Kuala Lumpur 2023. There, they played well in the group stage, finishing top 1 in Group A. They played to a score of 8-2 on mapmaps.
The success in the group stage led the team to the championship in the first major tournament for the club. Azure Ray were crowned champions of Kuala Lumpur 2023, beating GG in the grand final.
AR are looking good in 2024. Won the qualifiers for BB Dacha and DL Season 2022, but will miss ESL Birmingham after losing in the final of the qualifiers. Also finished top 4 at BB Dacha.
They have a poor performance at DreamLeague Season 22. Then Azure Ray took TOP-12. Later there were attempts to qualify for PGL Wallachia Season 1 and DL Season 23 and both, technically, were successful. However, on PGL Wallachia Season 1 Azure Ray played so that it was painful to watch, and as a result they made it to the Top 16.
They also played at DreamLeague Season 23, where they finished in the Top 6. It was Azure Ray's best performance in almost half a year.
At DreamLeague S24 Azure Ray have a 1-2-2 score as of 30 October.
Azure Ray's most popular heroes
The most popular Azure Ray hero remains Storm Spirit. The character has appeared 9 times and has a winrate in the region of 66%.
Next are Pugna (8 matches, 62% win rate), Pangolier (7 matches, 71% win rate), Batrider (7 matches, 71% win rate), Techies (7 matches, 57% win rate).
There is also Keeper of the Light (6 games, 66% win rate), Silencer (6 matches, 50% win rate), Medusa (6 matches, 50% win rate).
History of head-to-head meetings Tundra - Azure Ray
Previously, the teams, still being with modified squads, played each other twice. One match ended in a draw, and the other in a victory for Tundra.
Predicted result of Azure Ray vs Tundra Esports at DreamLeague Season 24
In this match, my bet is on Tundra. This tournament AR does not inspire confidence, as well as did not inspire, probably, for the entire existence of the tag.
Bottom line: Tundra wins.
