The Favorites for The Riyadh Masters 2023

The Bali Major has come to aclose, with Gaimin Gladiators triumphing as the undefeated champions. As the teams get ready for The Internationals 2023, The Riyadh Masters 2023 is the final pit stop before their road to Ti. Although The Riyadh Masters 2023 is not part of Valve’s official DPC Season, the DPC Season ranking has perpetual effects on the tournament.

The tournament is part of the ESL One Tour. The Riyadh Masters features a whopping $ 15 million USD prize pool. The DreamLeague Season 19 and Season 20 were the waypoints to the tournament. Western European teams dominated DreamLeague Season 19, but in Season 20, teams from various regions stepped up to the challenge. However, a particular team still triumphed over these teams and brought victory to WEU. As The Riyadh Masters starts in a week, here are the favourites going into the tournament.

Gaimin Gladiators

The undefeated team for the DPC 2022-2023 Season, Gaimin Gladiators are also the DreamLeague Season 19 and Season 20 champions. The team’s victories match the record of 2015-2016 era OG. Moreover, Gaimin Gladiators have perfect team synergy, and teams can’t figure out how to stop them. The team had won all the tier 1 tournaments this season, thus making them heavy favourites. They

Team Liquid

Team Liquid had dominated the LANs. However, they always fail to secure the championship title, falling short against Gaimin Gladiators. In every LAN they attend, Team Liquid could secure the top-place finish. They also are the first team to get a slot at The International 2023. Moreover, despite not winning any championship titles, Team Liquid lead the DPC ranking for the 2022-2023 DPC Season. However, the team showed some cracks during their DreamLeague Season 20 run.

BetBoom Team

BetBoom Team has stepped up their performance despite Western European teams showing their dominance in LANs. In their region, BetBoom Team has always secured a top-place seed. However, they couldn’t keep their performance in LANs. Until recently, in DreamLeague Season 20, they pulled off everyone’s expectations, tearing every team down in their path. They even got to the grand finals but were defeated by Gaimin Gladiators. They also showed signs of promise at The Bali Major, but they had an unfortunate incident which led to their elimination.

Quest Esports

Quest Esports has been surpassing everyone’s expectations lately. The former Division II started showing signs of promise in this season since their promotion. The team secured a top-three finish in their regions at The Summer Tour, and in The Bali Major, the team secured a top-four finish. Moreover, Quest received their ticket for the tournament through the MENA qualifiers, proving they could stand face-to-face against The Titans. It will be interesting to see what the team could do further as they recently parted ways with their coach.

PSG.LGD

The 2022 Riyadh Masters Champions, PSG.LGD had revamped their roster for the 2022-2023 DPC Season, the team managed to keep their momentum. They always secure the top seed in their region. Their LANs have improved throughout the season. In DreamLeague Season 20, the team placed a top-three finish during the first group stages. In the second stage of the group stages, the team secures the top seed finish. However, they got eliminated in the playoffs, placing third.

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