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The Underdogs at The Riyadh Masters 2024
The Riyadh Masters 2024 starts in a few days. This year's iteration of the Riyadh Masters is also part of the Esports World Cup and it’s the final tournament for ESL Pro Tour Season 2.
It features 20 teams, competing for a 5 million USD prize pool. The tournament winner will receive 1.5 million USD from that pool, significantly less than last year's Riyadh Masters champions who walked away with 5 million USD but a sizable amount nevertheless.
Last year, Team Spirit started as an underdog at the Riyadh Masters 2023. But once they found their rhythm, they went on to win the two most prestigious tournaments of the season: The Riyadh Masters 2023 and The International 2023. Their remarkable performance showed that underdogs can indeed triumph. With that in mind, here are our underdog picks for the Riyadh Masters 2024.
Team Liquid
Team Liquid has been the most consistent team in recent years. Though they lack trophies, their results over the past two years show top-five finishes in most LANs they attended.
Liquid made an upgrade this year by taking in a former TI champion, Neta "33" Shapira, when the Tundra Esports roster imploded. This decision helped them significantly, enabling them to overcome their year-long rivals, Gaimin Gladiators. The team has become bolder in experimenting with their drafts, though they still struggle to secure a trophy.
Team Liquid is also known for meme-worthy consistency. In the past, the team would often lose their "unlosable matches" due to their hilarious high-ground pushes and in-game mistakes. However, since adding a TI-winning offlaner, this doesn't happen as often.
Nevertheless, the team faces another problem. In recent DreamLeague tournaments, they have not made it out of the group stages. However, they were the runner-up at Riyadh Masters 2023. With the addition of 33, Liquid might overcome their challenges and secure their first trophy at Riyadh Masters 2024.
OG
OG is a team that thrives under pressure. Last season, they went through a constant roster shuffle to achieve their best form, but their efforts yielded no results. At the start of this season, they benched their safelaner and, in his stead, used Enzo "Timado" Gianoli as a stand-in. After a fourth-place finish at ESL One Birmingham 2024, OG finally signed Timado as their new safelaner. While the team still struggled to secure a trophy finish, OG has been showing consistent performance at tournaments.
Credits: Valve
Additionally, luck has started to smile on OG in recent months. The team did not qualify for ESL One Birmingham 2024 but received an invite as a replacement after a participant faced visa issues. Despite the odds, they secured a fourth-place finish, earning their ticket to Riyadh Masters 2024. They also received a similar opportunity at PGL Wallachia Season but turned it down.
History has shown that OG plays their best when the odds are against them. Their TI8 run and ESL One Stockholm are proof of that. Now, at the Riyadh Masters 2024, OG could prove once again that they are at their best when considered underdogs.
Tundra Esports
After a disappointing finish at The International 2023, Tundra Esports debuted a new roster this season. They built this new roster around their midlaner, Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen. However, a team composed of multiple high-profile players runs the risk of encountering internal management issues.
Despite showing tremendous potential during the tournament qualifiers earlier this season, Tundra faced this issue at their first tournament, DreamLeague Season 22. It left an ugly fallout, impacting the team's overall performance. Since then, they have been consistently improving their placement in tournaments; the team showed moments of brilliance during their run at ESL One Birmingham 2024, securing a third-place finish.
Recently, Tundra loaned another star veteran, Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev, from L1GA Team. The team was shaky in their initial debut with him. However, they've been improving, and recently, Tundra qualified for The International 2024. Tundra has showcased that they have the potential to lift trophies if they get their priorities right. Riyadh Masters 2024 could be the tournament where they prove they can be more than underdogs.
BetBoom Team
BetBoom Team is one of the most unpredictable teams of this season. While the team secured multiple top-five finishes, there were also times when they had early exits. The team consists of several high-profile players from their region, led by The International 2021 Champion, Alexander "TORONTOTOKYO" Khertek.
The team had some inconsistencies in their performance last season. However, after going through a roster shuffle in January, their inconsistencies are fading. Nevertheless, Team Falcons still stand in their way for a trophy run. Riyadh Masters 2024 could be the tournament where the BetBoom Team could emerge victorious against their rivals.
The teams mentioned above are our picks as the underdogs for the Riyadh Masters 2024. These underdogs could have a shot at the throne at Riyadh Masters 2024, even coming out on top against the favourites. If you think we forgot a team, let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Source: ESLOne
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