Commonwealth Games 2022: Indian DOTA 2 Esports team to play for bronze, Rocket League team crash out

DOTA had a marvelous group stage but endured a defeat in the semifinals, which leaves them eligible to compete for the bronze medal in their match on August 7.

The Rocket League team exited the tournament without winning a single match in the group stage. After leaving a lasting impact in the regional qualifiers, the team will be disheartened after their poor outing at the grand stage.

Indian DOTA 2 team can still claim a medal

The Indian DOTA 2 team - Moin Ejaz, Abhishek Yadav, Ketan Goyal, Shubhnam Goli, and Vishal Vernekar - played two matches in the group stage against Wales and England in a best-of-one format. 

The first match, against Wales, resulted in 60-15. Meanwhile, the Indian team showed dominance throughout the game with the mentioned hero picks - Necrophos, Phantom Assassin, Tiny, Nyx Assassin, and Dazzle. 

In their next game against England, the Indians switched their hero selection to Legion Commander, Faceless Void, Tiny, Skywrath Mage, and Winter Wyvern.

They couldn't bring the same energy to their second match, culminating in a 22-53 loss. The Indian DOTA 2 team pulled through to the semifinals, where they fought against Malaysia the same day.

The semifinal was a best of three display where the Indians deployed Underlord, Hoodwink, Razor, Lina, and Dawn Breaker in their first match. Their Dire opponents crushed them with an Invoker-Timbersaw pick and won in 25 minutes.

For the second match in the playoff, the Indians picked Skywrath Mage, Dragon Knight, Tiny, Juggernaut, and Grimstroke. Malaysia clinched a 39-19 win within half an hour.

Rocket League fails to qualify for the playoffs

India's Rocket League team at the tournament had Hargun Singh, Sandeep Sahani, and Rushil Reddy. They were named in Group B alongside Canada, England, and Wales.

Their eye-grabbing run at the regional qualifiers (where they won 3-2 against Pakistan, a 3-1 win over the Maldives, and a 3-0 win over Sri Lanka) prompted fans to expect a similar show at the main tournament.

However, in the best five series, they lost the first match 0-3 to Canada. The Indian team struggled to stay afloat in the remaining matches as Wales and England dominated their respective series and prevailed.

Although they were no match against their opponents, the Indian Rocket League team has shown their mettle back in the regional qualifiers, which proves their competence at the grand stage.

Now, fans will be rooting for the Indian DOTA 2 team to face New Zealand for the bronze medal match on August 7 at 3:00 pm.