Tundra Upset Team Falcons; Secures Top Six With Four Other Teams
The first day of the Playoffs has concluded, and we got some highly entertaining Dota 2 action. The highlight of the day was the series between Team Falcons and Tundra Esports which went the way of the Western European squad after an intense second game.
Xtreme Gaming 0-2 Team Liquid
The day started with the most anticipated match between Xtreme Gaming and Team Liquid.
On top of Position 4 Timbersaw, XinQ tried playing Slark in the first game against Team Liquid. Nisha’s Puck had a tough Mid Matchup against Xm’s Viper. However, Xtreme Gaming couldn’t get their draft going, until Team Liquid farmed their core items and got to work. Despite a bad start to the game, Nisha could find a Rampage and end the game 12/0/10.
The next game was one of the most brutal beatdowns we have seen this tournament. Xtreme Gaming got a nice kill on 33’s Visage in the laning stage, but they didn’t know that would be the last kill they got the entire game. Team Liquid absolutely demolished the Chinese squad, winning the game in 19 minutes after a 19-1 kill score. The game ended with a 20,000 net worth lead before racing the 20-minute mark!
Cloud9 2-0 Aurora
Cloud9 has been on a tear since they arrived in Copenhagen, and continued their momentum against Aurora in the Upper Bracket.
Both games were stomps in favor of Cloud9, and Aurora could not post much of a challenge throughout the whole series. watsonwas evidently the MVP of the series, ending the first game 12/0/5 on Luna, and 9/07 on Windranger in the second to have a flawless series.
Team Falcons 0-2 Tundra Esports
The match to watch today was the confrontation between Team Falcons and Tundra Esports.
In the first game, RAMZES666 pulled out a forgotten hero in the form of Night Stalker, while Topsongot his hands on his trusty Invoker. Tundra Esports maneuvered the map extremely well, reading almost all Smoke ganks from Team Falcons to avoid bad fights. Eventually, the game blew up after RAMZES666 got Nullifier and got easy kills on the Falcons’ heroes.
The second game was where all the action resided. Tundra Esports had the lead throughout the mid-game, but ATF’s Doom kept the Falcons fighting after getting the correct targets every fight. During a late-game teamfight, Team Falcons took down Pure who bought out and did not have buyback.
The MENA squad went for an all-in push. Tundra Esports had to throw bodies to buy time for Pure to respawn, and the kid delivered. Pure could hold the game after taking out three heroes to defend the base. After buying a Divine Rapier, Tundra marched down the mid lane and took the game after 67 minutes.
Pure’s Luna dealt 93,000 hero damage, which is the highest amount in this tournament so far.
Nouns 1-2 Gaimin Gladiators
The day ended with the sole North American representatives taking on the Gaimin Gladiators.
Fly continued to show why his Treant Protector should be feared, as Nouns surprised everyone with a convincing Game 1 performance, stomping their opposition in 35 minutes. The final kill score of the game was 27-6, with Yuma’s Mirana going 14/1/11, netting 93% kill participation.
However, hope from Nouns was short-lived, as the Gaimin Gladiators could stomp them back in the next two games without too many problems. A good effort from Nouns wasn’t enough, as they have been knocked down to the Lower Bracket.
All the winners today have secured a top-six finish at The International, and will have days to rest before their next match. Tomorrow, four Lower Bracket matches will be played, meaning four competitors will be sent home in the first round.