posted by Sun_Tzu,
Less than two weeks after their first official game, eu QPAD Red Pandas took on veteran players dk Absolute Legends in the finals of SK Trophy duking it out for the $1,000 winner-takes-all prize.


The First Three - Domination and Turning Point



While the first two games of the finals went swiftly and convincingly to the newcomers on the back of aggressive ganking and roaming play, something happened during Game 3. The teams started out with aL picking up a lategame split-push lineup around Phantom Lancer and Nature's Prophet, and QPandas setting their sights at that 20-30min timing push on the back of Brewmaster and Lifestealer being able to simply tank it up and force the highground.

This adaption from aL in order to counter QPandas strategy took them out of their comfort zone, as they failed to hit their window and instead were outpushed by dk Brian 'Mania' Strandby on Nature's Prophet, who kept the game going until Phantom Lancer become too big for the QPandas lineup to stop. Meanwhile, uk James '2GD' Harding was eating a burger, clearly sent by a crafty aL fan to distract the QPandas manager from giving the spirit boosting pep talk which every good sports movie should have.

Game 4 - Close call



Heading into Game 4, aL decided to stick to what was working, again taking up the Nature's Prophet and this time an Anti-Mage in place of the banned out Phantom Lancer. The game followed much the same script as the third one, with AM and Furion forcing unfavourable trades each time QPandas tried to push, picking up Mega Creeps. QPandas went for one last push up the middle lane where the Barracks were already down, but were slightly too slow taking down the Tier 4 towers, as Mania once again was down in their base beating down the Throne along with hordes of Dire creeps.

Game 5 - End in sight



With the Nature's Prophet banned out, aL went for a brawler lineup with a lot of single target lockdown centered around a Alchemist for that late game fallback. QPandas took a group up and push teamfight lineup, with Shadow Fiend, Magnus and Queen of Pain providing the big ultimates while Chen provided the sustaining power for the push.

As neither team got a clear advantage during the lanes, the deciding factor was the mid game execution. QPandas found some better trades and caught aL out of position a few times, allowing Shadow Fiend and Queen of Pain to out-pace the farm of the Alchemist, who also went for a early Shadow Blade, delaying his true impact in fights.

However, a greedy push by QPandas at 20 minutes threatened to turn sour, as they only barely got away without sustaining major losses. This seemed to set the trend for the early mid game, as aL were able to find small victories even as QPandas were mounting their advantage. It was not until 40 minutes in that QPandas dared to truly siege up aL's base, once again however being pushed back as aL looked determined to drag this game late, where Alchemist would eventually overrun the Shadow Fiend.

A smoke gank and attempted teamfight by aL in mid lane went back and forth, however even as aL ultimately came slightly out on top, buybacks from QPandas meant aL did not dare to challenge the next Roshan, and the Aegis of Immortality finally gae that opening for QPandas to break the base and finish off the game at 51 minutes.

Congratulations to eu QPAD Red Pandas for taking their first ever tournament win by a score of 3-2.

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