There was a brief revival of hope at 32 mins when Tinker had their best chance for a strong fight as BKBs were completed on SingSing's Troll and Bat Rider. qojqva dived grabbing Key's Skywrath Mage but Alliance avoided straight on engagement until the BKBs wore of. As BKBS dropped Loda unleashed his second Ravage and Alliance tidied up and went onto to kill the top tier3 tower and eventually the game. Alliance looked confident in the opening game, especially Admiral Bulldog, who finished the game with 6-0-14.
Game One's draft for Team Tinker didn't work outGame Two followed the same suit with Team Tinker deciding to stick rather than twist and against opted for Razor for Pajkatt and qojqva on Bat Rider. It opened with a careless death by
EGM, who tried to sneak round near Alliance's secret shop but did not use his smoke. Alliance had him in full vision with their observer word and as Ayesee describe ""Elder Titan (Bulldog's) saw him all the way then just came and started smacking him in the face." It was first blood for Alliance and it was deja-vu for Team Tinker, who were then on the receiving end of some nice rotations by Alliance's supports and Chessie's domineering Panda Brewmaster, and Pajkatt had 3 deaths to his name by the 10 minute mark as Razor on mid-lane. It was a much slower start than the opening game but Team Tinker were just struggling with their draft to really get their foot in the game. Loda's Naga Siren and Chessie's Pandaren Brewmaster's experience was overwhelming, with Loda sitting at 23K networth at 37 mins, 9K ahead of Pajkatt's Razor. Alliance's stand-in Key, who was replacing the absent Akke, was keeping up with the competition with some delightful play on the Skywrath Mage. A comfortable victory for Alliance.
The third game started with an odd decision by Loda to go bottom with Doom, who then ended up wasting a lot of time to then walk all the way to the top lane. By the time he arrived qojqva's Centaur was almost level 4, making top lane already at a huge disadvantage for Alliance. It was a boost Team Tinker needed and in the third game of the series Team Tinker were ready to pick up the pieces.
Qojqva dazzled in this series - Photo from his time at Team LiquidTeam Tinker decided to go for what they know, with SingSing on Mirana and Pajkatt on Nature's Prophet, a decision that paid off ten fold. The switch to something different worked out as SingSing got his signature hero and at 6 mins let loose a SICK arrow that travelled from near the top dire tier1 to stun Misery's Vengeful Spirit near the side shop that helped to save Pajkatt from the gank from Venge and Puck. The early advantage for qojqva also resulted in a 7-minute Blink Dagger for his Centaur. Team Tinker just looked so much more deadly in game three, a far-cry for the stuttering performance of the first two games. Pajkatt's gank build for Prophet paid off with him playing the assassin and not the rat. Bulba contribution on the Bane was also pivotal, especially at 21 minutes when he stopped a lovely 3-man Chronosphere by Admiral Bulldog at Alliance's top tier2 with fiend's grip. Bulba turned the tides of battle, converting a bad situation into a 4-2 trade in favour of Team Tinker. Team Tinker's experience paid off, with the players mentally strong enough to still come back fighting after being 0-2 down in a best-of-5.
However, even with all this momentum they could not break Alliance who stood firm from the 20-30 minute mark, and it was not until an uncharacteristic lapse of judgement by Admiral Bulldog, that Alliance were finally broken down. Admiral Bulldog had played exceptionally well in all three opening games but as Void decided to Chronosphere at Alliance's tier 2 mid. Jumping in with timewalk he unleashed his ultimate but only caught Team Tinker's Ancient Apparition while the rest of their opposition moved around to take out his own team-mates. The split-second decision proved fatal as it cost Alliance their entire team, both their middle and bottom towers as well as all four rax. This was the beginning of the end for Alliance who accepted defeat several minutes later with Qojqva's Tinker finishing the game with 17-2-6.
The series stepped up a gear in games four and five which were both exciting to watch. Game four started off very cautious with qojqva struggling to get farm, but a good rotation from SingSing's Brewmaster and a nice selection of tacked ancients gave him that boost he needed. From then on he snowballed, taking two decisive team fights in the mid game securing an ultra kill in the first and staging a turn around at Roshan. Admiral Bulldog continued to impress as he had throughout the entire series getting a Refresher Orb on Tide Hunter who he played to almost perfection. Alliance's Chaos Knight and Wisp combo did get some pick-offs but ultimately they were not enough to stop the monster that was qojqva's Tinker finishing the game with a score of 17-2-6. Game Five was on the other hand was all about SingSing, whose first death as Ember Spirit was not until the 42 minute mark. He also managed to stay ahead of Pajkatt's midas devour doom in net worth after 35 minutes. With an inventory that looked like it belonged in a pub game with two Divine Rapier, Two Daedelus', a BattleFury and BoTs, SingSing was on top of his game.
Final moments - SingSing's First-person POV
The series ended with a 3-2 victory for Team Tinker against a weakened Alliance. Alliance performed well in the first two games and although ultimately lost there was plenty for Alliance to be proud of in this series with some very good drafting as well as a great performance by Admiral Bulldog as well as Chessie. Team Tinker on the other hand, showed such resilience to fight their way back with incredible games by SingSing and qojqva, but their drafting is clearly a concern with the team struggling if without their signature heroes. They progress to face Cloud9 in the Grand Finals of the Game24 DOTA2 Invitational later this evening.
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