posted by Malystryx.GDS,
When handed a more aggressive hero in game 3, Arteezy shredded NaviOnce EG pinned down Sonneiko, Navi faced an uphill struggle
Bat Rider and Chen were Navi's first picks and Swingdlez who was on the panel for the match said the combo helps to move the battlefield to where the mobile chen creeps await, especially with the held of force staff.
However, Evil Geniuses went for damage output with Drow Ranger and Invoker in their first three picks. Visage was their fourth, prompting a fourth pick Winter Wyvern for Navi, a good support to help sustain the frontline heroes against the raw damage EG's draft would be dishing out. Navi were forced into a Sven pick to help with burst damage alongside their Templar Assassin, but overall Evil Geniuses' draft was more well-rounded and Navi headed into the first game at a slight disadvantage.
Ditya-ra's Sven did not fair well on the Radiant bottom lane against Universe's Faceless Void, and quickly ran out of regen, while
Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev enjoyed free farm top lane on Drow Ranger thanks to the presence of Fear's Visage.
Sumail gets first blood up against Dendi's Templar Assassin after a nice TornadoAt 7 minutes Navi had a good trade after they exchanged a kill on Arteezy's Drow Ranger and a TP top lane by Universe's Void for Art-Style's Chen. Another encounter followed mid and
Akbar 'SoNNeikO' Butaev's Winter Wyvern along with Art-style's creeps chased PPD up to the top lane along the river. The battle that ensued proved what a great pick Winter Wyvern was for Navi, with Cold Embrace negating almost all of EG's physical damage. Navi get another kill on Drow Ranger in the process as well as on Sumail's Invoker to make the kill score level at 6-6.
Sonneiko waltzes in 1v5 and forces EG to kill their own team-mate
Fear's Visage was high on the networth chartThe chance came at 20 mins when the Bat Rider detected a smoke along the river from ontop of a nearby cliff, but Universe jumped on to Sonneiko's Winter Wyvern and Navi ended up getting seperated and lost four. After his big impact early game, EG made it their mission to take him out first, sacrificing two Chronospheres just for him.
Arteezy's item choice of Diffusal Blade on Drow Ranger was perfect in dealing with Ditya-Ra's Sven and Dendi's Templar Assassin, giving a significant agility boost to the ranged hero as well as burning mana which Sven in particular already had precious little of.
After a very promising start, Navi fell off, unable to deal the damage necessary and EG simply kited their frontline heroes. Evil Geniuses take game 1.
Navi's General seems here to stay after his DotaPit performanceThe Dendi Show - Navi talisman MVP of Game 2
Navi take a page out of the EG book and pick Invoker and Faceless Void. Dendi had an impressive game on Invoker in their match against Team Secret on Day 1, and in Game 2 versus Evil Geniuses it was much the same story.
Evil Geniuses ran into the same problem they had in their loss to Empire yesterday, Arteezy's Spectre was not getting enough farm due to pressure from General. The NA team tried to respond with pressure of their own but a series of failed ganks, in particular on Dendi, just gave Navi more momentum.
Ditya-Ra's Lycan had free roam and it was a convincing enough display to warrant a first phase ban in the following game. The game ended 28-6 in favour of Navi after 27 minutes, and Dendi had half of his team kills, finishing game 2 with 13-1-7.
NaVi, specifically Dendi, have received a lot of criticism in the last year or so, but that game he played excellently.
— Ben Steenhuisen (@NoxvilleZA) 20 March 2016
Game 3
Sumail was gifted Invoker in the third game but caster TobiWan's suggestion that he might do better in the jungle, seemed a good one after Dendi's Outworld Devourer certainly won the mid lane. After taking the lead in CS and kills, Dendi went straight for a vitality booster instead of completing Power Treads, giving him 1200 hp. The first 10 minutes of the game was Navi's, securing the only 3 kills of the game as well as a Roshan.
Although, Evil Geniuses had a line-up that certainly could come back in the late game with Ursa and Invoker, but in order to reach that point they needed to slow the game down. This was something
Kyle 'Kyle' Freedman complimented EG on during his stint on the panel during the match, stating their ability to change the pace of a game was one reason for their consistent top finishes in tournaments.At 16 minutes in Navi decided to force the fight with a 5-man smoke all the way from their tier 1 mid past the Secret Shop to the top lane. It looked as if they had wasted the opportunity as Arteezy to escape beyond their reach, but a ChronoSphere followed by a Duel helped to take out the Ursa, who had only just reached the top of the networth chart.
It was quiet for the next 10 minutes but Evil Geniuses' combo of Primal Roar into Sunstrike and Finger of Death helped to slowly sneak ahead in the final game of the series. General seemed to take the bait and while trying to take down Arteezy, the rest of EG unleashed the combo onto the Navi carry time and time again. Fortunately for Navi they got an opportunity to collect their thoughts, with an Evil Geniuses pause for technical issues, and a break followed.
Evil Geniuses patience pays off and they get right back in game 3The game resumed about 45 minutes later and for the rest of it Navi were on the ropes trying to hold off an Ursa who picked up the Aegis twice in a row as EG charged at their opponents base. Arteezy who has been a bystander in several of EG's games so far in DotaPit was centre stage and Navi had no response. Navi had missed the window to end the game, and were forced to concede, putting Evil Geniuses through to the Grand Finals versus MVP Phoenix.
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