posted by Abelle,
ru Virtus.pro are now two-time ESL Major champions after today's dominant 3-1 victory over cn Vici Gaming in the ESL One Katowice 2018 Grand Final.


It's unlikely anyone predicted to see these two teams in the Major Grand Final. Virtus.pro just went through a roster change and Vici Gaming have been impressive but not quite top tier this season. When they met in the best-of-five, it seemed a bit unbalanced at first. Vici Gaming adjusted to take a single win but were mostly run over by the CIS squad.

The first game of the series was a massive stomp from Virtus.pro. They finished off Vici in 29 minutes with Vladimir 'No[o]ne' Minenko on fire with a 12/0/10 Gyrocopter. Game 2 almost mirrored Game 1 in many ways. no[o]ne's Gyrocopter took 12 kills (though he died twice this time), the score was heavily in VP's favour, and the game ended before the 30-minute mark. In fact, Game 2 was even shorter than Game 1 - it was just over 25 minutes.

.@virtuspro seems completely unstoppable here in Grand Finals! #ESLOnehttps://t.co/RUTJQiyOsP pic.twitter.com/IvYf1d9t1F— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) February 25, 2018


With the pressure on and Virtus.pro on match point, Vici Gaming managed to pull themselves together in Game 3. VP last-picked Broodmother but Vici were ready for it, managed to take an early lead and secured a quick win of their own. Zeng 'Ori' Jiaoyang's Puck made some great plays to help his team overcome the earlier losses.

Mission accomplished! #ESLOne pic.twitter.com/bPcBujRbKY— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) February 25, 2018


However, things went right back VP's way for Game 4. It was the longest game of the series - but not by much. The game last just over 32 minutes and Virtus.pro were back in top form. This time, Roman 'RAMZEs' Kushnarev took control of Gyrocopter while no[o]ne took Pugna instead. Gyrocopter's rockets helped Aleksey 'Solo' Berezin's Disruptor to never miss a Glimpse opportunity, and Vici Gaming had nowhere to run.

With the third win in the bag, Virtus.pro have won their second ESL Major. The Virtus.pro convoy grew alongside their trophy collection - Vladimir 'RodjER' Nikogosyan was awarded MVP and a brand-new Mercedes.

Header Photo Copyright: ESL | Bart Oerbekke

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