Vici Gaming defeats Gambit Esports to make the Playoffs in Kiev

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After a full day of Dota it is Vici Gaming that takes the second playoff spot at the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor. Find out what else happened on Day Two in Kiev.

A Strong Start for Vici Gaming

The first series of the day saw Vici Gaming facing off against underdog Demolition Boys. Despite some feisty play, however, Demolition Boys were unable to overcome the Chinese side, eventually falling 2-0 in their series.

Game One was largely in favour of Vici, with Zeng 'Ori' Jiaoyang controlling the game tempo on Queen of Pain while Pan 'Fade' Yi put in a strong 10-5-11 performance on his Rubick until; Vici secured the match at 31 minutes. In Game Two Demolition Boys showed some off some skill by holding the lead through 32 minutes; however, in the lategame Vici's experience showed—after a strong team fight anchored by Paparazi's impressively farmed 11-4-13 Troll Wardlord, Vici Gaming was able to quickly snowball out of control and take the game.

.@ViCi_Gaming take a wins with a score of 2:0#dota2 #sldota2 #KievMinor #SLIMinor pic.twitter.com/zfZnNgu216
— StarLadder Dota 2 (@dotasltv) March 8, 2019

Demolition Boys will have one more chance to stay alive in tomorrow's Group B Loser's Match.

Gambit Keep Rolling

The second series of the Day Two saw AS Monaco Gambit take on the other underdog team BOOM Esports; however again it would be the favourites who prevailed as Gambit won 2-0 in a nearly two-hour long series.

Game One was even for nearly 30 minutes with both teams trading kills and building up farm; but Gambit really turned up the intensity after this, taking cleaner and more advantageous fights while their subsititute Rostislav 'fn' Lozovoi spiraled out of control on his 18-2-10 Morphling. Game Two was a 59 minute marathon where BOOM fought valiantly to keep the game even at 33 minutes. But soon after this Gambit showed why they were the favourites, as Nikita 'Daxak' Kuzmin's Troll Warlord began to dominate team fights in the lategame, finishing 10-3-14 in the match and helping Gambit claim victory.

BOOM ID will fight Demolition Boys tomorrow in the Loser's Match.

Vici Has the Final Say

The Winner's Match was a hotly contested affair that went the full three games, but in the end it was the Chinese squad that prevailed.

The series started off in a combative mood as Game One saw 63 kills in 37 minutes. Both sides were constantly trading kills in the early game, and by 23 minutes the score was still even. Fn was playing incredibly well on his 14-4-16 Ember Spirit and was pushing the tempo against Vici. Daxak was also farming very well on his Lone Druid, and soon Gambit was able to start taking advantageous fights. At 33 minutes Gambite wiped Vici and took the match.

Game Two started in a very similar manner to the opening game, as for the better part of the match the two teams were very evenly matched, constantly trading kills as well as the net worth lead. Ori, however, was dominating the map on his Necrophos, going 12-1-14, and helping buy Zhang 'Eurus' Chengjun time to farm on his Phantom Assassin. At 30 minutes Vici was able to take an important teamfight and snowballed from there until Gambit conceded at 43 minutes.

Game Three was all about Vici Gaming. They cleanly bested Gambit in every facet of the game, and it was again Ori who dominated the map and the game tempo on his 9-1-14 Viper. Gambit had no way to come back as they could scarcely even kill an enemy support without trouble. By the team Vici had breached Gambit's base the game was all but out of reach for Gambit Esports who gave the GG 30 minutes.

Gambit Dota 2 lost to Vici Gaming. Playing decider match tomorrow at 19:30 CET. #SLMinor #TornadoEnergy pic.twitter.com/iq4aTCuG2m
— Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) March 8, 2019

With the series win Vici Gaming advances to the Playoffs. Gambit Esports gets another chance to advance as they play tomorrow in the Group B Decider Match.