posted by Sun_Tzu,
The first round did not hold many surprises, as Na`Vi even with Titouan 'Sockshka' Merloz of dd.Dota standing in for Alexander 'XBOCT' Dashkevich, the Ukrainians did not look to even break a sweat doing away with QPAD Red Pandas, while Team Liquid showed off superior teamplay against Team Empire.
Slightly closer was the new Mousesports going up against RoX.KiS, but ultimately the Germans showed that their new lineup was indeed clicking fairly well only a few days into it's existance.
The saddest series of the first round was without a doubt the all North American (yes, Alaan 'SexyBamboe' Faraj is also an honorary American now) match-up, as Evil Geniuses took on Team Dignitas. After EG took game one, the second game was plagued by disconnects, and large parts of it had to be played as 4v5, with each time the final player of one team connected back in, another player on the opposing team dropped out. Ultimately it was EG who prevailed again against their rivals, and the only good thing about the game was the double elimination bracket format, as Dignitas will have a road back into the game.
For the second round of the upper bracket, Liquid faced off against Mouz, and while Mouz put up a good fight, ultimately the North Americans once more showed that they were a step above, sending the Germans down to the lower bracket. The final match of the weekend was Na`Vi, still with Sockshka as stand-in, taking on EG. While EG played well most of the games, it looks as if Captain Clinton 'Fear' Loomis will have to make further videos, as crucial mistakes ultimately cost them the games.
Next weekend we'll see Empire take on RoX.KiS while QPandas take on Dignitas in the lower bracket, with two teams futures hanging in the balance. Meanwhile in the upper bracket finals, Liquid will face off against Na`Vi, in what is sure to be a very hard fought game of Dota 2.
Comments