Although both advance, Monkey and EHOME got through the first group stage in two very different ways. Read on and see how each, respectively, began their journey toward being crowned as ESWC champion.
The 8 hour first day session, beginning at 9:30 CET on Sunday, October 22nd, was full of surprises and upsets. However, none more surprising than EHOME losing the first game they played against SGC due to a combination of an unusual drafting phase and lanes that favored SGC, allowing them to push quickly.
Their bans were standard enough, removing first Chen and Nature's Prophet and later Spectre and Puck. Spectre was removed to not allow SGC to get the hero after they quickly banned Anti-Mage. The other three heroes are some of this version's best and most utilized pushers, especially the Chen and Nature's Prophet. However, the picks are where EHOME seemed to lose the drafting stage. Their first picking phase, in which they got Night Stalker, Venomancer, and Mirana were not the issue. Their 5th pick of Drow Ranger, however, meant they were going with a 3 core strategy, which means that 3 of their chosen heroes want to get their core farmed as quickly as possible. Additionally, the Drow Ranger did not complement a gank heavy strategy associated with Night Stalker in any way.
Aside from EHOME's drafting creating problems, their laning choices were also a major part of why they lost the game. They effectively lost every lane, each in a different way. At bottom, their Drow Ranger was completely shut down by SGC's tri-lane, giving up 3 kills and their T1 tower by 12 minutes. This was set up by SGC's Slardar winning middle lane against EHOME's Night Stalker, thanks to aid from the Witch Doctor. This prevented Night Stalker from getting the jump he needed from his first night. Finally, in EHOME's top lane, they sent Mirana and Earthshaker to counter a weaver. However, the lane never killed the defensive weaver, a character not central to SGC's gank then push strategy using the Slardar. Ultimately, SGC was able to force the "gg" call at the 39 minute mark.
In their next streamed game, EHOME lost to Monkeybusiness, leaving them at 2-2, their 2 wins coming from a withdrawn Lias Gaming and then against Virus. While their drafting was more conventional than their game against SGC, their timing and calculated aggression did not match Monkey on this day. An overaggressive Nature's Prophet allowed Monkey's Night Stalker to go on a wicked sick streak only 18 minutes into the game. This momentum by Monkey culminated first in the taking of EHOME's middle barracks at 43 minutes, and later, the Ancient Fortress by 51 minutes.
Despite these two huge losses, EHOME still controlled their own destiny and could have forced a tie if they had defeated M5 in their last game of the day and get to a 3-2 record. With a first picked Anti-Mage leading the charge, EHOME seemed invigorated, leading the charge and forcing a massive 4:4 trade in the top jungle before the creeps had even spawned. M5's Spectre never got comparable farm levels to EHOME's Anti-Mage because the Mirana in Spectre's lane killed off the supporting Lina twice, forcing Spectre back to his tower, delaying his farm. M5, however, left the Anti-Mage to free farm, trying to win the game before he became a major factor. However, by only 21 minutes in, he had completed both Battle Fury and Manta Style and aggressively began joining fights. This lead to EHOME's eventual victory, placing them tied with M5 for second place in Group 1. After a quick ruling, EHOME was given the advantage and chosen to advance out of the group stage because they won the head-to-head game against M5.
First place out of Group 1 went much more convincingly to Monkeybusiness, who took all 5 of their games, compiling a perfect 5-0 record in the group stage. They held true to their heavily gank oriented lineups and created their own pushing advantages through numbers. No game better shows this than their most difficult match against M5. Monkey had 2 heroes, Puck and Shadow Shaman, both rush blink daggers to secure the ability to initiate. Despite M5 having both a Pipe and Mekansm on their Necrolyte, Monkey made the most of their initiations and bursted him down quickly, nullifying the full potential of M5's lineup in team fights. This same pattern repeated itself throughout Day 1 and ultimately allowed them to dominate their group with an unblemished record.
Both teams, although advancing in different fashions, look forward to discovering which teams will come out victorious from Group 2 to challenge them in the semi-finals for the title of ESWC champion.
Links
ESWC - Tournament Information
Joindota - Streamed Games
ESWC Day 1 ends with Monkey and EHOME on top
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