Just after an almost total overhaul since losing The International 3's Eastern Qualifiers, Dreamz.Ledion have positioned themselves back at the helm of the Philippine Dota 2 scene by winning the MSI Beat It! Dota 2 tournament. This is their third consecutive LAN victory, with the triumph netting them $1120~.
The first day was rough for the players, as the limited playing area and time got hampered with the LAN other finals. After one stage match, a couple of matches were played on the side playing area only to be halted in the afternoon to give room to the All-Star game. The two teams, composed of ten players, which garnered the most votes on the fan polls, were greeted by special guests Kai 'H4nn1' Hanbueckers and Kalle 'Trixi' Saarinen. The two players from Fnatic split teams on one of the two all-star games played, in which we saw H4nn1 using a Pudge and Trixi utilzing an Axe. While the games were enjoyable, they were played on a much, much more serious note than the All-Star game of the International.
The rest of the group stage games had to be played online, as the mall's closing hours halted the event from going any further into the night. Pacific and Dreamz completed their perfect slate on their group, while MSIEvoGT surprisingly succumbed to the relatively new team Tirador. Mineski squeaked to the playoffs after their second place finish on Group B, with the last match of the group not being played completely because it is already of no bearing.
We also had an interview with special guests Trixi and H4nn1 during that day which we will publish soon.
It was a similar story on the second day, with the limited mall time surprisingly appearing to be unaccounted by the organizers. With the playoffs of all the eight game titles being played today, they adjusted the format of the playoffs from double-elimination into a knock-out contest, but thankfully they still kept the best-of-three finals. The top teams on the group stage once again reigned supreme on the semi-finals, with Pacific defeating Mineski and Dreamz getting a default win over the no-show Tirador.
Before the Grand finals, we saw ex-MYM player H4nn1 teaming up with Jay, Julz, MSI's brand ambassadress Biancake and local rapper Shehyee on a showmatch against the student's league champion, FEU. What's even more interesting is that the game is played on the Warcraft III client, the still-famous-on-the-Philippines DotA, which H4nn1 last played around six years ago. To further spice things up, the DotA veteran ended up using Goblin Techies. Despite getting the first blood with a sneaky Suicide on the middle-lane, the mixed team got overwhelmed with the other teams' resolution to show the coordination that won them the title. H4nn1 later admitted us that he was at lost during the game, with the different mechanics like the left click item purchase and the absence of hotkeys and making it a trial-and-error process for him on the early game. The two players from Fnatic also played a 2v2 all-mid match against the local MSI team's Julz and Jo. The latter won with their duo of Axe and Alchemist, but not after having a hard time against the former's Mirana and Pudge.
The first game of the finals was played on the side playing area, with Pacific wining convincingly after they took control on all the lanes. With their back against the walls, Dreamz bounced back gracefully as they won the next two matches which were both played on the stage. They tied it up with a masterful show of coordination, as they pumelled Pacific's trilane. The third game was a clear battle of forcing out their game-plan on the enemy - with Dreamz going with a strong mid-game line-up with the Chaos Knight-Wisp paired with Puck and Timbersaw, while Pacific is interested on a longer game with their Keeper of the Light - Phantom Lancer combo together with a Dark Seer and a Weaver.
Dreamz got an ideal start for their team, with the middle getting two kills within a span of a minute - giving a massive level advantage for Puck. That gave the opening for him to help secure a number of kills on the bottom lane, and its team opened up a very reasonable early game lead. As many teams with a Keeper of the Light and a Dark Seer though, Pacific proved to be tough to crack on the high ground. Not only did they successfully defended Dreamz earlier pushes, they were also able to win exchanges opening space for the Weaver and the Lancer to farm up. Big smoke ganks and pick-offs paved the way for Ledion, with their mobile Timbersaw and Puck both having Sheepsticks, scoring kills for their team. Pacific eventually cracked, and they called the GG to finish a respectable runner-up finish which scored them $220~.
Ledion.Dreamz had a shake-up which saw all but one member of the team getting replaced after their dismal performance on the The International 3's Eastern qualifier. The team had shaky performances after their reform, but as of August, had stringed three consecutive titles - TNC Cup, GMPGL Dota 2 August, and now the MSI Beat It! Dota 2 tournament.
