After a full five game series it was Na`Vi who came out on top of this modern classic match-up, defeating Alliance 3-2 in order to claim the first place of the WePlay Dota 2 League. With todays efforts Na`Vi gain themselves $ 13,000 ahead of Alliance, Team Liquid and Team Empire in order.
| WePlay Final Standings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Placing | Team | Prize money |
| 1st Place | Na`Vi | $13,000 |
| 2nd Place | Alliance | $6,000 |
| 3rd Place | Team Liquid | $4,000 |
| 4th Place | Team Empire | $2,000 |
Match Recap
Game 1:
With Na`Vi running some odd lanes with Clinkz at mid and switching around players on heroes, Alliance looked a lot more comfortable in Game 1 as they got the early momentum and carried it into numerous successful early ganks which put Na`Vi well and truly on the back foot. Along with a strong pushing lineup this quickly turned into more and more map control for Alliance, as they locked their rivals inside their base. By 18 minutes in the one-sided affair was at an end, with no less than three Alliance players having made it through the ordeal without ever going down in a fight.
Game 2:
Na`Vi went for a heavy early to mid game focus with a strong ganking and team fighting lineup, which seemed to work out brilliantly as they quickly opened up a sizeable kill lead. However Alliance started to find their way back into the game along with their Mirana having complete free farm throughout the laning stage and getting an early Hand of Midas, which kept up the pressure on Na`Vi to close out the game sooner rather than later.
While Alliance were able to hold well enough and stall in order to get their Black King Bars up it was all not quite enough, as the Exorcism of the Death Prophet proved to be an immensely powerful tool in both fighting and pushing. Along with the better map control of Na`Vi they managed to keep the tempo going slightly in their favour long enough for them to first break the mid lane and then take out the top lane, before finally winning the war of attrition outside Roshan at 42 minutes, causing the Swedes to tap out at the prospect of facing mega creeps.
Game 3:
While Alliance had the much better laning lineup and managed to somewhat force Na`Vi off the lanes early on, this also meant that Na`Vi were more willing to commit to early ganks and managed to keep up a slight kill lead through much of the early game, especially since the Lone Druid avoided engaging in fights early on. However these kills were not enough to make up for the disparity in last-hitting, and especially once the Radiant got up on the Spirit Bear, control shifted fully over to Alliance.
An 18 minute near teamwipe by Alliance lead into a 21 minute fight where Na`Vi failed to kill off the Lone Druid, which in turn cost them their Barracks at mid and top lanes after they had given their lives. A few minutes later Alliance were back to claim the bottom lane, with Na`Vi unable to find any kind of advantages in the engagement, insteading having to concede the game after 24 minutes of play.
Game 4:
While Alliance switched up their lanes in order to shut down the solo mid Storm Spirit it was a gank by Na`Vi at the bottom lane that first caused the advantage in the fourth Game to start shifting, as Na`Vi picked up some improbable kills with their Gyrocopter before walking away from the skirmish. This pattern continued to unfold as fights kept on coming up Na`Vi, and even when towards the mid game the Alliance managed to take a few engagements it never quite seemed to turn the tide, as all of Alliance's early efforts had been undone and the Storm Spirit becamse a monster of a presence in the game with his eventual 9/1/1 scoreline. By 21 minutes it was all over as Alliance were forced to tap out, moving the series into a fifth and deciding game.
Game 5:
Na`Vi went for a surprising Medusa pick for the final game; a looming presence for the game which became all the more impactful as Na`Vi got off to an advantageous start. While Alliance did try to group up and push with their Lone Druid they could not differentiate themselves over Na`Vi's Chen and Shadow Shaman. When they also lacked the power to control the tempo of engagements against a Night Stalker and Clockwerk, there just was nothing for Alliance to find their way back into the game before the Medusa got too big to deal with. By 34 minutes Alliance ended up calling the 'GG', with a 10/1/10 Medusa rampaging around their base with no end in sight, giving Na`Vi the series win.
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Relevant links
Source: WePlay.tv