Empire Strikes Down EG 2-1, faces Team DK in Grand Final
The second round of the loser bracket finals has begun with Team Empire taking on EG to decide who will face Team DK in the grand final. Check in here for live updates of the game!
The second round of the loser bracket finals between Team Empire and EG see boths teams arriving from different brackets. Empire are currently on a high after fighting their way through two best of 1 elimination rounds taking down both Rox.KIS and Alliance before powering through Invictus Gaming 2-0 to reach this stage. EG on the other hand started off comfortably in the winner's bracket before being man handled 2-0 and sent back to the drafting board by Team DK. Both western teams will be looking to peform at their very best to be able to stand up against the might of DK.
GAME 1
Game One of this best of three elimination round saw Empire opting to employ the deadly combination of Invoker, Mirana and Shadow Demon along with the Sand King and Clockwerk to catch and burst down any of EG's heroes who happens to step out of line. EG responded by quickly picking up the Batrider, Dragon Knight and the Pugna to help with the early lane pushes. First Blood came of the way to Empire as VANSKOR's Shadow Demon came along with a disruption allowing Resolut1on's Invoker to burst down the tanky Dragon Knight. Batrider also joined the queue as he attempted to help Arteezy before succumbing to the exort infused attacks from the Invoker.
Heroes began falling left and right for EG as constant ganks by Clockwerk and Shadow Demon ensured that Invoker or Mirana landed their sunstrikes or arrows on the mark. Empire demolished tower after tower rotating from the tier one tower in middle lane to the bottom towers of EG. Both teams traded one for one in a fight at Empire's bottom tier two tower with Empire getting the better trade losing the Sand King for another kill on the Dragon Knight.
Empire proceeded to captialise on their advatange by taking down Roshan quickly before knocking down the tier three tower of EG on the bottom lane. Batrider pulled in the Invoker and popped the Aegis, as well as securing the kills on the Mirana and Sand King with EG sucessfully defending the melee barracks. Despite the handy pickoffs coming from the Batrider, Empire seemed content on laying siege to EG's middle tier three tower. Empire once again took Roshan and secured the Aegis before resuming the siege. A big team fight at the middle barracks saw Empire lose three heroes as Visage scored enough gold with a double kill to secure an Assault Ciurass.
A push down middle lane by EG proved costly as they lost four heroes as the power of Resolut1on's Invoker and the ultimate from the Sand King ripped apart EG's lineup. This allowed Empire to walk in and proceed to take out the remaining barracks of EG. Visage scored an ultra kill as the last melee barracks fell to Empire. EG decided to go all in and push down the middle lane before losing the Dragon Knight, Dazzle and Visage. GG was called as the mega creeps from Empire quickly melted down the last two towers and the Ancient.
Draft:
EG opens with an Ember Spirit and Lycan ban while Empire ban out Naga Siren and Treant Protector. EG picks up the Batrider and Visage and while Empire gets the Invoker as well as a Shadow Demon to round out the first phase.
EG ban out Centaur and Luna while Empire ban out Drow Ranger and Outworld Destroyer. EG picks up the Dazzle and Dragon Knight while Empire picks up the Mirana as well as the Sand King.
Empire finalizes their ban by taking out the Doom and EG bans Dark Seer. Empire’s final pickup will be the Clockwerk while EG will round up the final phase with a Pugna.
Final Lineups:
Team Empire: Clockwerk (Mag), Sand King (ALWAYSWANNAFLY), Invoker (Resolut1on), Shadow Demon (VANSKOR), Mirana (Silent)
00:45 - Batrider nearly takes a fall to a well placed arrow from the Mirana and harrassment from the Shadow Demon.
06:19 – First blood and a double kill to VANSKOR. A deward at the top rune allows VANSKOR to disrupt the Dragon Knight, allowing Resolut1on to dish out the damage. Batrider also falls.
08:38 – Chaos in the mid lane. Empire are on a roll taking out two more of EG’s heroes.
11:41 – A three man gank by Empire takes out EternalEnVy. Dragon Knight secures the first kill for EG with the Shadow Demon falling.
12:11 – Empire pushes the mid tier one. Dragon Knights falls once again, this time to the Sand King.
13:04 – EG denies the bottom tier one tower.
15:00 – Mid tier one tower falls to Empire. A great hookshot from Clockwerk sets up a good arrow to take down the Batrider.
16:30 – Empire takes out the top tier one tower but overextends losing the Mirana, Clockwerk and Shadow Demon.
18:00 – Dragon Knight falls again with a well placed hookshot, arrow and sunstrike.
19:18 – Empire takes out the bot tier two tower and lays siege to EG’s tier three.
20:12 – EG can’t catch a break. They lose both the Dazzle and Batrider. Empire takes out the top tier two tower.
21:39 – Both teams trade one for one at Empire’s tier two bot tower. Empire lose the Sand King while EG lose the Dragon Knight once again.
24:00 – Empire takes out the tier three bot tower of EG. Batrider pulls in the Invoker and pops the Aegis. Mirana takes out the Dragon Knight. EG loses the range barracks but takes out the Sand King and the Mirana.
29:00 – Pugna picks up his Black King Bar. Dragon Knight is struggling to get his up and running.
30:00 – A nice jump in by Batrider catches out the Mirana. Two heroes fall for Empire. EG are in pursuit before settling in the jungle and farming it up.
32:34 – Empire lay siege to the mid tier three tower leaving only 300 hit points on the tower.
33:34 – EG attempt to take down Roshan but back off quickly as Empire rushes towards the pit.
35:00 – Empire takes down Roshan and forces out two Black King Bars from EG despite Sand King hitting thin air with his epicenter.
35:48 – Pugna’s wards are helping a lot with EG’s defense. Empire lose the Aegis and the Shadow Demon. Sand King is caught out by the Batrider as he was attempting to teleport back.
40:24 – Big team fight at EG’s middle barracks. Empire lose three heroes and Visage scores a double kill earning enough gold to pick up his Assault Cuirass.
43:00 – A push down the middle lane by EG proves costly as they are pummeled by Invoker and the epicenter from Sand King. EG lose four heroes.
44:00 – Empire takes out the final melee barracks on the top lane before Visage scores an ultra kill as consolidation.
46:13 – EG mounts a final assault on Empire’s middle lane before losing Dazzle, Visage and Dragon Knight. Game one goes to Empire as the mega creeps push takes out the final towers to secure the GG.
GAME 2
With only one game away from exiting the series, EG decide to once again place their faith in the Dragon Knight pickup despite performing poorly in the last game. EG stole the Shadow Demon away from Empire and added both the safe lane Luna and an offlane Puck. Empire picked up the Invoker once again and managed to snag the Centaur and the Dazzle as well as a Morphling and a Bane to round things off.
First blood came to EG this time around despite the Shadow Demon smoke in clear range of an Empire Observer Ward, catching out the Morphling before the Leech Seeds from the Treant Protector and Breath Fire from the Dragon Knight secured the kill. Thing began looking up for EG as they smoked up towards the middle lane and secure two kills on the Puck and Bane. EG then pushed and quickly melted down the bottom tier one tower thanks to the damage coming out from both Luna and Dragon Knight. The first big engagement occured in EG's bottom tier one tower with both sides trading support kills as Empire tower dived with four heroes to kill the Treant Protector. EG kindly responded with a well placed Dream Coil catching out two of the retreating Empire heroes.
EG then began what Empire did in the first game, melting down both the tier two tower at top lane and the middle tower. Another big teamfight at Empire's doorstep in the middle lane saw Empire lose four heroes from another well placed Puck Dream Coil and an Eclipse from the Luna melting away hero after hero. Despite this, Empire somehow managed to hold onto their barracks. The final straw in the bag was drawn as a failed smoke gank by Empire allowed the Treant Protector to root four of Empire's lineup, creating space for Luna to once again use the Eclipse to melt away any chances that Empire has in securing the game. Empire called the gg as EG cleaned up the last of the towers before gifting Dragon Knight with a well deserved ultra kill.
Draft:
Empire bans out the Naga Siren and Ember Spirit while EG bans Lycan and the Batrider. Empire takes the Dazzle and the Invoker and EG picks up the Treant Protector and Luna concluding the first phase.
Empire bans out the Outworld Destroyer and Dark seer while EG ban out the Doom and Sand King. EG picks up the Shadow Demon and Dragon Knight while Empire decides to secure the Bane and Centaur to round out the second phase.
EG bans out the Mirana and Empire chooses to ban out the Timbersaw and Dark Seer. EG’s final pick will be the Puck while Empire will settle with a Morphling to round out the final phase.
01:08 – Dual mid lane for Empire with Dazzle supporting Morphling against Dragon Knight.
04:13 – First blood to EG on Morphling. Despite a smoke near an Empire observer ward, a disruption catches out Silent before nukes coming from Treant and Dragon Knight ensures the kill.
7:01 – Three man smoke towards Empire’s middle lane give EG two more kills on Puck and Bane. EG are off to a great start.
8:30 – Centaur picks up a haste rune harassing down the Shadow Demon before overstaying his welcome and giving his life away.
9:40 – Luna and Dragon Knight takes out the dire tier one bottom tower.
11:20 – First big engagement at the radiant tier one bottom tower. Four empire players dives and takes out the Treant Protector before EG sends in backup. Puck’s dream coil catches out two of EG’s heroes. A two for two trades on supports for both sides.
13:44 – Dragon Knight damages down the dire tier two top tower before successfully retreating away from the Bane, creating space for Luna to take out the tier two tower at bottom. Dragon Knight is working wonders here in this game for EG.
15:15 – EG takes out the mid tier two tower.
16:00 – Big teamfight at the tier three tower at Empire’s doorstep. A well placed dream coil followed by an Eclipse melts away four of Empire’s heroes. Empire still hang onto their barracks. EG looking a lot more coordinated this game.
18:30 – An attempted smoke gank by Empire is foiled by a well hidden Treant Protector who roots four of Empire’s heroes. Luna’s Eclipse once again makes mince meat of Empire’s lineup as three of them fall. EG loses the Puck and Dazzle in the fight. EG takes out both the middle barracks and pressures the bottom barracks before backing off.
21:00 – Final outer tower for Empire falls and EG also take out the tier three top.
21:30 – Final team fight in Empire’s base results in the Dragon Knight scoring an ultra kill. Empire call gg 22 minutes in and EG takes game two in this best of three.
GAME 3
With only one more game away to seal their date with DK, both teams adjusted their drafts with EG opting to go for the Templar Assassin and Crystal Maiden as well as the Shadow Demon while Empire once again secured the Invoker and Sand King with a surprise pickup of the Gyrocopter. First blood came to EG once again as Dark Seer was caught out by the Shadow Demon before taking a fall near the shop before Luna dished out the damage to secure the kill. Kills were traded left and right with Puck going down to an agressive Gyrocopter and Sand King in the top lane as Puck secured a revenge kill on the Sand King. Meanwhile in middle lane, Invoker survived an attempted gank and kills off the Templar Assassin near the tier one tower.
A three man smoke gank towards the bottom lane by the Gyrocopter, Sand King and Dark Seer destroyed both the Luna and Shadow Demon while Templar Assassin and Crystal Maiden took out the Invoker in a 2-1 trade favouring Empire. EternalEnVY decided to utilise his signature Luna build by opting for a Mask of Madness to speed up his attacks and movement speed. This proved to be quite fatal as another three man gank from Empire catches out the jungling Luna, melting her down.
With a Blink Dagger on the Sand King, Empire proceeded to knock down the tier two middle tower before picking off the Puck and fragile Crystal Maiden before securing the Aegis. A fight at the middle lane turning into EG's favour as the Shadow Poison stack took out the Gyrocopter before he could activate his Black King Bar. Empire loses four heroes and an Aegis in the engagement as EG cleaned up the house. Despite picking up a Monkey King Bar on the Templar Assassin to counter the Butterfly on the Gyrocopter, Empire kept on pushing the middle barracks. Both sides traded blows as the Sand King scored a double kill on the Templar Assassin and Puck forcing Luna and Templar Assassin to buyback into the game. Empire also lost two heroes in the engagement with the Invoker and Dark Seer buying back to quickly secure the second Aegis.
A well placed ward forced the Luna to activate her Black King Bar, allowing Empire to steam roll the middle barracks. One last big team fight resulted in mutiple buybacks from EG as Sand King and Invoker cleaned up the mess before EG threw in the white towel and called the gg. With this win, Empire takes the the series 2-1 and earns the right to challenge Team DK. EG will finish in third place and take home $24000 in prize money.
Draft:
Empire ban out the Naga Siren and Treant Protector while EG bans out the Lycan and Batrider. Empire takes Dazzle and Invoker once again while EG pick up the Shadow Demon and Luna to round out the first phase.
Empire bans out the Doom and Ember Spirit while EG cancels out the Doom and Spectre. EG takes the Puck and and Templar Assasin while Empire chooses the Sand King and Dark Seer to round out the second phase.
EG uses their final ban to get rid of the Mirana while Empire decides to take out the Wraith King. EG’s final pick is the Crystal Maiden while Empire decides to pick the Gyrocopter to round out the final phase.
Final Lineups:
Evil Geniuses: Crystal Maiden (ppd), Luna (EternalEnVy), Puck (Universe), Shadow Demon (Zai), Templar Assassin (babavsky)
Team Empire: Dark Seer (Mag), Invoker (Resolut1on), Sand King (ALWAYSWANNAFLY), Dazzle (VANSKOR), Gyrocopter (Silent)
Live Match Text:
00:50 – Eg smoke up towards the top lane but don’t catch any of Empire’s heroes there. Empire runs down the bottom lane before resuming their positions in the lanes.
2:23 – First blood to EG – Disruption on Dark Seer follow by auto attacks from Shadow Demon and Luna secure the kill despite Mag’s attempts to delay his death
3:05 – Puck goes down to Gyrocopter but secures a kill on the Sand King as both him and Gyrocopter dive the tier one tower.
3:49 – Invoker survives an attempted gank in middle and secures a much needed kill on the Templar Assassin thanks to the timely reinforcements from Empire.
8:38 – Dark Seer is only level 3 while Puck already has level 6. Mag is being shut out of the lane.
9:18 – Three man smoke gank on bottom lane by Sand King, Gyrocopter and Dark Seer blows up the Luna and Shadow Demon. EG counter with a two man gank on Invoker by Templar Assassin auto attacks and slows and Crystal Maiden’s frostbite.
13:30 – EternalEnVY picks up the Mask of Madness for Luna.
14:27 – Gyrocopter secures the tier one tower
15:16 – Three man gank in the radiant jungle by Empire catches out the Luna. The mask of madness only increasing the amount of damage taken by EternalEnVY.
16:41 – Sand King picks up his blink dagger.
17:17 – Empire takes out the middle tower before picking off the Puck and Crystal Maiden. The middle tier two tower for EG melts away quickly.
19:17 – Empire goes into the Rosh pit and secures the Aegis. Puck is caught out by the Sand King, further delaying his blink dagger. Crystal Maiden also takes a fall to Gyrocopter. Empire takes out the tier two tower at top lane. Empire is punishing EG hard for going double midas.
21:50 – Empire takes out the tier three tower in the middle lane. Gyrocopter takes a fall to five shadow poison stacks before he can activate his Black King Bar. EG cleans up the house as four heroes fall for Empire with Invoker dying twice.
24:39 – Puck is picked off once again by Gyrocopter, blowing his dream coil in an attempt to escape. Gyrocopter picks up his Butterfly but Templar Assassin counters with a Monkey King Bar.
28:00 – Empire goes for round two on the middle lane. Sand King lands a double kill on the Templar Assassin and Puck, forcing out a double buyback on Luna and Templar Assassin. Empire loses two heroes and both Dark Seer and Invoker buys back.
32:01 – Empire secure the Aegis. Gyrocopter picks up his Satanic. A well placed ward forces Luna to pop his Black King Bar. Empire takes down the middle barracks.
33:00 – A big team fight at the bottom barracks results in multiple buybacks from EG, Sand King picks up a double kill before Invoker cleans up house with an ultra kill. EG throw in the white towel and end their journey in StarSeries XI as Empire takes down the remaining barracks and towers. Empire takes the series 2-1 in a thrilling best of three showdown. EG is eliminated from the tournament and will finish in third place. Empire will move on to face the mighty chinese juggernaut, Team DK in a test of endurance later on today.
11:00 CEST/05:00 EDT/17:00 SGT: Empire vs Invictus Gaming (BO3)
15:00 CEST/09:00 EDT/21:00 SGT: Evil Geniuses vs Empire (BO3)
19:00 CEST/13:00 EDT/01:00 SGT: DK (+1) vs Empire (BO5)
Starladder StarSeries Season IX Final Standings
1st: $75,000~
2nd: $35,500~
3rd: Evil Geniuses - $24,000~
4th: Invictus Gaming - $13,800~
5th/6th: Alliance - $6,900~
5th/6th: Natus Vincere - $6,900~
7th/8th: RoX.KiS - $3,400~
7th/8th: MVP.Phoenix - $3,400~
Evil Geniuses - $24,000~
Invictus Gaming - $13,800~
Alliance - $6,900~
Natus Vincere - $6,900~
RoX.KiS - $3,400~
MVP.Phoenix - $3,400~