Fnatic 2-0 the always entertaining South Koreans, MVP Phoenix, and secure a guaranteed top four finish, possibly even more.
Game One
Fnatic seemed to have MVP.phx's number in game one of the elimination series. Draftwise, MVP went with their signature caveman DOTA strat, with four melee heroes looking to force engagements with the Malaysian squad. Fnatic however, were well studied, and banned out a number of signature Sun 'QO' Kim heroes which were crucial to the MVP strategy. Fnatic draftwise went with a magic damage heavy lineup, picking up a signature Sand King for Chong 'Ohaiyo' Xin Khoo, with a Tinker for Yee 'Mushi' Fung Chai and a Slark for Nai 'MidOne' Zheng Yeik to add to Fnatic's late game scaling.
In the laning phase of the game, MVP looked to be in a good position, with great pressure on Mushi's Tinker and Yongmin 'febby-dieu' Kim's Ogre sticking around with Noah 'MentalProtector' (MP) Pyo's Timbersaw. With additional pressure on MidOne's Slark, it would be on Ohaiyo's rotations with his Sand King to start the momentum for Fnatic, and with relatively unchecked farm, he would as he picked up his Blink Dagger in ten minutes. However, even with the pressure on Mushi as well, the veteran still found the farm he needed, picking up his Boots of Travel shortly after Ohaiyo's Blink.
As the game transitioned into the mid and late phase, Fnatic took control of the map, with Adam '343-Flyy' Shah's Bounty Hunter absolutely phenomenal with his rotations, scouting, and vision game. Fnatic took great fight after great fight, Djardel 'chrissy-Dj' Mampusti even going up toe-to-toe in networth to QO. With the less than stellar early game for MVP, the Koreans looked to five man and find the big engagement that would swing the momentum back in their favor as they constantly invaded Fnatic's jungle, their itemization geared for the five man fight. Fnatic however, stayed composed as Mushi simply split-pushed with his Tinker with MVP grouped up. MVP found a few small victories, taking a few picks here and there, but Fnatic's great late game lineup and huge lead proved too much to overcome and the South Koreans fell in game one.
Game Two
Learning from their mistakes in the previous game, MVP changed up their strategy, going with a much more balanced lineup, with great sustain and control for the late game. Fnatic went with a Medusa, but surprisingly without the Drow Ranger, instead going with some great early and midgame cores looking to make space for the late-game powerhouse.
The Malaysian squad absolutely dominated the laning phase, 343's rotations on Riki proving problematic for MVP as he and DJ secured MidOne's safelane Jug with a number of kills early on. However, all this time, MP's Sven got some great free farm, which in turn translated to great farm for Ohaiyo, as the rogue knight simply pushed the lane toward him. Without the kill potential in the safelane, the tanky Medusa mid, and the huge lead for MidOne in the safe, MVP looked to be in dire straits as the game transitioned into the later phases.
In the mid and lategame however, MVP seemed to be clawing their way back, Sang-don 'Forev' Lee finding some great Chronosphere pickoffs, an especially great one at 19 minutes with MVP taking three, an aegis, and a tier one tower. It was also Dooyoung 'DuBu' Kim's Oracle that proved crucial to MVP coming back, his sustain, and great False Promises constantly saving his teammates. As MP's Sven started to get out of control, and Fnatic pushed back at around 38 minutes, MVP tried to force a highground push but lost two of their cores in the process.
MVP answered back at 42 minutes as they took a courier, and an aegis off the back of a great Chrono from Forev. With the game going close to the hour long mark and all six cores almost slotted, both teams postured for a big engagement that would give them the game. MVP struck first, taking an aegis and cheese at 51 minutes but Fnatic countered brilliantly, taking the aegis and four with minimal loss. With Mushi's Dusa finally really starting to contribute with her Butterfly and Mjonlir, Fnatic sieged MVP's highground near the hour long mark and finally broke through, taking the game from the formidable South Koreans.
Just last year, Fnatic were eliminated in the first BO1 round and yet now, they look at a guaranteed top four finish and as well, a flawless record, dropping zero games since the main event started.
While we bid farewell to MVP.phx, there is no doubt in anyone's mind that South Korea is now a threat in the competitive scene, and the future will be interesting for the SEA region. Now the Malaysians look to face off against Digital Chaos in the lower bracket semi-final, the North American squad coming off their impressive performance against EHOME.
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