The first day in the CIS and EU regional qualifiers of the Kiev Major closes with amazing news for the Alliance fans and not so good for the Na’Vi ones.
Long time rivals, Na’Vi and Alliance are fighting in different regions for a change. Despite having an international roster with three players belonging to the European region, Natus Vincere was invited by Valve to play in the CIS competition as their support Roman 'rmN-' Paley has in fact dual citizenship, Russian and German. The separation of the two teams will not give us the satisfaction of watching the El Clasico at this Major unless both of them qualify from their respective regions, and after the first day of the qualifier group stage, it seems like only one has all the chances to make it to Kiev.
Alliance finished the day tied with Team Secret and B)ears for the EU group leadership, all three teams having five matches played and four victories. The TI3 Champions have struggled lately, failing to qualify Dota Pit Season 5, StarLadder StarSeries Season 3, and most recently to DAC. Taking also into consideration their third place finish from WESG, a tournament where the competition was not the strongest, it’s understandable why many doubted Alliance’s chances at the only spot available for the Kiev Major main event via EU qualifiers.
In spite of all the statistics, the Swedes delivered a top notch performance by defeating the main favorites B)ears and Team Secret to contest the first place in the group. Keep in mind that, from the 10 teams fighting in the bo1 round robin group stage, only the top four will advance in the playoff double elimination bracket. After the first day, Alliance, Team Secret and B)ears are tied, each with four points, right behind them are Ninjas in Pyjamas with three victories in the four matches they played.
In the CIS region Natus Vincere is not doing well at all. They finished the first day with only one victory and four losses which places them bottom four in the group. The group leaders are Virtus Pro who did not drop a single match so far, followed by Team Spirit, Team Empire and Effect. However, the day one results in the CIS qualifiers are pretty tight and a lot can still happen in the second day of the group stage. Vega Squadron and FRIENDS, currently placed fifth and sixth respectively, still can contest one of the top four spots for the playoffs.
