The first day of Dreamhack Winter 2013 is over with Fnatic taking tough games off Alliance to go through to the winner bracket final. Na`Vi also had a rough time battling Team Liquid but the Ukrainians ultimately beat the Americans over a drawn out deciding game.
Playoffs bracket
Alliance vs Fnatic: Patience by Fnatic
Fnatic, having won both matches against Alliance in the group stage, was deemed the favorite by many. The opening match, however, did little to maintain that impression, as their line-up of early aggression fell completely flat. An early five-man gank went sour due to miscommunication and a faulty decision to dive behind the tier-one tower. As not only a result of personal blunders, but also of Alliance's excellent read on the situation, the game soon turned into the Swedes' favor, and they used their Chen, Visage as well as a Helm of Dominator on Gyrocopter to put the pressure onto Fnatic's base. The game ended after 27 minutes.
When the second game came around, things looked entirely different from the start. Despite the First Blood on n0tail's Bounty Hunter, the lane set-up allowed for Fnatic to shut down Anti-Mage's farm early on, trade more efficiently and transition more successfully into mid-game. With the help of three Hands of Midas' on their three core heroes, Alliance found themselves sieged for large chunks of the game. There was a glimmer of hope when Loda eventually picked up his delayed Battlefury, but to no avail as Fnatic's lead was way too big at that point. Overall, their general coordination was a lot better than the previous match, as patience and consideration took the game to a 42 minute gg.
Alliance's aggressive trilane allowed for them pick off an early tower kill, but this had little effect on the course of the game. Once again sporting a Hand of Midas on each of their core heroes, Fnatic played the game out similarly to the last one. H4nn1 traded in his Invoker for a Night Stalker this time around, a hero that, with an Aghanim's Scepter, proved himself to do well against any Batrider initiation S4 could throw at him. A stellar four-man Black Hole at the 31 minute mark by Fly allowed for his team to break the mid-lane Barracks, and the bottom ones shortly thereafter. It was once again due to Fnatic's patient style that the game lasted another 20 minutes until Alliance caved in.
Na'Vi vs Liquid: Experience pulls through
The second match of tonight saw an unconventional Mirana pick on Dendi, who soon enough displayed his prowess with on-point Arrows to catch early kills. Puppey's Enchantress was exemplary for a game in which rotation was the key for both teams. The captain of Na'Vi started in the enemy jungle, then found himself in his own safe lane until he ended up farming his Aghanim's Scepter on his lonesome. While the Ukrainians were never quite in danger, XBOCT had to prove his renowned aggressiveness in numerous clutch stand-offs, until the game ended in Na'Vi's favor after 31 minutes.
It was clear that the teams had to stay for a night shift early on in the second game. Na'Vi's lanes did not work out at all like they expected, resulting in Tidehunter and Gyrocopter changing lanes a few minutes into the game. While they did their best to hold onto their strengths, namely Dragon Knight's tower pushing potential, qojqva's Clinkz stood out as the main threat throughout Game 2. Trying to maintain map presence, Na'Vi pushed out on the map, despite an open bottom lane. After a comparably passive late game phase, Liquid ended the game by the 50 minute mark.
Seemingly unimpressed by qojqva's deciding Clinkz of the last game, Na'Vi let the hero pass through the draft for Liquid to take once again. This time, however, they picked heroes they themselves are more comfortable, and an entirely different match ensued. Dendi's Outworld Devourer, expectedly, shut down Bulba's Nyx Assassin in mid completely, and even though Liquid had a slight early game lead, the Ukrainians took over when the occasional bouts went in their favor. One poor trade for the North Americans, during which the Dire Tier 3 tower was lost in exchange for both Barracks in the mid lane, set the tone for the rest of the match. Having effectively won a team fight on their own turf, Liquid challenged Roshan, to which Na'Vi quickly responded with buybacks, forcing another battle which ultimately spelled doom for the former. 45 minutes lasted the last match of today.
What we did today?
Throughout the course of the first day, we posted a total of 112 pictures on our day one gallery, as well as two interviews with Sam 'Bulba' Sosale and Johan 'n0tail' Sundstein.
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