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DotA13 years agoGosu "GosuGamers" Gamers

GGnet VS. MyM


Europe GGnet Denmark MyM
Bans
Omniknight Broodmother Prophet
Nerubian Weaver Batrider Windrunner
Ancient Apparition Lich
Enigma Anti-Mage
Picks
Earthshaker
ClockwerkSpectre
InvokerVengeful Spirit
Holy Knight
Shadow Priest Moon Rider
Warlock Witch Doctor
Sentinel
Shadow Priest rmN (Top)
Invoker KuroKy17 (Mid)
Moon Rider AZEN (Bot)
Vengeful Spirit Miracle (Jungle)
Earthshaker Kebap (Jungle)
Scourge
Spectre MYM.Razer.Missy (Top)
Warlock MYM.DeMoN (Mid)
Clockwerk MYM.Maelk (Bot)
Witch Doctor MYM.MaNia (Jungle)
Holy Knight PusHer-StrEet (Jungle)




Bans and Picks
First Ban Phase First Pick Phase
In the first ban phase, we see Kuroky ban Omni, Broodmother, and Prophet, with Maelk choosing to remove Weaver, Batrider, and Windrunner from the hero pool. Kuroky undoubtedly banned both Brood and Prophet as respect bans, after losing Game #1 to MyM with both of these heroes being pivitol to MyM's previous pushing strategy. The Omni ban is an interesting one, a great pick against any team of spellcasters, and also great when used in conjunction with initiating heroes like Spectre and Batrider. Most likely Omni was banned due to the fact that GGnet picked a very nuke heavy, spell-orientated lineup, with repel being a direct counter to that. The Weaver and Batrider bans are not unexpected, being two of the strongest solos in the current map version, Batrider favouring gang strats, which is what GGnet has been concentrating on, as of late, as well as being arguably the strongest solo hero in DotA at the moment. The Windrunner ban is a little surprising, but we all know MyM love their pushing strategies, and WR is a strong solo with strong anti-pushing abilities.The first pick phase begins with an Earthshaker first pick from Kuroky, something which may surprise some of you, with Clockwerk Goblin, Ancient Apparition and Invoker all still in the pool. Earthshaker is very good ganging hero, which suits GGnet's classical roaming style well - great both defensively when covering, as well as offensively, when making smoke gangs and blocking off enemy heroes. MyM then decide pick that Clockwerk Goblin that I mentioned before - with great laning ability, map presence, and ganking abilities. The Spectre pick implies that MyM plan to drag the game out with Spectre being arguably one of the best late game heroes in DotA at the moment, with her ability to simply tp (Haunt) into fights allowing her to farm a lot and doesnt require he to directly be in team battles unless called for. GGnet follow up with two strong picks, Invoker and Vengeful Spirit. Invoker is a definite favourite in this version, with his lane dominance ability, as well as his mid game effectiveness. He is commonly banned in the first ban phase, so GGnet does well to pick him up swiftly, considering he suits their gang orientated play. Vengeful Spirit is also a great pick due to his usefulness in both offence and defence. In response, MyM choose Holy Knight as their third pick. Generally, people associate this with a heavy push strat. I do not think this was the case in this game. I think MyM either wanted to put early tower pressure and map control on GGnet, or simply allow for their solos and carries to get as much experience as possible from the lane stages by dual jungling.
Second Ban Phase Second Pick Phase
The second ban phase begins with Kuroky removing Ancient Apparition from the pool, another extremely strong solo, with a very powerful ultimate, and strong skill if used in conjunction with multiple disables. At this stage in the draft, we can take note that MyM have 1 carry hero (Spectre) which will most likely be in a tri lane or dual lane (even though in our case he practically soloed), they also have 1 strong solo hero (Clockwerk Goblin) which will most likely solo the long/exchange lane and lastly they have 1 jungling support hero. This leaves MyM to choose potentially 1 more solo, and 1 more support, hence why Kuroky chooses to ban strong solo heroes in the second ban phase. After his Ancient Apparition ban, Maelk decides to remove Enigma, which is quite an interesting ban considering GGnet already had their 2 support heroes and their solo mid, so Maelk could have potentially assumed that GGnet might solo an enigma, either bot or top. The hero itself is amazing, with great pushing ability, a decent intermitent stun (not really considered as reliable as other disables - still useful though) as well as a strong ulti. Also, Enigma is relatively good against a Chen, if he can manage to make Eiledons out of some of Holy Knight's creeps. Following the Enigma ban, Kuroky decides to take out another solo, in the form of Lich. Lich is one of the most favoured solos in the current version, mainly due to the fact that he has the ability to deny his opposing solo or tri lane of a vast amount of experience, via Dark Ritual. He also has a great nuke and a strong ulti that can turn the tides in any team battle. Lastly, Maelk bans Anti-Mage, which is also a bit strange, however relatively viable considering he was probably planning on picking Warlock, which is relatively weak against AM. GGnet also hadn't picked their carry yet, which is another reason why Maelk may have chosen to take Anti-Mage out of the pool.
Kuroky begins the second pick phase with a Dazzle forth pick. This is an interesting pick, as GGnet already has their two support heroes, implying that they are planning on soloing Dazzle. This strategy has become prevalent (more common) in recent times, where teams rely on a "support-ish" hero to solo and farm up some base items (Jango,Urn,Mana Boots,Medalion,Mechanism, etc) as well as gain levels, so that when mid game comes along, they are a lot more useful than the average support hero - who would have had little to no experience and items. Maelk then follows with his forth pick, in the form of Warlock. We haven't seen much of Warlock in recent times, however he was buffed with the ability to aquire Aghanims if needed (creating two, slightly weaker Infernals - giving a similar effect that going refresher would give - the Infernals with slightly less power behind their punches). Warlock is also still very strong at pushing, and has a great heal - or damage over time spell (depending how you use it), an often underestimated slow, and Fatal Bonds which can also potentially do a lot of damage, if you manage to cast Fatal Bonds just before a huge team battle, the extra damagae is immense. Kuroky's fifth and final pick is that of Moon Rider. Luna is great as a passive solo or tri lane, with easy farming ability, and a nuke which - when used in gangs and team fights - can be fatal. Luna is also strong mid game, with excellent push, and counter push ability, with her two passive [insert names of passive] allowing for increased damage, and in bounces, getting rid of Chen's creeps swiftly. Maelk's last pick goes to Witch Doctor, however it really could have gone to any support with a disable, as this pick was mainly to either baby sit Spectre, or jungle with Chen.
Conclusion



In conclusion, GGnet's draft strikes me as a strong one, with spells that I personally feel are much stroner when disabling an oppising team, however MyM has excellent late game in the form of Spectre. Interesting that neither Lich or Ancient Apparition were considered early in the drafts, considering how powerful they are, only being banned in the second ban phase. Some strange bans by MyM as well, however they say "What we do not understand, we fear" and perhaps the banning from Maelk's perspective was merely a prerequisite to allow for their early to mid game passiveness, buying time for Spectre. If Venge and Earthshaker can do well early game, and buff the Luna to the point of where GGnet can simply steam roll over MyM before Spectre begins to get fat, then it should be in the bag. Also, Warlock and Clockwerk are going to decide the team fights, depending on who initiates, and how they initiate. If Clockwerk Goblin can hook in succesfully, and Warlock can cast that powerful Infernal on the majority of the Sentinel heroes, with Spec haunting in, they shouldn't have a problem with team fights. It's all going to come down to the initiation process, and how well the carries can be controlled early game.





The lanes
Top Lane Mid Lane Bot Lane

At top lane, Shadow Priest will face Spectre with Witch Doctor and Holy Knight and we can assume Witch Doctor will try to babysit Spectre, with Holy Knight jungling with perhaps the occasional gank. Spectre should have a relatively easy time versus Shadow Priest because of the fact that he has no escape mechanism, and as such, could potentially go boots first item, which is a common occurence in the trade off lane these days.

Mid lane, Warlock will face Invoker. MYM probably don't expect Warlock to win this lane, just survive it, getting a relatively decent amount of farm, because it is always going to be difficult soloing mid versus Invoker, no matter who your solo is.

At bot lane, Moon Rider, Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit will fight against Clockwerk Goblin. This lane is very similar to MYM's top lane, with Moon Rider hoping to get as much, if not more farm, than Spectre, with Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit probably wanting to gang between bot and mid lanes, using smoke to their advantage.



The Game
The Most Important Action



First blood comes in expected fashion. Just prior to the one minute mark, Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit use smoke in the Sentinel bush and circle around top rune's ramp, then moving on mid lane, surprising Warlock as Vengeful Spirit initiates the encounter with a magic missle, followed by a well-excuted fissure from Earthshaker, allowing Invoker to get an EMP off, thus taking first blood. There was not a lot Warlock could have done to avoid this.The next few minutes involve Holy Knight and Witch Doctor doing some bushing tactics, taking the more passive approach than that of Vengeful Spirit and EarthShaker. Obviously with the lack of a stun or heavy disable from Holy Knight, plus by the fact that Shadow Priest went boots first, makes it difficult for Scourge to gang top lane early. However Spectre is given the safety and security of a safe lane, with Scourge jungle being constantly patrolled. GGnet's Kebap and Miracle (ES and VS respectfully) decide to harass Clockwerk Goblin, also allowing Moon Rider to have about the same amount of freedom as Spectre. Scourge has a ward placed on bottom rune, thus giving Clockwerk Goblin (MYM.Maelk) some warning when the Vengeful Spirit and Earthshaker move around, potentially planning a gang. rmN (Shadow Priest) however, was not blessed with such a ward, and thus riverts to some impromptu tactics, occasionally using the flying courier to check if Holy Knight and Witch Doctor are close.

At around the 3 and a half minute mark, Clockwerk Goblin makes the mistake of venturing into the jungle with no vision, thus giving Vengeful Spirit and Earthshaker the chance to initiate on him, with Moon Rider swooping in, taking the kill after two swift Lucent Beams are shot in quick succesion at Clockwerk Goblin, after being cleverly lured out and disabled.Vengeful Spirit and Earthshaker then use another smoke, moving towards mid lane from bottom rune, and diving the tower, sucessfully raking in another kill just after the 4th minute. Smoke well spent!At the 5 and a half minute mark, Earthshaker initiates on Clockwerk Goblin, bot lane, with a very well placed fissure, blocking Clockwerk Goblin off, forcing him to face the full wrath of Moon Rider's Eclipse, giving Luna another kill.

At the 7 and a half minute mark, Vengful Spirit wanders down river, however unfortunately Warlock sees this and reacts quickly, casting both Shadow Word, as well as Rain of Chaos, with Spectre haunting Vengeful Spirit, as well as casting Spectral Dagger, a sure kill, as well as some extra experience for Spectre, who was already outleveling all other heroes,being the first to hit level 8. This was however, Scourge's first and only kill, which they then use as an opportunity to put on a bit of pressure mid lane, with an Enfernal being used to push, with Spectre, Witch Doctor and Holy Knight joining the party with Warlock. Invoker (KuroKy17) does well to keep them at bay, using tornado and EMP to great effect.GGnet does well to seize this opportunity to counter push, with the majority of Scourge pushing mid, Earthshaker and Shadow Priest join Moon Rider bot, and succesfully take MyM's first tier tower. Shadow Priest and Moon Rider also quickly jump on an unaware Clockwerk Goblin, and manage to claim Luna's third kill.



No wards on the map - Lone Druid ganked to death


Just before the 11 minute mark, a lot of actions occurs all at once. Witch Doctor casks Invoker and Earthshaker mid lane, succesfully allowing Warlock to ulti Invoke, following up by Holy Knight netting Invoker. At the same time however, Vengeful Spirit and Shadow Priest initiate on Spectre top lane, Spectre managers to Haunt just in time, and even takes the kill on Invoker mid lane, but unfortunately gets killed by a Lucent Beam from Moon Rider bottom lane, as he must have hoped he was safe to use reality there, as Clockwerk Goblin seemed to be lying in wait, covering him.The encounter mid allows for Scourge to take Sentinel's mid tower, thus leveling the tower count, and giving Spectre that extra gold, who now, 11 minutes into game, already has his Sacred Relic and is inching closer to his extremely early Radience. He makes a decision to hide the relic in base, thus giving Sentinel the impression that they are in fact in a better position than they really are,and in turn, lowering the amount of pressure they could, or should, be putting on Spectre. Who says DotA is without a bit of psychology?



As we head into the 12 minute mark, I think it is safe to say that we've headed out of early game, and swiftly into mid game. If we take a quick look at the scores, Moon Rider is doing well kill wise, with 4 kills under his belt, however has only managed to accumulate a creep score of 65/22, with Spectre having only that one kill, as well as 1 death under his(her?) belt. Spectre however does have a superior creep score,with 76/25. Invoker, being the less pressurized out of the two heroes that soloed mid lane, has a creep score of 53/9, compared to that of Warlock's 36/5. At this moment in time, with a tower down for both Scourge and Sentinel, I would say it is leaning slightly in GGnet's favour, however once Spec gets that Radience (which he so sneakily has hidden from view), it is going to quickly change in favour of MyM.AZEN (Moon Rider) goes on to ambush Clockwerk Goblin bot lane, as Clockwerk pushes a bit to far, Luna jumps out of the jungle, and manages to secure another kill at around the 13 minute mark, making it 5 in total. At the same time, the rest of Sentinel pushes Scourges top tower, and takes it without any defense from Scourge, MyM not wanting to force any unnercesary fights until Spectre manages to farm that Radience.GGnet's plan here, is to attempt to push top lane and potentially force a big fight, allowing Moon Rider to farm bottom lane. It is a form of a distraction which usually reaps huge rewards, in the form of using the push top as a tactical resource to create safe farm for the carry.




Big fight in the middle lane - big farm in the bottom lane. This is an example of a push being used as a tactical resource to create safe farm.


Just after the 14 minute mark, we see the Sacred Relic being transformed into the magically imbued Radience. This is an extremely quick radience, and will help Scourge in the team fights immensely. At the same time, GGnet pushes mid lane, with Vengeful Spirit swapping in Clockwerk Goblin - ironically sealing his own fate - with MyM reacting quickly and taking the kill on Vengeful Spirit, thus saving mid tower, but also giving Spec enough time to courier his Radience to him. This team fight was in actual fact very important for GGnet, as - if they had of won it - they could have taken mid tower and potentially roshed, taking the upper hand and raxing before Spectre got too out of hand. This was not the case however, and Spectre was not needed to Haunt to the team fight just yet.Sentinel do not know it, but with that fight, they are now looking at an uphill battle. They will need to try pick off a lone hero, and then try force a team fight by taking a tower or something, because with Spec and his Radience, with a Warlock's Infernal and a Clockwerk Goblin's hook, it is going to be very difficult to push.

Spectre does well to deny Scourge's first tier mid tower, very sneaky, well played though sir! Shortly after, a battle insues where Invoker runs past one of MyM's ward, where they now have vision of him, and he has no vision of them. Luna hurtles in and ulties,, however he is quickly taken care of by Spectre's images, with both Radience and Desolate crippling GGnet's team, both Invoker and Luna being taken out in quick succesion. Earthshaker, Vengeful Spirit and Dazzle unfortunately too far away from the wandering Invoker and Moon Rider. Earthshaker, for some unknown reason, decides to stun after the battle has disapated, making it known that he is in the area, and the whole of MyM dive Sentinel's bottom first tier tower, getting kills on both Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit. MyM then continue on this hot streak, and take Sentinel's bottom tower at the same time.


Believe or not, M5 will lose this battle, despite Black Hole and Echo Slam


After a bit of reconciliation, Sentinel decide to quickly move bot, and takes Scourge's second tier tower.GGnet then decide to make a move for Roshan, but without much vision, there's not a lot they can do. Clockwerk Goblin does well to hook in, with Warlock sending down his Infernal, and Spectre Haunting in. Luna does manage to get her ulti off, with her Black King Bar activated, however it really is not enough to deal with the damage of Spectre. Shadow Priest does well to get off a shallow grave on Invoker who then goes invis, however the immolation from Radience manages to take the kill. Moon Rider does manage to kill both Witch Doctor and Warlock, but at the cost of all of Sentinel, including himself, who gets finished off by Warlock, as Spectre chases Vengeful Spirit, completely annihalating GGnet.MyM then make a move for Roshan, with Holy Knights army of neutrals ready and willing to tank rosh for the team! As expected, Spectre takes the aegis, sealing GGnet's fate.At the 22nd minute mark, Spectre manages to pick off Vengeful Spirit, wandering in the woods, now with purge (diffusal blade) as well, making him practically unstopable.


[get screenie of es ulti here]
Just after 23 minutes in, Clockwerk manages to catch Moon Rider in his cogs and mini stun, Luna however wisely decides to activate Black King Bar and teleport back to base. Scourge slowly but surely seals the deal, pushing Sentinel's second tier bottom tower, and then making a move on mid. Warlock manages to cast his first Infernal, but unfortunately, due to EMP smacking him right in the face, he doesn't have enough mana to refresh and cast again. The damage is done though, as Spectre Haunts in and gets 3 quick kills, on Venge,Dazzle and Earthshaker, even managing to kill Moon Rider as well, after the fall of 2 of his comrades, the Warlock and Witch Doctor.

With little to no defense left, Scourge take Sentinels second tier mid tower.At the 27 minute mark, GGnet manages to pick off both Clockwerk Goblin, and Witch Doctor, with a good swap from Vengeful Spirit, and a nice block from Earhtshaker, proving that when Spectre isn't there, Scourge are pretty fragile.Sentinel plans to ambush the push bottom, without Holy Knight close by, however by this stage Spec is simply too fat, and Scourge manages to kill every single hero in a counter gang, with only Moon Rider left to defend the rax. Warlock and Clockwerk seem to mess around a bit, casting Infernals into the fountain, and after losing his aegis to the tower, with most of his team not around to help out, both Spectre and Clockwerk go down before the rax can be taken. Warlock manages to teleport out prior to the battle, but Witch Doctor is also chased down and killed. At 32 minutes in, Scourge makes a move towards Roshan, as would be expected after their last attempt at rax was cut unexpectedly short. GGnet tries to initiate on MyM, but without sight there isn't much they can do, and Earthshaker, Invoker, Shadow Priest and Moon Rider all go down, once again only in exchange for the weaker support on Scourge, Witch Doctor and Holy Knight. Warlock continues to enter Sentinels base, but obviously is attempting to jest, as he simply walks around in circles with his two Infernals, tempting Shadow Priest to TP in for the kill, with the support of Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit, while Spectre takes the last of Sentinel's towers, top second tier tower.

At 35 minutes into the game, MyM approach Sentinel's bottom rax, and with vision provided from their captain, Maelk, he then boldly decides to initiate in, with Spectre following, and oblivarating GGnet completely. The rax is then taken and the game finishes shortly thereafter.

Conclusion



Taking into consideration that GGnet were coming off some rather disappointing results as opposed to MYM’s excellent performances recently, not many were surprised when MYM took the first game, and more than likely planned to do the same in this game. GGnet's squad seemed to be lacking their usual finesse, with two of their stronger players now missing in action.


Surprising respect bans included both furion and broodmother, with GGnet perhaps slightly wary of Maelk and DeMoNs' ability with both of these heroes from the previous game. Your usual expected bans in the form of Weaver and Ancient Apparation were present as well.


GGnet tried to pull off an interesting strat with Dazzle and Luna and suprisingly, things were beginning to look up for them. Azen’s Moon Rider got a lot of farm and GGnet pushed some towers pretty fast, with a heavy amount of ganging between both bottom and middle lane. Unfortunately, Misery(the slayer!) took them off guard with a fast Radiance and turned the tides with his outstanding damage.

GGnet needed to either put tremendous pressure on Spectre early game, or buff Moon Rider and Invoker with gangs from the two support heroes, namely Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit. They chose the latter, and performed quite admirably early game, causing first blood mid lane, giving Invoker the slight advantage, and then killing Clockwerk Goblin bot lane, giving Moon Rider the kill as well as more lane dominance in a lane he was already controlling. Most of early game continues in the same fashion, with GGnet controlling the runes, and controlling middle and bottom lane, however Spectre is allowed to free farm for the majority of this time, with Shadow Priest getting little to no experience.

Spectre and Moon Rider farm at a similarly high rate, Spectre with a few creeps more than Moon Rider however Moon Rider with several kills, something Spectre doesn't have. Early game is extended for quite awhile, with Moon Rider and Spectre both quite content on farming with the safety and security their support are giving them, Earthshaker and Vengeful Spirit, and Witch Doctor and Holy Knight respectfully. Mid game is cut drastically short, as Spectre rushes a naked Radience (he buys the relic, and leaves it at base until he can afford the recipe, thus surprising GGnet) and takes control of the game, forcing GGnet to now rush to finish the game, attempting to push towers against a Warlock with an Infernal, and a Holy Knight with an army of creeps, a difficult feat in itself, and ultimately Spectre comes out on top, getting a lot of farm, but more importantly engaging in battles mid to late game at just the right time, using Radience and Desolate to their full effectiveness.

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