Fnatic is the first team to drop out of the playoffs, unfortunately losing all their games in Kiev. Natus Vincere will go up against Sigma International in the lower bracket final while Alliance - undefeated so far - await in the grand final after a spectacular performance today.
The second day started off with the round one Lower Bracket match between the less successful teams of yesterday - Fnatic and Natus Vincere. Defending champions Na`Vi were expected to step up since yesterday and deliver their signature comeback, which they also did today by playing much better and drafting more efficiently. However Fnatic's co-ordination was far from perfect; they took poor fights, underperformed in lane and did a few missplays individually. They lacked confidence and it is almost as if the "crippled" Fnatic who played over at D2L with Aui and DeMoN was a better team.
Alliance continued their rejuvenated path, with Loda as drafter, as they took out Sigma 2-0. The first game was quite the dominant performance by Alliance and so was the second one, in which they played a line-up completely without hero stuns, but due to great decisions and team synergy still managed to outplay the more team-fight oriented Sigma. It is the fourth 2013-season of StarLadder to have Alliance in the grand finals (out of four possible), proving that it is one of their strongest tournaments. In the press conference yesterday, Loda mentioned that Alliance have very high thoughts about StarLadder and it is one of their favourite events to attend.
Sigma International will get a second chance tomorrow as they face up yet again with Natus Vincere at 13.30 CET. The winners move on to play Alliance at 18.00 CET, a match in which Alliance will start 1-0 due to upper bracket advantage. The grand final will be a remake of today's upper finals or a new edition of el clasico - Na`Vi vs Alliance. Either way, it will be a worthy final.
Lower Bracket - Fnatic vs Natus Vincere
Na`Vi got a grip of the first game rather early on with successful rotations while avoiding unnecessary deaths themselves. In fact, they even found kills where they shouldn't have and survived where they were outnumbered. Kuroky got an early Aghanim with Visage, helping Na`Vi to control the map and control fights. Na`Vi transitioned the early blazing start into a cat-and-mouse game where Fnatic were always one step behind. Na`Vi showed a lot of confidence and Fnatic's strategy remained questionable. Na`Vi's day started a lot better today with them winning the first game.
The second game had Fnatic seemingly with more of a plan, however, questionable plays both individually and team-based had Na`Vi taking advantage early on, such as Trixi dying for no reason and Fnatic diving towers without having mana. While Na`Vi shaped up and adapted their drafts since yesterday, Fnatic did not and possibly seemed even weaker today which was very evident in game two. By taking the better engages, having the quicker reflexes and making the better decisions, Na`Vi outclassed Fnatic and took the second game as well.
>> Fnatic vs Na`Vi - drafts and VODs
The video below contains a summary of Na´Vi's impressive plays versus Fnatic.
Upper Bracket - Alliance vs Sigma International
The winner bracket final between Alliance and rising team Sigma International started off with an intense game one start where both teams ran 2-1-2 lanes. Alliance got the better outcome though, with s4 having a good time mid with Timbersaw versus FATA's Dragon Knight and multiple dives top shut down Sockshka's Gyro, causing the entire Swedish squad to get their levels and items quickly. When they got their early Mekansm on Viper, Alliance just spent the time forcing as five and despite Sigma showing a great mindset and persistance, they could not stop the train. Worth noting is a perfect Chain Frost from Lich in the early/mid game, only hitting heroes but still not bringing any heroes down besides Crystal Maiden who died just at the end of it.
Game two had Alliance picking with slight hubris - not picking one single stun or reliable slow. Instead they would have to make do with clutch plays and Chen finding the right creeps. Sigma had the better lock-downs and stuns but Alliance played a good early to mid game, with two kills on Roshan, utilizing their Dire-advantage. Sigma kept up though and were just slightly behind Alliance in networth through the mid game. Due to the nature of the heroes, Sigma wanted to take it late, avoiding fights while the second Aegis was online. Sigma could split push rather safely as there were no ways for Alliance to cancel Teleportations. But Alliance played very disciplined, slowly farming Hex on Bulldog and utilizing a quick initiation and their general tankiness to take down melee bottom barracks. To seal the deal Alliance took down FATA when he had his buyback on cooldown, only trading Bulldog's Timbersaw who was up shortly after due to having several Bloodstone charges. Without their most impactful hero, Sigma could not defend and had to more or less watch as Alliance took down their base and move on to the grand final.
>> Alliance vs Sigma.int - drafts and VODs
