The third season of DotA2 Champions League has just concluded, with Empire taking down Fnatic in the best-of-five Grand Final of the tournament. Empire will bring home $29,000, while Fnatic will have to settle for the $19,000 second place reward.
Another season of DotA2 Champions League has come to an end, and the crown will once again go to a team from Eastern Europe. Empire took on Fnatic in the best-of-five Grand Final and they managed to avenge themselves for their 2-0 defeat on Saturday. It took five games to determine the winner of the tournament, as both teams fought their opponent tooth and nail until the very end. Nonetheless, Empire's aggression came out in the end, with the Russians winning their first major competition in 2014.
Game One
Once again, Fnatic selected a line-up centered around Xcalibur's Tinker, aiming for massive single-target burst with reliable on-demand nukes. Empire seemed to be prepared, and decided to apply massive pressure on the Swedish player. Skywrath Mage's long range slow combined with Mag's early rotations crippled both Tinker and n0tail, helping Empire build a solid gold and experience advantage that increased every minute. With heavy items such as Orchid Malevolence in their inventory, Empire's cores went rampant against Fnatic, securing a very convincing victory for the Russians.
Game Two
Fnatic opted for a greedier hero roster for the second game, picking Tinker along with Brewmaster and Death Prophet as their cores. On the other hand, Empire opted for a teamfight oriented strategy based on a well-placed Chronosphere. Playing the Radiant side, Empire aimed to repeat what they achieved in the first battle of the series and heavily shut down Xcalibur and H4nn1, but this time Fnatic seemed more prepared. With Shadow Demon and Enchantress in their line-up, the Dire were able to provide the necessary helping hand to their cores, buying enough time for them to snowball out of control. With an Ethereal Blade and Dagon in his inventory by minute 25, Xcalibur was able to do what he does best - kill every hero that dares to show up on the map. From that point, it was just a matter of time until the 'GG' is called, with Fnatic winning their first game of the series.
Game Three
Empire entered the third game with a slight draft advantage, as the quick Io pick-up by Fnatic revealed the intended Io-Tiny combination. Empire decided to deploy Viper, Disruptor and Brewmaster, three heroes that work very well against the rock giant and his little round friend. This advantage started having an effect from the earlier stages of the game, as both Resolution and Silent managed to grab insane amounts of farm with minimal threat by Fnatic's protective supports. With three Blink Daggers and three Black King Bars in Empire's arsenal, they were able to win teamfight after teamfight, forcing Fnatic to surrender with around 30 minutes on the clock.
Game Four
Fnatic decided to repeat their previous strategy, with two major tweaks: 1) H4nn1 took control of the Tiny instead of Excalibur, who played Lone Druid. 2) The now dual-core lineup was backed up by Trixi's Clockwerk, aiming to create enough space for the two carries to farm. Trixi's impressive performance took Empire by surprise, as his well-timed rotations helped Fnatic build a solid gold and experience lead (Clockwerk participated in 18 out of 24 kills of his team). However, the strong teamfight capabilities of Empire's roster helped them come back into the game, with the Russians' successive victories helping Silent grab luxury items such as Daedalus and Monkey King Bar and turn into a killing machine. Luckily for Fnatic, Clinkz was the main source of physical damage for Empire, and picking him off allowed Tiny and Lone Druid to destroy buildings in seconds without much resistance. Thus, Fnatic's focus fire against Silent allowed them to take down the three sets of barracks, trapping Empire inside their own base against the dreaded megacreeps.
Game Five
For the final battle of the best-of-five series, Empire went for their safe and favorite strategy with Lycan and Mirana as cores, with Brewmaster and Lich providing the necessary utility for them to deal a lot of damage on heroes and towers. However, Fnatic decided to gamble and select Death Prophet for Xcalibur and Faceless Void for H4nn1, two heroes prone to early-game pressure. Empire decided to capitalize on their initial strength, and they managed to crush their opponent before they meet any significant resistance. Fnatic seemed completely lost during the entirety of the game, finding only three kills in 20 minutes. Empire roamed the map with confidence, giving zero chances of a comeback to Fnatic. The series ended with a massacre, reminiscent of Empire's dominance during the 6.80 period.
Headline image by SLTV.
