Invictus Gaming is the first team to reach the top four as they eliminated mousesports with the score of 2-1. Next up is the match between Vici Gaming and Fnatic.
Invictus Gaming sieged their way into the semifinals of the ESL One tournament held in Frankfurt, Germany. One of the tournament favorites to win the whole tournament, iG was pushed more than what people were expecting, but they came through in the end and defeated mousesports 2-1. There are not many rooms for error on this tournament which features eight Ti4 invited teams, as a series loss means being eliminated.
With the win, iG will be advancing into the semifinals wherein they will be fighting the winner of the Alliance-Cloud9 match. The next match is another Chinese-Europe battle, with Vici Gaming going up against Fnatic on another best-of-three.
1st - $80,000+
2nd - $40,000+
3rd-4th - $20,000+
5th-8th - 
mousesports - $10,000+
Invictus Gaming vs mousesports
Game One
Invictus Gaming had their usual mid-game pushing line-up which featured Lycan, Pugna and Shadow Shaman. Mousesports also managed to get their comfortable heroes, which includes aggressive heroes like Axe and the support duo of Shadow Demon and Leshrac. Mouz had the more favorable start, as the lone Axe by Pajkatt turned a three-man enemy gank into a first blood and double-kill for himself.
The European team followed-up with four of the match's next five kills, lead by the farm-leading Axe. However, iG's lineup started to click as Lycan and Pugna were able to find farm and levels. They bounced back, getting favorable team fights which had them claiming eight of the next nine kills - including an Ultra Kill for Mirana.
That was the beginning of mouz' downfall, and the game became sour for them after that. The graphs were sloping heavily towards the Chinese team, and they eventually overpowered the enemy in the bottom lane to force the GG and take game 1.
Game Two
iG, not surprisingly approached the second with another pushing line-up - this team with the core of Death Prophet, Razor and Shadow Shaman. Mouse chose a very potent offensive line-up which has nice combinations with includes the Nightmare-Sacred arrow and multiple slows. As the first game, they took the first blood again, this time with by landing a combo on the Razor pre-creeps spawn.
Mouz never relented with their pressure. Despite iG seemingly having the better early game fighting and pushing line-up, it was their enemy who was dominating. They made good advantage of the enemy heroes not having their necessary levels and core items yet, and their skill-based burst did wonders for the team. By the 20th minute, mouz already have a 17-kill, 10,000 gold and 12,000 experience advantage.
Despite a big lead, iG showed good effort on defending and making it hard for their enemy. The tipping point happened after a clutch nightmare by Bane on Tidehunter, opening up an opportunity for Ravage. That was the icing on the cake of the impressive game from MiSeRY, who finished 11-1-17 with his Bane. iG's Ferrari and YYF, on the other hand, had horrible games as they finished a combined 0-21 score.
Game Three
The Chinese team returned with what worked for them on the first game - Lycan, Pugna and Earthshaker. The European team got back with two important game two heroes - Tide and Ancient Apparition. The third game's start went for the other side this time, with iG finally getting a more favorable start as they took first blood mid after a smoke gank by Rubick and Earthshaker.
IG's pushing prowess was evident, easily taking the top tier-one just four minutes into a game. The game transitioned to an exciting back-and-forth battle, but iG was ultimately getting the better of them as they were breaking even on fights despite Lycan not joining the fights at all. With a Midas aiding him, he caught on with the farm despite playing the offlane position.
Having multiple Blink Daggers, Arcane Boots and Necronomicon 3s by the 20th minute, there was little that mouz can do on full-blown teamfights. Ember also went with a Vanguard, and he was just lacking on damage during their defense attempt. To make it worse for the European team, the Lich was also caught by an invisible Storm Spirit - making their defense effort fall very, very short.
Also check out our ESL One Coverage Page.
