Both IAP and Virtus.pro were eliminated in the first round. In the following round, Alliance was able to upset by taking down Team Tinker. A dominating Secret Team preformance forces Evil Geniuses to the lower bracket finals.
Yesterday saw the conclusion to the groupstages, and following the tiebreakers, the winner's bracket semi-finals were played out. Team Secret domninated Team Tinker in two straight games and Natus Vincere was able to upset Evil Geniuses in the first game of their match with a Pudge pick.
Today, in the lower bracket, Cloud 9 took out Virtus.pro. Neither team was actually qualified for the event but were invited after Vici Gaming and Newbee dropped out. Following that match was the encounter between Alliance and IAP, where the Swedish team came out on top. Alliance continued their disciplined momentum into their match versus Tinker where successful laning gave them yet another victory, ensuring them at least top four. Joining them tomorrow is Cloud9, who ended Na`Vi's StarLadder run this time around.
What followed was the match between Evil Geniuses and Team Secret, a matchup which a lot of people have been looking forward to. Despite the recent successes of both teams, however, it was the first time both teams faced each other in an official match. Team Secret slugged it out against EG, and eventually, Secret emerged victorious, 2-0.
Cloud 9 opted for a very classic draft, including a Io+Chaos Knight combo and a Magnus mid. VP looked for something currently more popular but not less gank-heavy with a safelane farming Slark and a mid Legion Commander. A swift bottle and courier snipe by yol looked like a bleak beginning for C9, but the Europeans played the game out rather calm and collected, finding the right kills and coordinating ganks and teamfights without issues. VP was unable to be the dominant factor in the game and could only react to what C9 did, which eventually became the Russian team's downfall.
The South-East Asians matched Alliance's 4-protect-1 gameplan and picked a Naga Siren, whereas the Swedes relied on Loda's Anti Mage. The early game went into Alliance's favor and after slight hiccups the team made sure to secure Loda the maximum amount of farm. Being unable to match the amount of map control coming out of Alliance, IAP's Jay fell behind in farm quite significantly. Alliance pushed strategically, gradually breaching IAP's highground and bit by bit taking IAP's base apart, forcing out the gg.
After the rough first two games for Alliance in Kiev, they came back more organized and disciplined, which carried onwards in this game. Both teams tried to play around with the lanes to optimize the phase and Alliance arguably came out ahead. Apemother's Necrophos rushed Aghanim as his first item which massively paid off when they won a clash on the back of deleting Pajkatt's Viper for a while. SingSing's Ember was insanely underfarmed at this point and Tinker avoided fights a while to try to regain some map control and went for more of a "damage control" kind of style. After losing a battle at Roshan, Tinker managed to defend their barracks. Alliance maintained their control though, and a great game from Bulldog as well as the perhaps somewhat broken concept of Aghanim Necro eventually won the game. Tinker are eliminated and Alliance returns tomorrow.
Both teams drafted quite mobile, aggressive and controlling heroes with a general lack of an ultra-riser for both sides. The game went evenly at first, but once Cloud9 got their core levels and items up, they were able to instantly take down any of Na`Vi's heroes. After a bit of a slower mid game, Cloud9 took a third Roshan and used the Aegis and Cheese to wipe Na`Vi to get a grip of the game. Na`Vi itemized well to tank up their heroes but eventually XBOCT was caught out near Roshan, allowing Cloud9 to take the fourth Aegis + Cheese and push into Na`Vi's bottom lane where they killed off XBOCT's Slark again after he bought back. Just prior to the fight, Envy took out the courier carrying Funn1k's Shivas. Cloud9 finished Na`Vi off shortly after.
Team Secret vs. Evil Geniuses - 2:0
Game One
Secret drafted a somewhat greedy line-up with a supporting Elder Titan and an Anti-Mage. Thus, Universe's Batrider had free reign on his lane and was able to roam and rotate quite early, with much success. On the back of Universe's plays, EG was able to take the lead and together with Fear's exceptional farm, the North Americans found pick-off after pick-off. However, Secret was still able to coordinate properly in teamfights and was able to trade somewhat evenly. Together with clutch item pickups, the Europeans fought their way back into the game. Both teams fought back and forth, with a slight edge going towards Secret. They were able to protect Kuroky in the teamfights with Linken's Spheres and Force Staves, mitigating the amount of damage and disable EG brought to the table. After multiple won teamfights, Secret forced out a gg call.
Game Two
EG chose a rather unconventional line-up with a farming Lina and an - almost usual - offlane Ogre Magi. The early game worked out well for the North Americans, as Arteezy on his Dragon Knight got early kills and a good amount of farm. Secret, however, once more showed that they are a strong force in the midgame, taking multiple engagements and winning them. The Necrophos on Secret's side made sure to punish the North Americans even more, forcing Arteezy to sit on the sideline for quite some time. The BKB's and the pipe were too much to handle for EG as the only source of physical damage was Arteezy. Secret advanced to the grand finals, taking with them the 1-game advantage of the winner's bracket. EG, on the other hand, will go down to the loser's bracket, scheduled to face off against the winner of the C9-Alliance match.
Remaining matches
Saturday, October 25
10.00 CEST - Cloud9 vs VP (LB round 1, bo1)
11.45 CEST - Alliance vs IAP.XctN (LB round 1, bo1)
13.30 CEST - Alliance vs Tinker (LB round 2, bo1)
15.15 CEST - Cloud9 vs Na`Vi (LB round 2, bo1)
18.00 CEST - EG vs Secret (WB final, bo3)
Sunday, October 26
11.00 CET - Alliance vs Cloud9 (LB round 3, bo3)
15.00 CET - Lower Bracket, final, bo3
19.00 CET - Grand Final, bo5
The team from the winner bracket will start the grand final with a 1-0 advantage
Rotator image by Helena Kristiansson, found on ESL Flickr