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Dota 29 years agoAndreas "drouks" St

The Summit 2 Day 4 - Semi Finals - Cloud9 takes down EG after thriller 3-2 final

In one of the most exciting matches of the tournament, Cloud9 managed to defeat their modern-day rivals Evil Geniuses in a thrilling five game final. With their victory, they have secured at least a second place finish in the tournament, and they will face either Secret Team or ViCi Gaming in tomorrow's grand finals.

The first Semi Final of The Summit 2 is over, and Cloud9 secured the first spot in the grand finals of the tournament. While Evil Geniuses fought hard and managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit, they were unable to stop Cloud9 in the shocking 70+ minute fifth game of the series. Cloud9 will find out their opponent after the second best-of-five series of the day between Secret Team and ViCi Gaming.

Prize Distribution : 

1st - TBD
2nd - TBD
3rd - TBD
4th - TBD
5th/6th - Europe Team Tinker - 3% of total prizepool
5th/6th - Peru Not Today - 3% of total prizepool


 

Evil Geniuses vs Cloud9 - 2:3

Game One

Cloud9 decided to use one of their favorite carries in 6.82, Antimage, in a semi four-protect-one lineup with core Venomancer and Legion Commander. EG responded with Storm Spirit and Puck for Arteezy and Fear respectively, and the rather unusual offlane/jungle Sven for Universe. Cloud9's aggressive laning proved much more effective during the earlier stages of the game, with EG being unable to control even their own jungle during the first 10 minutes. With Universe's Sven lacking the required protection to farm effectively, the Americans could not apply any pressure on EternalEnvy's Antimage. Being allowed to farm freely on his desire farming routes, EternalEnvy managed to have over 200 creep kills by minute 20, and Battle Fury, Manta Style and Vladimir's Offering in his inventory. With such a "beefy" carry on their side, Cloud9 trapped their opponent inside their base, eventually forcing the 'GG' by minute 25. 

Game Two 

For the second game of the series, EG used a nuke-based push strategy with core Jakiro, Nature's Prophet and Puck. Cloud9 deployed yet another four-protect-one strategy, built around EternalEnvy's Gyrocopter. The American squad knew they could not repeat the mistake of the first match, and they attempted to shut down the enemy carry. The first 10 minutes of the game were rather one-sided, with EG getting a 6-0 lead and two kills on EternalEnvy. Nevertheless, the situation changed when both bOne7 and FATA' completed their Blink Daggers. The extra mobilty was rather important, as C9 were able to take down both Fear's Puck and ppd's Dazzle before they have an effect in teamfights. A few successful engagement for the Dire, and EternalEnvy climbed the networth ranks and completed a 20-minute Monkey King Bar. Being unable to win a 5v5 teamfight, Evil Geniuses knew that their early game advantage belonged to the past, and they decided not to pursue a victory.

Game Three

Evil Geniuses decided to continue their experimentation, this time going for a variation of their usual Naga Siren mid strategy with Dazzle and Broodmother cores. C9, on the other hand, used the same strategy as their previous games, selecting Antimage once again for EternalEnvy. Unlike the second game, both teams started the battle on equal footing, with EG getting a gold and experience advantage due to Universe's lane domination. The continuous split-pushing attempts by EternalEnvy and FATA- were enough to keep the Americans busy, but Universe's pressure prevented any serious five-man push by the Dire. The space created by the spider allowed Arteezy to build a rather luxurious inventory, including the precious Diffusal Blade to counter Omniknight. With the clock ticking, the game turned into a farming race between EternalEnvy and the Universe-Arteezy duo. While everyone believed that the game was going to last for quite a while, a crucial mistake by Cloud9 completely changed the flow of the battle : Cloud9 chose not to use the safety of their highground to fend off EG's 37-minute push, but they fought in front of their middle tier-three tower. The result was a 4-0 victory by EG, and the quick destruction of both the barracks and C9's chances of winning the game.

Game Four 

Aiming to close the series without losing another game, Cloud9 opted for a teamfight-oriented lineup with Drow Ranger, Wex Invoker and Tidehunter cores. Evil Geniuses used one of their old and favorite strategies, a heavy deathball/push selection with Death Prophet, Jakiro and Venomancer as its cores. As expected by EG's setup, the Dire managed to get the upper hand in terms of pushing, but Cloud9's rotations were much more successful during the early game. The minimal experience and gold difference between the two teams resulted in a temporary balance during the early-mid game transition, which was utterly disrupted by a very bad fight by Cloud9 by minute 23. The unnecessary assault near the Roshan pit resulted in a 4-0 victory by EG, with the Americans using their strong pushing arsenal to destroy the middle barracks very quickly. Using their sudden advantage, EG attempted yet another fiveman push, this time at the bottom lane. With 28-minutes on the clock, Cloud9 made their last stand, but bOne7's Blink-Ravage was completely off-target. With their enemy's strongest weapon out of the way, EG destroyed the bottom barracks with ease, forcing the 'GG' by Cloud9.

Game Five

Another game, another four-protect-one strategy for Cloud9, with EternalEnvy's Faceless Void being the center of their lineup once again. EG selected a variation of their Game Three strategy, with Fear receiving the role of the damage dealer with his common selection Weaver. While Zai's four-position Batrider was used for initiation, most of the Americans' crowd control was based on the Vacuum - Ice Wall combo. For the first few minutes of the game, both teams traded blows continuously, Batrider proving very effective with his rotations even before his 14min Blink Dagger, using Universe's Surge and Ion Shell. Nevertheless, Cloud9's superior teamfight arsenal allowed them to apply more pressure on their opponent, preventing safe access to their jungle for over half an hour.

Cloud9's first attempt to destroy a set of barracks game by minute 42, with EternalEnvy taking down both Universe and Arteezy, allowing his team to take down the top melee barracks. However, several follow-up pushes through the same lane proved disastrous for Cloud9, as EG keep taking down Faceless Void before his time. The continuous failed raids Cloud9 helped both Arteezy's Naga and Fear's Weaver to build an expensive inventory, and the Americans even attempted to destroy their enemy's top barracks themselves by minute 60. However, using Aui_2000's Guardian Angel, Cloud9 not only defended their base, but they even managed to take down the retreating Fear, creating an opening for them to destroy EG's middle barracks as well.

With only their bottom buildings remaining, it was now or never for the American squad - they had to do something to stay alive in the race for victory. Their breakthrough did arrive by minute 65, with Cloud9 getting caught divided, resulting in a teamwipe. Rushing to the bottom lane, EG finally managed to breach their enemy's base, destroying every barrack but the middle melee one. One could say that it was all over for Cloud9, but EternalEnvy's gang had yet to say their final word. Cloud9's final teamfight was almost flawless, with Faceless Void catching a total of four heroes in his two Chronospheres. Only Fear and Zai remained to defend their Ancient, but it was too late - Cloud9 had done it, winning a 71-minute game and the ticket to the finals.

 


Headline image by Kelly Kline and ESL One (flickr)

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Andreas "drouks" StThere's really not much to say about Andreas 'drouks' Stavridakis, except that he sleeps two hours a day, plays the guitar and survives solely on Diet Coke. He also writes about DotA sometimes.

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