OG and Fnatic kicked off their Summit 5 campaigns strongly, with wins against FDL and DC respectively before facing off in a hard-fought series.
The Summit 5 kicked off on the 13th of July, with three series played during the day. FDL and DC were hoping that playing on American soil would give them a home-ground advantage. Sadly for them, this was not the case, as OG and Fnatic proved too strong for the American squads. OG also managed to edge out Fnatic in the series between the two sides. This drops FDL, DC, and Fnatic down into the Lower Bracket, whilst OG will await their next challenger in the Upper Bracket.
The first series of the day saw FDL take on OG. Both teams showed how they earned their place at the Summit 5, farming effectively and drafting well-rounded lineups. However, OG proved to be too strong for the American side, taking gold and experience leads in both games, and never letting go of them. OG won the series 2-0.
The second series saw DC take on Fnatic, which was perceived to be more evenly matched than FDL-OG. Fnatic dispelled this perception in game one, surprising DC with a relatively unconventional draft including both Shadow Demon and Nyx Assassin. Fnatic steadily built their advantage, before taking game one in just over 36 minutes. Game two was a more even affair, with DC drafting strong teamfighters in Phoenix, Puck, and Juggernaut. However, a disastrous fight at 32 minutes allowed Fnatic to break high-ground and take two lanes of barracks. DC could not come back from this deficit, and Fnatic took the series 2-0.
This saw Fnatic take on OG in the third series of the day. Game one started as a close affair, but Arner 'Miracle-' Barqawi‘s Tinker and Johan 'n0tail' Sundstein’s Terrorblade proved to be too much for Fnatic to handle as the game moved into the late-game stages. OG took a 1-0 lead. Game two was the first game in The Summit 5 that showed that comebacks are actually possible in Dota 2. OG got off to a hot start, thanks to Miracle-‘s Zeus outputting enough damage to shut down Fnatic’s line-up, but with Adam '343' Shah’s Shadow Demon creating glaive-throwing illusions of Yee Fung 'Mushi' Chai’s Luna, Fnatic equalized the gold values and took OG’s mid barracks by 40 minutes. OG called GG three minutes later, and the series was level at 1-1. In game three, OG showed the power of Legion Commander, with David 'MoonMeander' Tan using it to completely shut down Nai Zheng 'MidOne' Yeik’s Storm Spirit despite MidOne getting a good start in the laning phase. In addition, Miracle- showed the power of 9000 matchmaking points, dishing out incredible damage in fights with Tinker. This early domination allowed OG to seal the series 2-1.
This means that DC and FDL will face off in Round 1 of the lower bracket, with Fnatic awaiting a team from the other side of the pool in Round 2.
The schedule for The Summit 5 matches on the 14th of July is as follows:
19:00 CEST: Liquid vs Ad Finem
22:00 Na' Vi vs Wings at 22:00 CET
The winners of these two games will then face off at 01:00 CET
Stay tuned to GosuGamers for all of The Summit 5 action!
title and headline image source: BTS
