picture courtesy of StarLadder
Mineski keep the SEA dream alive as they roll through Vici Gaming in a 2-0 sweep.
Day 3 at the StarLadder i-League Invitational Season 3 would be a day of eliminations. Four of the eight teams would be going home, whilst the remaining four would move into tomorrow’s playoffs. The first game of the day would see Mineski, representing the SEA region, going up against Vici Gaming, one of the Chinese teams in the tournament. Mineski almost had a favourable start to the event when they had an extremely good start in their opening match but by the end, they found themselves in the lower bracket and would be looking to keep the SEA dream alive in Kiev, Ukraine. Vici would be hoping to make up for their rather poor start to the tournament too and hoping to avoid elimination this early in the Minor.
Game One
While both teams opened up the game on a somewhat equal standing for the first five minutes, it was Mineski who drew first blood and continued to put their foot on the gas, taking a quick 3-0 lead within a minute of the first kill. But VG were quick to reply, tying up the scoreline in no time. By twelve minutes, VG had taken control of the game, undoing Mineski’s early game lead completely. The game continued at an even pace, with both teams finding good kills and claiming objective around the map.
As twenty five minutes approached, Mineski seemed to have found their footing once more, having the stronger team fight and finding the right kills to keep themselves in the lead. But as they worked towards a Roshan kill, they were caught by the Dire team and the game moved back to being fairly equal. The game swung back and forth for its duration, with the SEA team securing the next aegis at forty minutes.
After Mineski managed to take the tier three tower in the top lane, their opponents looked to make their way back into the game but the Radiant squad stood firm and ripped through four of the Dire’s squad. And with that, the game was over as Mineski destroyed the second lane of barracks and consequently forced the GG out of VG, securing game one.
Game Two
Vici Gaming managed to find an early first blood in this game as they dominated the very early laning stages and taking a 5-1 lead within the opening 5 minutes. But within the next five minutes, Mineski began to make their way back into the game, claiming valuable kills and securing some much needed farm too. Once again, both teams remained fairly even throughout the next ten minutes, keeping the scoreline close and the net worth in a similar manner.
By just over twenty minutes though, Mineski and especially Yee 'Mushi' Fung Chai on the Anti-Mage, were looking daunting and were pressing their advantage, securing objectives constantly. As Mineski marched into the Roshan pit, Vici attempted to contest, but the SEA team stood firm and ripped through the Dire line up and a few buybacks too securing the aegis and what seemed like the game at this point. With thirty five minutes passed, and no way left back into the game, Vici Gaming threw in the towel and accepted their elimination.
A poor performance from VG saw them get dominated by Mineski in a decisive fashion and with that, they will be eliminated from the StarLadder i-League Invitational Season 3. Mineski will be moving forward to face SG esports later today as they look to move forward in the event.
