picture source: DotaPit
One day has passed since the Dueling Fates patch was released and Team Liquid seems that they are not shaken by any of the changes.
Their opening series at AMD SAPPHIRE Dota Pit was held against Immortals, a team known for their aggressiveness and ability to surprise.
Game One
Team Liquid focused on denying IMT some of their comfort picks. The first three bans of the draft went to Night Stalker, Winter Wyvern and Spirit Breaker, three heroes renowned for their ganking power. Arguably one of the biggest winners of the new patch, Bane was Liquid's first pick choice while Immortals opened the draft with a Mirana, who is pretty much mid lane material once again due to the three charges on her Leap ability.
As expected, Pyo "MP" No-a was impossible to be killed mid lane but at the same time Lasse Aukusti "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen was also doing just fine in terms of farm with his reworked Nethertoxin. The laning stage was disastrous for Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barqawi who had trouble surviving against IMT’s aggressive trilane top, so the mid game stage transition was in favor of the five Korean players who were all grouped mid lane securing an Ultra kill for Kim "QO" Seon-yeop’s Phantom Lancer at the 15 minute mark. However, a repelled high ground push, followed by three kills on the Immortals cores, opened the path to the high ground offense for Liquid who took down the first tier three tower and the melee barracks via the bottom lane at the 20 minute mark. From there on, the TI7 champions established their control over the game bit by bit, a secured Roshan 24 minutes into the game and the Aegis placed on Miracle had IMT again in troubles after they lost the tier three tower top lane as well.
Without shrines and two lanes exposed, IMT decided to smoke as five and surprise Liquid in their offense but the Europeans were smoked at the exact same time and the two teams bumped into each other in a last mid lane fight. Instant reactions from the captain Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi who Fiend's Gripped Mirana sealed the fate the teamfight and the game as a whole.
Game Two
Team Liquid returned to their computers for the second game of the series with a different tactic in mind and a very elusive lined up comprised of Puck, Slark, Earth Spirit and a Rubik for Kuro, while Immortals went with another illusion hero for QO, namely Terrorblade. They dropped the idea of an aggressive trilane and with Miracle coming to lane with a stack of 10 tangoes, Liquid had a dominant laning stage, taking the early lead and never losing their grip on the game. Twenty minutes in they were already taking down the first tier three tower, along with ranged barracks, only to close the game within the next 10 minutes in spite of an Aegis secured for QO at the 26 minute mark.
Team Liquid advanced into the upper bracket semifinals which are scheduled to commence shortly. Newbee are waiting for them for a TI7 rematch. Immortals will have a full day off, therefore a day more to adapt to the new patch.
