Photo courtesy of Perfect World
Virtus.pro refuse to be taken out of DAC 2018 as they overpower Vici Gaming and then outlast TNC Gaming.
Against a ticking clock, or rather back to back elimination series, Virtus.pro charged forward with precision and force. The CIS team continue to look like a genuine title contender despite falling to the lower brackets in the first round of the upper brackets. With a blistering statement of power and perseverance, the only team slated for TI8 so far dismantled their opponents.
Lower Bracket Round 2 (bo1)
Virtus.pro came in with the last pick of Broodmother which ended up being the source of Vici Gaming's fall. Unable to delay the aggressive push from the CIS team, the Chinese team quickly started to fall behind. VP was able to bury Vici Gaming with little threat. Despite Vici Gaming's improvements and Virtus.pro's early drop to the lower brackets at DAC 2018, the CIS powerhouse proved once again they were not to be counted out or dismissed.
TNC Predator has made impressive strides recently and it wasn't more noticeable than when they were able to take down Team Liquid after coming in from behind. With excellent team fight control and coordination as well as an onslaught of magic damage, TNC's victory has turned plenty of heads and captivated not only the locals but fans around the world.
Lower Bracket Round 3 (bo3)
The first game of the best-of-three lower brackets was never really in question for TNC. The SEA team was methodical in their execution, chocking out Virtus.pro, playing around with their vision, keeping great farming efficiency and punishing the CIS team at every chance they could get. Their impressive performance helped TNC establish a huge lead which Virtus.pro was unable to play behind from to catch up.
Virtus.pro came out of the gate swinging in the second match as their tournament lives were on the line. Great teamplay and coordination gave them an early lead in the laning phase. Setting the pace from the start, Virtus.pro forced TNC to play at their tempo and match the level of aggression —but the CIS team picked up too much steam and ran all over the SEA team. This time TNC was not able to come from behind and bridge the massive gap between the two teams.
The last game of the series was an all-out slugfest with both teams trying to gain the upper hand and momentum. It was a really close match up until a Roshan fight around 23 minutes in for one team, VP, to take a clear lead. TNC refused to give up the fight and played their hearts out at every move. Unfortunately for the SEA team, it wasn't enough in the end and VP secured the victory and the series with a reverse sweep.
The playoff action will resume tomorrow, April 7th at 10:00 local time/04:00 CEST with the Lower Bracket Finals between LGD Gaming and Virtus.pro.
