Photo courtesy of Perfect World
OpTic Gaming had a very positive day to kick off StarLadder ImbaTV Invitational S5 as they seized the top seed of Group A and secured a spot in the playoffs.
The first day of StarLadder ImbaTV Invitational S5 was a long and hard-fought one for Group A teams.
The only team in the top 8 of the DPC rankings —VGJ.Thunder took on Fly to the Moon, the newly formed CIS team that has been already making waves in the region. The CIS mix erupted into the tournament landscape with an impressive start, taking control of the first game and setting the tempo early on. Although they had lost their grip at least once, they were able to reclaim their stronghold rather quickly and hold a firm grasp on it to the end. VGJ.Thunder's rising reputation and placement in the rankings didn't come by accident and the Chinese team was quick to show Fly to the Moon that they were at the event for points. Outclassing and outdrafting Fly to the Moon in the next two matches, VGJ.Thunder closed out the series in their favor with a reverse sweep and relative ease.
Next on the agenda was OpTic Gaming going head to head with Team Kinguin. In a pre-interview with tournament organizers, Peter "ppd" Dager stated that besides VGJ.Thunder, Team Kinguin was one of the bigger threats or formidable opponents they were expecting to face. In the first match, the North American team were in full control and had outdrafted the Polish squad with a convincing victory. It looked as if OpTic were prepared for Kinguin and Kinguin would have to adjust their drafts slightly to get through OpTic's green wall. The second game was a roller coaster of peaks, dips, hairpin turns and twists. Constantly back and forth, Team Kinguin's perseverance and tenacity paid off in the end as they eventually took the victory to tie up the series. In the third game, Kinguin was struggling to find answers to OpTic throughout the entire game and were never able to find their footing. Relatively quickly, OpTic closed out the game and series with the victory to move ahead into the winner's series.
VGJ.Thunder and OpTic Gaming started out the winner series in a heavily one-sided match in favor of the North Americans as they outdrafted VGJ.Thunder. The Broodmother pick seemed to really dictate the game and the outcome as OpTic took the first game advantage. The second match the draft was much more evenly balanced between the two teams. VGJ.Thunder seemed to be all over the place, not quite as in form as was expected. OpTic had good control and ideas on their execution and VGJ.Thunder once again couldn't seem to get a grasp on the match.
OpTic Gaming's victory not only secured them a spot in the playoffs, but also some DPC points as a top 4 finish at the very least.
The rest of the teams will have a day off to prepare for the last matches of the group stage. Two teams will be eliminated from Group A on Saturday, April 14th.
The action will continue tomorrow as the teams in Group B begin their tournament battle.
SG Esports flights were canceled because of the Air France strike and have arrived late to the event. As a result, organizers swapped the start time of the Group B matches.
New schedule for Friday, 13th of April:
11:00 CEST – Fnatic vs. Na'Vi
14:00 CEST – SG Esports vs. Vega
17:00 CEST – WB final
Group B
The broadcast will be held on the following channels:
• RU: starladder1
• EN: dotastarladder_en
