Undying defeated 4Zoomers 2-0 to go atop the NA DPC League table. They look like strong contenders for qualifying for the second DPC Major.
Image: WePlay Esports
The North American Dota 2 scene is currently dominated by Evil Geniuses and Quincy Crew. Any teams that wish to make it to a DPC Major have to bring down one of these two teams, considering NA only has two spots available. The only two teams who have the caliber to take down the two behemoths of NA Dota 2 are Undying and 4Zoomers, which makes the game between them extremely important. The winner of their series naturally has a higher chance of finishing in the top two. Last season, Undying won 2-1, but the Zoomers got their revenge in BTS Pro Series 5, defeating Undying 3-1 in the grand finals. The two teams have built up a healthy rivalry, which made the game an intriguing one. Except the series turned out to be a little short of intriguing, as Undying won 2-0 without too much discomfort.
Undying vs 4Zoomers drafts (taken from Liquipedia)
In game 1, 4Zoomers picked a Drow Ranger with a Morphling, in reply to which Undying picked up a Phantom Assassin. PA isn’t one of the most common heroes to be seen now-a-days, but she fit the requirement perfectly, being able to get a jump onto the Drow, who prefers to stay in the back in fights. Undying’s plan worked perfectly – four heroes put pressure on objectives till PA got her Battlefury and BKB, after which she was unstoppable. The Zoomers had no chance in game 1, always playing on the backfoot.
In game 2, 4Zoomers did put up a much better fight, but eventually succumbed to the power of the Spectre and her new and improved Aghanim’s Scepter. Yes, you heard that right – Spectre’s Scepter upgrade is a thing to fear. Shadow Step, which is the single target Haunt ability Spectre gains from an Aghanim’s Scepter, has received insane buffs ever since its introduction in patch 7.22 to make it viable. It has gotten to a point now that Aghanim’s Scepter can be a regular core invent on the hero. Undying made use of it pretty well in combination with Puck’s ability to be anywhere on the map in a short amount of time (Shadow Step requires sight of the target), and beyond a point, 4Zoomers didn’t have any answers. With this win , Undying go to the top of the table with a 3-0 record. Undying’s games with Evil Geniuses or Quincy Crew haven’t been scheduled yet, meaning they will be taking place in the final two weeks of the league, making for an exciting finish.
In the Lower Division of NA, it is D2 Hustlers who have been grabbing all the headlines. They have 4-0 record, and are trying to emulate the same feat Simply TOOBASED achieved in Season 1 by going 7-0. The team has been experimenting a lot with drafts, but the most creative one is perhaps the position 4 Dragon Knight. They have used the strategy twice and won with it both times. If they keep doing it, maybe it will catch on with the other teams. Stranger things have happened in Dota 2!
