ROUND OF 16
The competition starts now: most of the major teams made it to the playoffs. LGD.sGty, last year's SMM Champion defeats Thailand's top team Trust. EHOME defeats their fellow countrymen DK while Nv.MY also defeats their Malaysian peers Ftz. IG.Inc.Ice, formerly known as xlo and who finished 5th last SMM, wins over Indonesian AlienwareDG. An amazing performance by Axis from Thailand who defeated Singapore's powerhouse XtC. Starsboba shows a strong performance as usual, winning over Singaporean Scythe. Nirvana.cn avances confidently to the quater finals, beating Ritter also known as MK from Indonesia. Yet another Chinese powerhouse advances into the winner's bracket quater finals, in the name of Deity, by defeating Mineski Grounds, one of the contending champions in Philippines.
QUATER FINALS
The matches are provided for you here for your convenience. Heroes picks are provided and you can download the replay at the bottom of each table.
LGD.sGty vs EHOME (RR)
 LGD.sGty | EHOME |
| Lanes | |
Sentinel LGD.830.sGty (Top)  LGD.YYF.sGty (Bot)  LGD.ch~.sGty (Bot)  LGD.beNz.sGty (Bot)  LGD.ZSMJ.sGty (Mid) | Scourge EH.GIGABYTE.820 (Bot)  EH.GIGABYTE.357 (Bot)  EH.GIGABYTE.AAA (Top)  EH.GIGABYTE.J (Bot)  EH.GIGABYTE.X!! (Mid) |
Ratings: 9.6 (331 votes)
GameMode: -cm
Length: 76:45 Minutes
Winner: EHOME
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IG-Inc-Ice vs Nirvana.My
 IG-Inc-Ice | Nirvana.my |
| Lanes | |
Sentinel IG`iNc.Ice-zUki (Top)  IG`iNc.Ice-Koy (Bot) IG`iNc.Ice-NiCx (Mid) IG`iNc.Ice-Bboy (Top) IG`iNc.Ice-WeNz (Top) | Scourge Nv.GIGABYTE.Hy (Mid)  Nv.GIGABYTE.xT (Top)  Nv.GIGABYTE.yMt (Top) Nv.GIGABYTE.Net (Top) Nv.GIGABYTE.Ice (Top) |
Ratings: 8.2 (10 votes)
GameMode: -cm
Length: 73:44 Minutes
Winner: Nirvana.My
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Starsboba vs Axis
 Starsboba |  Axis.Gigabyte |
| Lanes | |
Sentinel SB.Gigabyte|SS (Bot)  SB.Gigabyte|Ar (Top)  SB.Gigabyte|MQ (Mid)  SB.Gigabyte|DV (Top) SB.Gigabyte|^o^ (Top) | Scourge Ax.GIGABYTE.14 (Top) Ax.GIGABYTE.mMm (Jungle) Ax.GIGABYTE.Min (Bot) Ax.GIGABYTE.MRZ (Top) Ax.GIGABYTE.Ddm (Mid) |
Ratings: 8.8 (8 votes)
GameMode: -ap
Length: 29:17 Minutes
Winner: Starsboba
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Nirvana.Cn vs Deity
| Deity | Nirvana.cn |
| Lanes | |
Sentinel Deity.longdd (Top) Deity.ZippO (Bot) Deity.ChuaN (Top) Deity.186 (Top)  Deity.ferrari (Mid) | Scourge Nv.Cherry.YS (Mid)  Nv.Cherry.HY (Bot) Nv.Cherry.ZS (Top) Nv.Cherry.InsCe (Top) Nv.Cherry.Dgc (Jungle) |
Ratings: 8.3 (3 votes)
GameMode: -cm
Length: 33:19 Minutes
Winner: Nirvana.Cn
SEMI FINALS
EHOME vs Nv.My
| Winner Bracket - Semis Finals | |
| Nirvana.my | EHOME |
| Lanes | |
Sentinel Nv.GIGABYTE.Hy (Mid) Nv.GIGABYTE.Net (Bot)  Nv.GIGABYTE.yMt (Bot)  Nv.GIGABYTE.xT (Top) Nv.GIGABYTE.Ice (Bot) | Scourge EH.GIGABYTE.820 (Bot) EH.GIGABYTE.357 (Bot) EH.GIGABYTE.J (Top)  EH.GIGABYTE.AAA (Bot) EH.GIGABYTE.X!! (Mid) |
EHOME fighting away from their home town and today facing the crowd's favorite, Nirvana.Malaysia showed great confidence and strength during this game. Long gone the memories of WDC's early elimination or EHOME's previous lost in ESTC 2010 finals against Nv.My. The face-off they were looking against this team could not have been better granted to them than this one.
This game shows very interesting as well as intriguing picks for both teams: EHOME picks Alchemist, a hero that has been much praised for this version of DotA. In order to counter this, Nv.My picks two strong reliable tanks and carries in Ursa and Syllabear. This is quite an orthodox pick from Nv.My, opting for two big tanks whereas one usually would suffice in a normal game. I do believe that this kind of strategy has great potential against EHOME's Alchemist pick. Even more interesting is that EHOME also picks two heroes with great escape tools: Priestess of the Moon and Windrunner. The match starts out on very intriguing choices made by both teams.
The lane assignment is pretty standard with EHOME's alchemist and lion as solo heroes, while the soloes are Storm and Syllabear for Nv.My. Syllabear with his bear can keep up in lane much better than Ursa which needs assistance. Both teams tri-lane clash at bottom lane. Watch at 7:07 bottom lane; an impecable coordination by EHOME where lion shows no hesitation throwing finger of death. The timing of the teleports are perfect too from EHOME, for follow-ups and carrying on the gank on the rest of Nv.My's team. Some things to watch out is that EHOME's Vengeful Spirit starts to roam, leaving bot lane for PotM and WR to farm (their nuking spells help them to kill creeps decently). In doing so, VS has successfully saved lion from Storm's gank.
Now briefly analysing Alchemist, we can see that he has a soul ring, one that allows him to solve his mana problem (can even take abuse the item by claiming mana free mana whenever in need) and which works very well with his ultimate's high regeneration rate. At level 10, Alchemist has maxed out Goblin greed, with level four Acid spray, and counting one level for his ultimate. This means that his stun is only at level one, an interesting choice which makes sense for the strategy he or his team has in mind. Goblin greed for instance is an enormous economic advantage for early game and compounding til late game.
| Creep Scores | |
| Nirvana.My | EHOME |
| Sentinel Nv.GIGABYTE.yMt 60/1 Nv.GIGABYTE.xT 52/11 Nv.GIGABYTE.Hy 21/3 | Scourge EH.GIGABYTE.J 51/3 EH.GIGABYTE.X!! 66/20 EH.GIGABYTE.AAA 23/4 |
At 13:40, we can see a bit why EHOME opted for heroes with charming escape tools. Priestess of the Moon escapes Witch doctor's stun while Windrunner, even after being ice blocked by Maiden and disabled by Storm, manages to escape. However, with good teamwork from Nv.My, the latter manage to catch up theirs mistakes and successfully take down all three heroes, that is PotM, Lion, then Windrunner. Nevertheless we can see the potential of there heroes with convenient escape mechanisms.
Mid game, top, bottom and mid towers have successfully been pushed by EHOME while losing none to Nv.My. At the 20:40 min mark, Alchemist has already obtained radiance. The compounding effect of Goblin's greed plus the choice to max out Acid spray for farming has allow him to get enough gold for a vanguard and a radiance. That's when EHOME decides to speed up the game and try to finish it. First they take out Roshan, giving lion ageis; wise choice as lion is more likely to be targeted first during clashes and with ageis, that's twice the amount of disabling spells due to resurrection.
At 24:00, again we can observe excellent coordination from EHOME. Note X!! great performance with lion in landing his impale on more than two heroes. As a result Ursa, Maiden and Witch doctor are taken down. In my opinion, that clash cost Nirvana.My the game because this numerical advantage allowed EHOME to bring down two towers: tier two mid and base tower. Without their full team, it is hard to see how Nirvana.My can take down EHOME at this point. However EHOME destroys Nv.MY's base tower and retreats. Some last minute farm before the final push by EHOME: Lion gets its ghost scepter and Alchemist his cuirass. Finally EHOME pushes bottom and then the GG call. Seeing things objectively, it is not that the three bears tank strat against Alchemist didn't work, it is just that Nv.My never really had the chance to fully engage Alchemist all three at the same time. This was due to effective disablers like Lion, plus also note that during the last clash, Ursa, hadn't yet completed its Black King Bar and as a result got hexed. EHOME showed great coordination and sense of the game (knowing when to accelerate the game and when not) as proven in this match.
SB vs Nv.Cn
| Winner Bracket - Semis Final | |
| Starsboba | Nirvana.cn |
| Lanes | |
Sentinel SB.Gigabyte|SS (Top) SB.Gigabyte|Ar (Bot)  SB.Gigabyte|MQ (Bot) SB.Gigabyte|DV (Roaming) SB.Gigabyte.Ka (Mid) | Scourge Nv.Cherry.InsCe (Mid) Nv.Cherry.YS (Mid) Nv.Cherry.Dgc (Top) Nv.Cherry.ZS (Top)  Nv.Cherry.HY (Bot) |
Nirvana.Cn's momentum is impressive: the WDC champions keep imposing themselves in each match. This match is no different as they show experience and strength. Starsboba pick Broodmother, an effective main pusher and carry hero, along with nice Aeo's from Lich and Witch doctor bounce spells. Plus, they add MangaQ's Yunero and Windrunner to balance it out. Nirvana.cn also goes by their strengths: Shadowfiend for Yaphets, Vengeful spirit for Insence (to deny the enemy from countering Shadowfiend's ultimate), Crystal Maiden for her global mana aura (greatly benefitting SF and Doom).
From the start, you can see Nv.cn imposing its aggressive playstyle and applying wise judgments: top lane is dominated by Nirvana's heroes. Early Sentry wards on Crystal maiden gives Doom freedom to farm and practically stops Broodmother's kitting. Preventing Broodmother from getting a good start deals a blow to Starboba's strategy. On mid lane, with Nirvana's Vengeful spirit lurking between top and mid, SB's Windrunner tends to be more cautious, giving an advantage on farm and engagement to Yaphet's SF. However bottom lane is working out for SB's Yunero.
Instead of tier one tower being taken out by Broodmother, the opposite happens due to strong lane pushing by Nv.cn. Mid tower is also down and Yaphet's SF is already starting to roam around. An impressive double kill mid game by SF is worth watching for. As the game progresses, Broodmother dies a few times, leaving Yunero to handle all the pressure as main carry. Imo, going Headdress of Rejuvenation on Yunero early is not very effective. I understand that with his healing ward the regeneration works well with the spiders' army, but considering that Broodmother is having a hard time farming and carrying, opting for a more carry centered item for Yunero would have been better. At this point, with Nv.cn's heroes well farmed, it is hard for Broodmother to catch up.
Nirvana.cn hasn't lost a single tower and decides to Roshan. One of the turning point in the game is that at the same time, Starboba's broodmother send one spiderling towards Roshan's lair but the latter dies at the river, midway being out of time. That cost SB this valuable information and in turn gives roshan to Nv.cn. Clash of heroes afterwards gives advantage to Nv.cn (heroes' items influencing the outcome a lot), resulting in a base push bot then mid and GG is called. Nirvana.cn played remarkably well from the start countering Broodmother's pushing and carry potential, hence confidently imposing itself to advance in the Winners's bracket final.
LOSER BRACKETS
Quater Finals (LB)
So far, Deity, DK, Axis, AlienwareDG, IG.Inc.Ice, Scythe, LGD.sGty and Mineski Grounds made it to the LB quater finals. We saw the elimination of teams such as top team from Thailand, Trust who managed to win against Nv.Cn during recent WDC and top team XtC from Singapore.
Semi Finals (LB)
It looks like both Deity and LGD.sGty are coming back at full strength, aiming for the SMM title. Unfortunately, teams like IG.Inc.Ice, DK, Alienw.DG or Axis who had shown strong performances til now were eliminated. Mineski Grounds faced stronger opponents early on and could not impose themselves this time. From the Winner's bracket results,
Nirvana.My and Starsboba fell into the loser's bracket and as GG member Azarkon nicely pointed out: "Will their second chance earn them the victory they need to get them a shot at taking the crown from China, which now seem so securely in grasp? Or will LGD and Deity face off against each other and thereby secure all 4 top spots for China?"Stay tuned on GosuGamers as we bring you SGNDT 2010 official coverage for Day 3!
