ESTNN Esports Logo

Dota 2: StarLadder ImbaTV Kiev Minor – Day 2 Recap

| Tags: | Author
Dota 2: StarLadder ImbaTV Kiev Minor – Day 2 Recap

The last Minor of this DPC season started yesterday in the capital city of Ukraine. Since there will be no other Minor events until TI, this one is essential for those teams who have not yet secured their direct TI invite. After all, the top two teams here will be getting a direct invite for the EPICENTER Major.

There were some pretty exciting series yesterday where we saw a lot of action going on. However, the most interesting news was Matumbaman’s benching. You can read more about it by clicking HERE.

Alliance was the big winner yesterday since they managed to secure the top spot in Group A. Today's schedule was a little bit different, but nevertheless, the series was certainly worthwhile.

Group A

The first and in fact, the only game in Group A was the Losers’ Match. The South Americans and Winstrike Team gave it their all but the winner was only one – AVGSA.

Game one was everything we expected from teams of this caliber. There was tons of back-and-forth action, but neither team was able to gain a clear advantage.

As the game went on, AVGSA’s Chaos Knight was the strongest hero in the game. Their Lesrac did not have the best game, which meant that the SA team were pretty much with one real core. Their glimmer of hope to win the game was after CK got the Aegis. Unfortunately, AVGSA was unable to utilize it properly, which gave Winstrike the needed opportunity to seize the victory.

Being just one game from elimination, the South American team went into game two with only one goal – to win. It seems like they learned their lesson as they made far fewer mistakes than in game one. Despite the fact that Winstrike tried, their efforts were not enough and GG was called.

In game three, the CIS team pulled out their signature Morphing. However, he had to deal with AVGSA’s Ember Spirit, which was a tough task. Slowly but steadily, the South American took the lead and managed to keep it until the end.

After yet another fantastic team fight, they were able to secure the victory. This means that they will have to fight against EHOME tomorrow.

Group B

Team Sirius vs. NiP

The opening series in the second group of the event was between NiP and Team Sirius. In game one, the Chinese were able to take a small lead during the early stages, Since their Naga had a very good start, NiP had to play against the timer. Even though they had the needed heroes to deal with her, the entire Team Sirius line-up was just way too strong during the mid-game.

NiP were just unable to find any space on the map due to the aggression from Team Sirius.

The EU team had a glimmer of hope in the 28th minute after a very good team-fight for them. Unfortunately, it was just not enough because TS was just way too far ahead to be caught.

Being just one game away from defeat, NiP definitely stepped up their gameplay in the second game of the series. Unlike in game one, PPD got a very aggressive lineup which had a fairly easy laning stage. This gave them the needed momentum to slowly snowball out of control.

Having no way to deal with their enemies, the Chinese had no choice but to prepare themselves for the third decisive game.

Both teams started the third game of this amazing series very well. They were neck to neck during the first 50 minutes of the game; however, neither was able to deliver their knock out punch.

Although the draft of Team Sirius was suited better for the late game, Ninjas in Pyjamas won a critical team fight which was the last nail in the coffin for the Chinese team.

PPD’s team will play against Mineski tomorrow in the Winners’ Match.

Mineski vs. Complexity

The final series of this incredible day was yet again another three games massacre.

Game one started very well for the NA team, and they’ve managed to keep their advantage to the end. Mineski tried to smoke several times in an attempt to catch their enemies off-guard. Unfortunately for them, they were unsuccessful.

With their backs against the wall, the SEA powerhouse was able to bounce back in the second game. The main star of the show was Templar Assassin, a hero who is proven to be nearly unstoppable when she has a good start.

The NA team had a few chances, especially after Ursa was able to get a couple of kills. However, Mineski’s cores became just too strong to deal with at one point. Having no way to counter them, CoL had no other choice but to call it in and prepare for the final game of the day.

Game three had a perfect start for Limmp and Co. as they had a comfortable lead just 10-minutes in. What’s more, they continue to dominate, even as the game progressed. Regardless of all their efforts, a failed high-ground push resulted in a deadly counterattack by Mineski. They quickly recovered from the 10k+ deficit and were able to bounce back and ultimately – win the game.

Conclusion

Tomorrow is the final day of the Group Stage. If you missed any of the action, check out highlights from day one HERE.

Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest esports news.

Dota 2: StarLadder ImbaTV Kiev Minor – Day 2 Recap
Zlosterr
Zlosterr has been a fan of esports for many years and mainly focuses on Dota 2. He has more than five years of experience writing Dota 2 content for numerous platforms. Besides being a passionate fan of the game, he's also played for various amateur teams.