Dota 2: WePlay! Bukovel Minor – Day 1 Recap

We're breaking down all the action from the first day of the WePlay! Bukovel Minor.

Our first DPC event of 2020 kicked off and there was plenty of exciting Dota on our screens. If you missed the first day of action, we’re breaking it down for you, series by series.

Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Geek Fam

Our opening series saw Swedish team NiP go head to head against SEA up and comers, Geek Fam.

Game 1

Ninjas in Pyjamas looked a little shaky through the lanes of game one. But they pulled things together by the 15-minute mark, taking control of both the kills and the gold lead. It looked like they had the game in the bag after their rough start.
But as the timer ticked toward the 30-minute mark, things started to turn around for Geek Fam. They were coming back hard with a push mid that left NiP more than a little disorientated. While the Swedes tried to find their footing, Geek Fam pushed their advantage. Securing Rosh at 37-minutes and using the momentum to hit hard into the Ninjas base.

The SEA team took the first win at 39-minutes, despite being 4-kills behind.

Karl’s Huskar pick in this game did a lot of work in helping secure Geek Fam their victory, he provided plenty of tank and plenty of turn around. Even though his KDA wasn’t anything to write home about, he definitely was one of the winning factors in this game.

Game 2

NiP took first blood again for game two, and we saw plenty of aggression from them. The kills were 5–1 at 8-minutes. But Geek Fam were owning the farm, already establishing a 2k gold lead for themselves.

It didn’t take long for them to put that net worth advantage to good use either. By 18-minutes the kills were 8–14 and Geek Fam were pulling ahead.

There was nothing NiP could do to shut them down. By the time the game reached 30-minutes, Geek Fam’s gold lead had ballooned out to 19k. The boys from SEA were pushing down the mid, it was all over for Ninjas and Pyjamas.

At 35-minutes, Geek Fam took a second victory, securing themselves the first series of the day.

Again, we saw Karl really put in work for his team, and his KDA looked a lot more impressive this game; 18/1/6 on his Outworld Devourer.

Royal Never Give Up vs Team Spirit

Royal Never Give Up might not have the reputation of teams like Vici and LGD, but the boys from China showed why they’re a team to keep an eye on this season in their series against Team Spirit.

Game 1

Team Spirit opened our first game with a lot of aggression. They were leading the kills through the lanes, with board reading 2–5 at the 8-minute mark, but RNG had secured themselves the gold advantage.

Things really started to look shaky for Spirit the moment the lanes ended. By 15-minutes in it was 11–8 and RNG were 6k ahead in the net worth.

The CIS team did their best to stem the tide, but the onslaught from RNG was too powerful. Flyby’s Abaddon especially doing a lot of work for his team. He went 6/0/14 across this game. After 23-minutes of solid offense, Royal Never Give Up secured the game one victory. It was on to game two to see if Spirit could turn things around.

https://youtu.be/fkaXhdXBM_c

Game 2

We saw a slower start to the lanes in game 2. Setsu’s OD pick mid was proving to be a lot of trouble for Ergon’s Magnus. The score was 1–1 at 5-minutes with a 2k gold lead for RNG. Kills were still only 4–3 at 10-minutes in, but Monet’s Tiny was already farmed. He had built himself S&Y, treads and drums all by 14-minutes in and the Chinese team were already pushing Spirit’s mid high ground.

Three minutes later, it was all over, as RNG overtook Spirit’s base, closing out their second win at 17-minutes to take the series 2–0.

Fighting Pandas vs Nigma Esports

EternaLEnVy’s team have been looking stronger and stronger lately, and their three-game series against Nigma today was no exception.

Game 1

Fighting Panda’s took out first blood, but Nigma came into game one showing a lot of control. The kills were 2–8 at the 10-minute mark. It seemed like Nigma had FP’s number, holding their lead in the net worth and kills well into the mid game.

But as the game passed 30-minutes, things started to turn around. FP were closing the gap, and EternaLEnVy’s Drow Ranger was starting to cause problems for Nigma’s towers. The Pandas pushed into the mid high ground at 34-minutes. Despite their strong performance earlier in the game, Nigma just couldn’t hold them back.

Fighting Panda’s snatched the victory for game one at 37-minutes, with the final score 24–19.

Game 2

After their loss in game one, Nigma weren’t messing around for game two. The kills were flying fast through the lanes, and Miracle had already scored himself an Ultra Kill by 15-minutes.  The score was 9–24 with an 11k lead in the gold for Nigma.

The EU team was on fire as they out played the Pandas at every turn. By 18-minutes the kills were 10–31. As Nigma decimated FP to take game two in 23-minutes with a 29-kill lead; 10–39.

The series was equalized and we were heading to our first game three of the tournament.

Game 3

The pace was breakneck fast again as we pulled into game three. Nigma had an early advantage in the kills, leading by two at 6-minutes in. But Bryle’s Storm Spirit was top of the CS and he was looking scary already. The kills were 7–7 at 12-minutes in.

Nigma had a slight gold lead as our game approached the mid-phase, but it was starting to swing toward the Fighting Panda’s. The score was 19–16 at 28-minutes when FP secured the aegis for Bryle. They made a push straight for the mid high ground, taking out the T3 and the ranged rax by 30-minutes.

Bryle ate GH’s Winter Wyvern I a single shot at 32-minutes, bringing the kills to 24–17. Then FP rolled back up mid to take the melee rax they had left behind. Although they had put on a strong showing through the early game, Nigma seemed to fall apart in the last minutes of this game.

At 34-minutes, Fighting Panda’s had taken over Nigma’s base. GG was called with FP taking the series 2–1.

Gambit Esports vs Furia Esports

It was a blink and you’ll miss it series between Gambit and Furia, with the CIS team showing why they deserve their reputation as a demon in the region.

Game One

Furia came in to game one with a cleaner draft on paper, but it was a slow start for both teams to begin with. We didn’t see our first kills hit the board until the 8-minute mark. The score was sitting at 1–1 at 10-minutes, both Gambit and Furia seemed to be playing things safe.
At the game pushed toward 20-minutes however, Gambit’s unorthodox draft started to come online.
Kills were 10–3 at 23-minutes and the CIS team were looking confident.

The last few minutes of this game were a bloodbath. Furia didn’t manage to score a single kill past this point. While Gambit had racked themselves up a 19-kill lead

At 31-minutes, and with a 25k gold lead over the South American team, Gambit took the win.

https://youtu.be/wYOAJDsoQoY

Game Two

If our first game had looked like a breeze for Gambit. Game two looked even easier. They took control straight from the start of the lanes, delivering a brutal 23-minute stomp to Furia. The SA team just couldn’t find their feet as Gambit snowballed to victory, with the final score 35–6.

The Ursa pick for dream’ was a joy to watch this game, as he rolled through Furia’s cores, going 15/1/7 by games end.

Furia were now facing-off against Nigma in the day’s elimination round.

Furia Esports vs Nigma Esports

Everything was on the line in our final series of the day, with one of these teams facing elimination.

Game One

Nigma took first blood in game one before the clock had even hit 30-seconds. The kills were 1–5 at the 4-minute mark thanks to the early aggression Nigma were bringing to the lanes. A nice rotation from Murdoc into mid to pickoff w33 helped Furia put another kill on the board. As the early game rolled on, Furia started to close the kill-gap. But Nigma had the net worth lead coming out of the lanes.

By the time the game hit 20-minutes, Nigma still only had a 1k gold advantage, and Furia were managing to keep up in the kills. The score was 15–16, and it looked like this game could go either way.

Mind Control’s decision to pick up Force Staff over building to a Pipe was a clever move in the mid game that helped Nigma turn the advantage their way.

The next big skirmish at 27-minutes ended up in Nigma’s favour. With the kills at 17–24, things were starting to look a lot more favourable for the EU team. They pushed for the top T3 tower while Furia were down, taking it by 28-minutes.

From here it was a straight march to the finish line for Nigma, who dominated over the next 20-minutes. Taking down Furia with a final score of 24–41 at 47-minutes.

Game Two

Furia were managing to keep up with Nigma’s pace during the laning phase. But Kuro and the boys were looking a lot more confident in this series than they had against Fighting Pandas earlier today.
The score was 6–6 at 12-minutes.

As the game crept out of its early phase, things were not looking good for Furia. As Nigma spent the next 10-minutes cutting them down at every turn. The final score was 9–23 at 22-minutes when Nigma closed out the game, and the series 0–2.

A rough end to the first day for Furia Esports, who leave the Minor without winning a single series.

Which brings us to our final standings for day one.

Day 1 of the #BukovelMinor is over, and we all need some sleep before the next one gets underway. Tomorrow, we will back with the preshow. 👀 pic.twitter.com/wiGfoIFB6T

— WePlay Esports #WeStandWithUkraine (@WePlay_Esports) January 9, 2020

Be sure to catch all the action from Bukovel live on Twitch, or stay tuned to ESTNN for daily recaps and the latest news from the Minor.