MDL Macau 2019 – Day 2 Highlights
| Tags: Dota 2
| Author Zlosterr
The second MDL Macau event started yesterday,and it features some of the best teams in the world, so ESTNN is here with the MDL Macau 2019 – Day 2 highlight recap! The interesting part is that there is another big event which is being played at the same time – ESL One Katowice. This is pretty strange because usually the tournaments never overlap. While the broadcasting staff is definitely a plus for ESL, the quality of the teams is undoubtedly in favour of MDL Macau.
Today is the last day of the Group Stage. Without further ado, let’s see what happened. If you have missed any of the action from yesterday, make sure to read our highlights from Day 1.
Recap
Virtus.Pro are just chilling while Newbee is giving it all out
One of the first games of the days turned out to be a victory for VP, whos performance yesterday was pretty questionable. Probably the main reason for that is the fact that MDL Macau is not a DPC event. This allows them to experiment a bit and have a somewhat laidback performance.
VP’s next opponent was iG, which finished yesterday with zero wins. The Chinese team started the day with a win against EG. This gave them the needed motivation which resulted in a second win, this time against VP. To be fair, they lost this game only because they were messing around. Even though they had mega creeps, they were just constantly doing 322 plays.
GG @newbeecn. We're playing @TeamLiquid next, stay tuned! #MDLMacau #GOGOVP pic.twitter.com/p1219lhus4
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) February 21, 2019
The next game for the CIS powerhouse was against NewBee. The Chinese are having a surprisingly good run so far. Despite that, they still lost their first game of the day against Liquid.
Sccc and his team-mates chose to go with a heavy pushing start vs VP. Having around 20k+ Net worth lead just 28 minutes in was a clear GG sign.
After the loss against Vici Gaming, Newbee had to win against IG if they wanted to finish in the upper part of the group. And they did. Awen’s Ursa Warrior was having the time of his life the entire game. Having around 18k advantage just 20 minutes into the game was a clear sign where this was heading.
Despite the fact that iG did their best, they still finish in the bottom four of the group. Now they have to win in yet another Bo1, however, this time the loser goes home.
Team Liquid still dominates
One of the most anticipated games of the group stage was between EG and Team Liquid. The two Dota titans are always a joy to watch and this was no exception. The game was full with tons of back-and-forth action. In the end, Team Liquid were able to wipe EG and secured two lanes of raxes. Shortly after that, Miracle’s PA delivered his knock-out punch after getting a Rampage.
Before this game, the European squad had a one hour battle against Newbee. As expected, Team Liquid managed to claim the victory.
The next challenge ahead of Liquid was VP. This was probably the first game where VP actually played seriously. Despite that, Miracle- was having his A-game again and gave little to no chance the CIS powerhouse.
The last stop of the day for Liquid is Vici Gaming. The Chinese started the same way as yesterday – with a loss, this time against RNG. To make up for it, Paparazzi and the rest of Vici dealt with Newbee in just 37 minutes.
Despite dropping our last game of the day, we will be heading in to the upper bracket as seed 1!
We'll be back tomorrow with the playoffs of #MDLMacau! #LetsGoLiquid
— Team Liquid (@TeamLiquid) February 21, 2019
The game between Vici and Liquid was probably one of the most interesting games of the day. The Chinese were trying to group and push towers together in the early stages of the game. Teams often do that against Ursa in order to secure Roshan. Even though neither of them was able to take a big advantage over the other, it was clear that one decisive fight will be enough to determine the winner. And In the end, after another crazy fight, Vici were able to claim the victory.
RNG continues to impress
The biggest surprise in this tournament has to be Royal Never Give Up. Monet and his team played very efficiently yesterday and managed to snatch a win off Liquid and VP. Today, they finish with two wins and one loss.
They started with a win over Vici Gaming. Having the momentum on their side, they also ripped through EHOME. The last challenge for the day was yet another Chinese team – Invictus Gaming, which have risen from the ashes after losing all their games yesterday. IG played a near flawless game. Their Lone Druid completely demolished RNG’s lineup, despite having that Magnus + PA combo. LD’s level 25 talent seems to be a little bit too broken right now.
Arteezy and his squad
The seeding has been finalized and EG Dota has finished 3rd in the group stage of MDL Macau. We will be facing off against @ViCi_Gaming in an upper bracket best-of-three tomorrow.
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) February 21, 2019
Surprisingly, Evil Geniuses lost their first game of the day vs iG. The same happened against Team Liquid, even though EG usually perform very well against them ( let’s not forget the 27-0 at the Bucharest Major one year ago).
Their last game in the Group Stage was vs the Bucharest Minor Champion – EHOME. The Chinese are struggling due to the absence of Faith_bian.
Despite not being a top meta pick, EG went with a Spectre, which turned out to be the right choice. EHOME had some glimmer of hope at one point but after a very messy fight, EG were able to claim the lead and kept it until the end.
They finish the day with a score of 1-2 but regardless of that, a spot for the Upper Bracket was secured.
Conclusion
Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Royal Never Give Up and Vici gaming are the teams that will be heading to the Upper Bracket of the event. The show continues tomorrow with Liquid vs RNG in the first series of the Upper Bracket. In case you want to watch the replays of any of the games, click HERE.
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