ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Day 4 Highlights

All the action from the Lower Bracket at the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational.

It was another day of action today in Singapore as the first round of our Lower Bracket kicked off. There were quick stomps and drawn-out battles. If you missed out on any of it, we’re breaking it down for you, series by series.

Lower Bracket

Virtus.pro vs Natus Vincere

Virtus.pro had one or two shaky games during our Groups. But their performance against Na`Vi in our first Lower Bracket series of the tournament was nothing short of dominating.

Game 1

Game one had a bit of a back and forth start to it, with neither team really establishing a clear lead. But once things moved past the 10-minute mark, Virtus.pro were looking very confident. They took the lead in the gold at around 15-minutes in and kept on building it. They had a 6k net worth advantage at 25-minutes and the kills were 14–6.

Na`Vi just couldn’t manage to wrest control back from the bears, and VP kept stretching out that kill-lead. It was 21–8 at 33-minutes when they took down the mid rax.

Na`Vi just couldn’t seem to put any kills on the board or make any moves to snatch back the advantage. VP closed out game one at 43-minutes, with the final score 30–12.

Game 2

Na`Vi seemed ready to put up more of a fight in game two.  They had a slight gold lead coming out of the lanes and control of both outposts. But Virtus.pro had drafted themselves a fantastic line up which was hard to beat. No[o]ne treated us to some outstanding plays on his Puck pick, and it was a fantastic game for him overall. His KDA was 9/2/18 by the end of the match. While Epileptic K1d provided plenty of control on his Medusa.

But by the time the game reached 20-minutes, VP had taken control again with 3k gold advantage and a 9-kill lead. No[o]ne treated us to some outstanding plays on his Puck pick, and it was a fantastic game for him overall. His KDA was 9/2/18 by the end of the match.

Na`Vi just had no way to initiate any team fights, and with Epileptic K1d’s Medusa with Stone Gaze maxed out, everything they tried to bring against VP seemed ineffective. The kills were 18–5 at 27-minutes. Although they did manage to snag a couple of opportune pickoffs to bring the score to 21–8 by 37-minutes.

VP however, were in the Rosh pit. After securing the aegis on Medusa and the Cheese for Puck, they marched up the mid lane and unleashed on Na`Vi’s high ground.

Still, Na`Vi held out until the bitter end. The kills were 29–14 when Virtus.pro delivered the finishing blow at 49-minutes.

A clean 2–0 series for the bears, which will see them advance to the second round of the Lower Bracket.

Vici Gaming vs TNC Predator

It’s been a rough ride for TNC Predator in Singapore, and things only got rougher in their series today against Chinese giants, Vici Gaming.

Game 1

Vici came into game one with plenty of aggression, taking first blood and another two kills to bring the score to 3–0 before the 5-minute mark. By the time we moved out of the lanes, Vici had established a comfortable gold lead, and were dominating in the kills. TNC only had 5-kills on the board when the game hit 23-minutes. Things were looking very promising for Vici.

But it all started to look a little different after 32-minutes in. TNC turned a team fight to finally start closing that gap in the kills. By 40-minutes, the score was 23–19, and TNC.Predator had found their late game groove.

The rest of this game turned into a bloodbath, with kills coming out thick and fast in the team fights. It was 26–25 at 50-minutes, with a 23k gold lead for TNC. Vici tried to find a way to come back, pushing for the Rosh and securing the aegis on Eurus at the 51-minute mark. But TNC had held out long enough to give their cores the advantage.

TNC.Predator took game one just before the clock hit the 65-minute mark.

Game 2

After the gruelling slog of game one, game two seemed like it was over before it began.

We saw a very strong opening from Vici Gaming again, and much like our first game they were slaughtering TNC through the early game. The kills were 22–7 at 19-minutes.

Of course, Eurus and his Morphling pick were a big problem to deal with. But Vici just seemed to have more synergy this game.

Ori’s Timbersaw gave Vici plenty of control across the map. He had an outstanding game, going 11/1/6. While Dy, who fell victim to a few pick offs from TNC, provided plenty of critical information and vision to his team through his clever swaps.

TNC had nothing in their toolkit. Vici were pushing their bottom high ground at 32-minutes and the score was 34–11. At 33-minutes, TNC called GG and the win went to Vici, equalizing the series 1–1.

Game 3

TNC knew everything was riding on the line for this game three. They came in with an aggressive start, taking first blood.

But Vici matched them. The kills were 2–1 by the 2-minute mark. TNC were going for a tri-lane strategy in top lane. So, Yang rotated with his Abandon pick into the mid to help his team take the mid t1 tower by 6-minutes.

TNC were pressing every advantage they had hard through the early game. The score was 10–9 at 15-minutes, and they were 5k ahead in the net worth.

Although it was Vici who were really getting the crucial kills. In just 10-minutes, the Chinese team had flipped the game on its head. Securing an 8k lead in the gold and gearing up to push into TNC’s high ground.
TNC managed to hold, pushing back Vici’s assault and bringing the kills to 21–18 at the 29-minute mark.

But it wasn’t going to be enough for the SEA boys. Vici had the game firmly in hand, and at 40-minutes victory was theirs. The series went to Vici Gaming 2–1.

Upper Bracket

Gambit Esports vs Evil Geniuses

Evil Geniuses came out of the Group Stage as one of our strongest contenders in the tournament. Their closing upper bracket series against Gambit Esports served us a fast-paced thrilling matchup.

Game 1

Evil Geniuses owned game one of this series from the opening of the laning phase. They took first blood, and then a second kill before the 2-minute mark. Gambit on the other hand were struggling to get on their feet. The kills were 0–5 at 6-minutes, and EG were showing their dominance.

Gambit didn’t fare any better out of the lanes either. They never managed to find a chance to come back from their difficult phase in the lanes. Cr1t was especially effective on Tiny, with plenty of initiation throws and saves coming out from him over the span of this short game.

EG overran them in just 22-minutes, taking the victory in game one with a 15-kill lead.

https://youtu.be/krLNpJpK1rg

Game 2

We saw Evil Geniuses working to establish early control again in game two. They took the first two kills of the game and picked up a slight gold lead very early on in the lanes.

Much like game one, Gambit didn’t have much of a chance to do anything. The kills were 5–22 at 17-minutes, EG were stomping even harder.

This was a fantastic performance for Abed. His Shadow Fiend pick ended the game with a KDA of 10/0/5.

Gambit managed to hold out a minute longer for game two. But they finally crumbled to the onslaught from EG’s cores at 23-minutes. EG had a 26-kill lead when they closed out game two.

An easy 0–2 sweep for the NA team that will see them snag a spot in the finals.

Our Lower Bracket continues tomorrow at the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational. Be sure to tune in to catch all the action on Twitch. Want to keep up with what’s been happening on the main stage in Singapore? Check our recaps for all the highlights so far.