Yet more, that the cerulean equine gallops across the Russian plains, yanking on the top in Moscow in the epicentre of everything. Team Liquid, following a set of rugged performances, have revealed up to the job and defended the name in EPICENTER: Moscow.
Together With The International 2017’s invites round the corner, it might seem that Team Liquid may only have clinched one using this LAN success. Adding some heated Twitter play, many fans hunted to see Liquid perform well and deserve a invitation to the largest tournament of this year.
Nevertheless, let’s leap in the recap because we see the stories which arose during the championship:
Road into the finals
Their destiny slowly become Secret’s capacity to provide OG a tricky time at the classes, they had been lucky since the Green Giants dropped, giving them a last playoff spot. From that point, Liquid had a very tough Game 1 vs the regional favourites VP until they discovered their drift and forced their way to the Semi-Finals.
Followed by an unorthodox draft using Bloodseeker and also a mid Earthshaker from the 2nd match, the young Chinese squad’s hopes were closed down.
On the opposite side of the bracket had been Evil Geniuses, who’d basically steamrolled the bands, including a critical 2-0 success over VP and just ever dropping a match to NA competitions Earth Odd. In continued dominant style, they conducted a practice stomping Team Secret 2-0 from the Semi-Finals with good Drow strats, which makes their way into the Grand Finals as the obvious favourites.
The Grand Finals of the tournament basically gave the meta tag a more genuine type wherein Bristleback’s location as a high meta selection has been realised, even farther supported by analyst WinteR. Further to this, the drafts of the two teams exhibited the potency of Treant Protector from the present meta in addition to CM’s continued worth despite a motion rate nerf in the last patch.
In the immediate wake of this championship, Valve published patch 7.06Id, introducing not just farther nerfs into CM and Treant Protector, but additionally nerfs into Bristleback, Dark Seer, and Io, nearly immediately addressing the meta which has been shaped in EPICENTER Moscow.
The championship saw LFY because the black horse, basically coming from nowhere, with few recent aggressive games to investigate. The young group, directed by veterans Super and ddc really shone using their dominant early and mid sport design. Players brimming with gift such as Monet and ah fu were standouts in the championship as Elder Titan immediately turned into a esteem first ban against the group as the tournament progressed. This enabled them to rather protect Earth Spirit that was very well utilised by the group with amazing plays from ah fu.
On the other hand, the group isn’t without issues as Super revealed signs of choking, arguably typical in almost any veteran, particularly among Super’s caliber, having been away in the cover of the scene for such a long time. Nevertheless, the meta seems to stay in the group’s favour since they crushed all resistance 2-0 in the championship save Liquid whilst at the same time demonstrating a resurgence at Elder Titan as a aggressive choice.
However, the group revealed its battle in adaptability since 7.06 posed great problems for the group, not able to discover their latest glory. Taking into consideration the group’s players and various individual abilities, it may suffice to state that 7.06 has barely nerfed them but rather strengthened them. Having always played with a steady fashion centered on winning struggles mid game and building up a continuous net value, their drafts just have not been coming together in the championship, winning just two string at the Group Stage from the lower-standing teams. A apparently crushing defeat in the hands of Team Secret at the playoffs doesn’t work well for the group either since they return licking their wounds and locating new grounding due to their plans and playstyle.
Much like the prior iteration, EPICENTER’s manufacturing staff have surely set a higher benchmark for premium Dota two occasions. Players and gamers alike have commended the organisers for the maintenance expanded to the concerned parties in addition to their creative and advanced in-game manufacturing with respect to both Aegis timeouts and thing recipes. Add to this a new component on the board and throw with all the lighthearted voice of Russian translator Dimitri along with the continuing display of commendable cinematics during the tournament throughout every game, EPICENTER is readily reversed concerning production.
What’s more, the championship’s attribute showmatch between the English and Russian ability has no doubt put a new bar for the limitations of championship showmatches. Traditionally we would see a people vote for assorted professional players to move up against each other in showmatches, as well as players in the audience enjoy in TI5 and TI6. Consequently, a showmatch involving ability was completely unprecedented, particularly in consideration of how a lot of these playing were ex-pros those who’d moved on to getting analysts. Certainly, KBU vs Filler Select is going to be a memorable game for any spectator of the full tournament.
Last Words
The championship in its entirety has been the culmination of expert Dota at 7.06, permitting the farming strengths and flexibility of Team Liquid to excel throughout, the exact same for EG, the definition of a quickly-changing meta, along with the development of new gift. With direct invitations for Your International only around the corner, there’s not much doubt that individuals people who have left a spectacle in the epicentre of everything will get an invitation, including the Top 4 in the Kiev Major. Additional speculation could nevertheless warrant different groups which were not in the event but there’s not any doubt that Liquid possess conquer the onus of demonstrating that they deserve an invitation with their 4th LAN win this season, hardly what one could predict a filler pick.
