The Group Stage of the Dota 2 WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020 is finally done and we can now move to the Playoffs. For Group A, it's Chinese team Royal Never Give Up in the lead, with the second spot giong to Geek Fam. Meanwhile, Gambit sits atop Group B, followed by Nigma.
Group A
For Group A, the first match of the day was an Elimination match between Team Spirit and Ninjas in Pyjamas. In the first game, NiP had the lead by scoring several impressive kills within the first 15 minutes. However, a few minute later Spirit grabbed the advantage with Alexey "nongrata" Vasilyev getting a double kill on Necophos. Spirit didn't look back after that and secured the victory. In the second game, NiP did what it could but really couldn't find an answer to Spirit and was promptly eliminated from the tournament.
The second match was RNG versus Geek Fam, and it was RNG all the way. RNG showed strong performance in the first game and by the second game showed it was the team to beat as it allowed Geek Fam only three team kills.
This resulted in a decider match between Geek Fam and Spirit. The first game wasn't great for Mihail "Misha" Agatov on Lich, who got picked off and killed a total of 14 times. In fact, five of those deaths were at the hands of Geek Fam's Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto on Phantom Lancer, who ended the game with 11 kills. In the second game, Spirit tried to keep its chances alive on the back of Egor "Ergon" Kozlov's Monkey King. However, Raven's Bloodseeker, supported Carlo "Kuku" Palad on Axe,
scored the win for Geek Fam.
Group B
Nigma and FURIA Esports took the stage first in the elimination match for Group B. Nigma held the lead for most of the game with Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi on Ember Spirit and Aliwi "w33" Omar on Lina. FURIA did what it could, but were forced to call GG just under 50 minutes in, giving the win to Nigma. The second game was shorter, with Miracle- making the most of Slark and w33 on Huskar. Nigma got the victory and eliminated FURIA in just under 22 minutes.
The Decider Match between Fighting PandaS and Gambit, on the other hand, went the distance. In the first game, PandaS took the win thanks to an excellent showing by Jacky "EternaLEnVy" Mao on Alchemist and Jonathan Bryle "Bryle" Santos De Guia on Viper. Gambit didn't give in that easily, and in the second game it was Danil "gpk" Skutin's play on Lina that carried his team. At the end of the game, gpk had 14 kills and zero deaths. The third game was longer, but had gpk on Shadow Fiend and Kiyalbek "dream`" Tayirov on Morphling. Gambit eventually got the victory and the Playoffs spot.
The final match of the day was PandaS versus Nigma, a rematch of the Opening Match. In the first game, PandaS had the advantage for most of the game. The tables eventually turned for Nigma with both Miracle- on Anti-Mage and w33 on Windranger getting double kills. Once all PandaS were back in the game, they tried to engage in another team fight. What they thought would be a surprise backfired as Miracle- was in the backlines and slowly went to work. Four members of PandaS went down again, resulting in a GG and a win for Nigma.
For the second game, there were a number of team clashes early on with Nigma gaining the lead just below the 45-minute mark. Nigma then forced PandaS inside their base, making it difficult to come out. PandaS eventually managed to get out and get a small win with a team fight. Nigma then took the fourth Roshan and went for a push. Nigma got the mid, both towers, and barracks. They would attempt to do the same for the bottom, but it was a disastrous move as four Nigma members died. PandaS eventually went for the GG push and win.
The third game was another long one, taking more than 50 minutes. This time, however, Nigma did not take chances. Taking the lead for most of the game, Nigma was more strategic and eventually got the win with three team members getting double digit kills.
Playoffs & Predictions
With this, the stage is set for the Playoffs. RNG is taking on Nigma in the first match, followed by Geek Fam versus Gambit.
Before the tournament started, we had our predictions as to who would make it to the Playoffs, which you can read here. For Group A, we were right in calling it for Geek Fam. However, our second pick, NiP, didn't fare as well. To be fair, we did consider RNG, but back then NiP had a better tournament history. This loss and elimination is sad news for NiP, who needs to pick up the pace with only three majors left.
For Group B, we were right in both cases in saying it was Gambit and Nigma. Still, Nigma's match against PandaS gave us both a scare and some excitement.
For the playoffs, we're going to say Nigma moves to the next round. They appear to have found their groove and with the new update, will be able to adapt faster. In the second round, it's going to be Gambit.
What about you? Who are your picks?
