The “comeback is real” phrase is often heard when you play a pub match in Dota 2. There’s no question it’s a good experience, especially if you’re on the right side of things. It’s even better when you see it happen in a big tournament, and that’s what Invictus Gaming did when they rose from a 0–2 deficit against Evil Geniuses to win the Singapore Major.
Making the win even more impressive is that iG played double matches. There were the matches against Thunder Predator and Team Secret on April 3. Then, the Lower Bracket Final against PSG.LGD and finally, the Grand Final on April 4. As the champion, iG gets to take home $200,000 and 500 DPC Points.
The Repeat
EG had an advantage heading into the match. After all, they were the ones responsible for putting iG in the Lower Bracket after a 2–0 win. It certainly looked that way when the Grand Final started.
EG had a good start in Game 1 with Abed Azel “Abed” Yusop on Storm Spirit and Artour "Arteezy" Babaev on Leshrac. The combination was too difficult for iG and the two players ended the game, both with nine kills.
Game 2 was even shorter and Arteezy pretty much let himself loose on Bloodseeker. EG got the pickoffs that they needed with iG having trouble framing. EG eventually got the win with Arteezy scoring 12 kills against one death.
Down but Not Out
With iG now on the verge of elimination, it was clear from their picks for Game 3 that they were going for a possible late game. EG again wanted to end the game faster and Abed was again on his Storm Spirit. During laning, iG had the advantage but EG tilted the game to their favor after a successful team fight at around the 16-minute mark. They would then win most of the fights after that.
However, iG’s gamble for a late-game eventually paid off as Jin "flyfly" Zhiyi on Sven became too much even for EG. This gave iG the momentum they needed and after managing to pick off Ateezy on Razor with no buyback, they went for the push and minutes later grabbed the win.
The Comeback
In Game 4, EG was again going for the win with iG looking to counter them. Despite iG getting the initial lead, EG succeeded to even things out. This was true especially after EG disrupted an iG's attempt at Roshan. Still, iG continued to dominate team fights, and regardless of Ateezy getting Divine Rapier for his Phantom Assassin, it only delayed iG’s win.
In Game 5, EG was able to shut down iG in the laning phase. This was important notably with flyfly on Spectre. Once Spectre came online, however, iG knew they had a complete advantage. Coupled this with Black Hole misses by EG's Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang on his Enigma, and it was only a matter of time for everything to fall.
What's Next?
Even with the win, it looks like iG won’t have that much time to rest as the qualifiers for Season 2 start this week. They do have a comfortable lead in terms of DPC points and as long as they can get into the next Major, they should be assured an invite to this year’s TI.
EG’s loss was painful and there’s no going around that. A $100,000 cash and 450 DPC Points is still a good deal. They should retain the roster and try to a bit lessen Abed's aggressive play, which shouldn't be surprising since he came from the SEA, known for its aggressive playstyle. Like iG, if EG makes it to the next major, they have a good shot at TI.
What about you? What was your favorite moment of the Grand Final?
