Eastern Europe is among the hottest regions in Dota 2 right now because Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev is back in Virtus.Pro. Check our recap of the Dota 2 EEU Tour 3.
Although the team plays under a different tag, it already won its first match, which put them in a good position. Speaking of winning, Natus Vincere had a fantastic start and secured themselves two victories in Division I. This was good news for them because Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko and the rest had to go up against Spirit. What’s more, the team’s next match will be against Outsiders (VP).
There were many series that were a joy to watch, and in this review, we will share more information about them. Make sure to read everything if you want to learn more.
Mind Games vs One Move
Despite losing their match against Outsiders, the newcomers in Division I showed that they shouldn’t be underestimated. In other words, we weren’t surprised that Vasilii “AfterLife” Shishkin and the rest defeated Mind Games in their second series.
The first game between the two allowed us to watch loads of exciting heroes. OM got Pudge, whereas their opponents picked Zeus for the mid-lane. While it is true that Zeus is not the best vs Pudge, the hero worked incredibly well against the other 4 heroes from OM.
Sadly, even this was not enough to help MG win the match. Many mistakes from their core players allowed OM to bounce back and gain a massive lead. Sniper and Ember slowly became the strongest heroes in the game, and even Zeus was not powerful enough to stop them.
Game 2
MG seemed happy with their Zeus from game one because the team decided to pick him again. However, instead of getting PA and Batrider, the team paired him with AA and Faceless Void.
The global ult team combo seemed good on paper, but the heroes did not have enough power to bring down OM’s Bristle and IO combo. These two heroes have become incredibly popular lately because of the insane damage. Furthermore, killing BB when there is an IO in the game is almost impossible.
After the fairly even laning stage, OM took the lead and used it to snowball. The team secured a kill on Roshan and won the Aegis, which was enough to win the series.
Pari Parini vs Outsiders
The second match in Division one allows us to watch the game between Pari Parni and Outsiders. Everyone expected Virtus.Pro (Outsiders) to have no problems in this match and win. Even though the team succeeded, this series was not easy.
Both teams used similar draft in other games. Pari went with Dawnbreaker, whereas Outsides picked Marci and Lifestealer. VP got the lead in the first game of the match, and despite playing against the deadly SF and Slardar combo, the team won. Lifestealer and Visage slowly became too powerful for the Pari’s fragile mid-laner.
Game 2
Things changed in the second game of the series because Pari Parni got Invoker and Furion. As expected, the team used the two heroes to split push and prevent their opponents from pushing.
Although Outsiders got an early lead and were strong in a 5v5 matchup, the team needed 55 minutes to win. In the end, Void Spirit and Lifestealer were successful, but VP had to “tryhard” to win.
After the two victories, Outsiders is now in an excellent position to secure one of the slots for the Major. Of course, we are yet to see RAMZESS against the likes of Team Spirit.
Team Spirit vs Na’Vi
This was the most anticipated and exciting match this week. Even though Team Spirit is usually the big favorite, Na’Vi won its first two matches, making them worthy opponents. Although Alik “V-Tune” Vorobey and the rest lost the match, the Ukrainian powerhouse proved that they are on the right path.
Game 1
Both games between these two powerhouses were fun, but the first one was more intriguing. Typical for Na’Vi,m the team started well and played aggressively from the very beginning. After securing a couple of kills, Na’Vi got a 4k lead just 9 minutes after the start.
It seemed like Team Spirit had no way of bouncing back. In fact, the team was losing until the 35th minute of the game, when Na’Vi made a crucial mistake. The team lost its core heroes without killing anyone, which was enough for the current TI champions to gain the lead.
Needless to say, a team of this caliber used this mistake to their advantage and won the map.
Game 2
Na’Vi was not happy after failing to win a game they should’ve won, reflecting on their playstyle. Although the team had a good start, it was not as dominating as in game one, at least from the start. However, once some of Na’Vi’s cores got a few items, they became much stronger than TS.
Everything was going well for V-Tune and his team, but a bad on the top lane led to the death of 3 heroes and a triple kill for Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk. As expected, Team Spirit used the momentum and started pressuring their opponents. In the end, this was enough for them to secure the second win and the series.
Na’Vi should be disappointed because they had both games in the bag. The good news for the Ukrainian squad is that they have what it takes to beat the best team in the region. If they continue to be as dominant as today, they should be able to get one of the Major slots.
Mind Games vs BetBoom Team
The last series that everyone was eager to watch was between MG and BetBoom Team. The latter was one of the best performing teams from CIS during ESL One Stockholm 2022, so people expect it to win.
Despite the bad start after losing to Na’Vi, Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev and the rest are back on the winning track. The first game was the more interesting one because BB tried to use a very interesting pick. MG had the better draft and even got the lead. However, they were unable to take advantage of the situation and allowed BB to bounce back and win the map.
Game 2
The second game was way easier for BetBoom Team because they got their hands on their signature Nature’s Prophet. It is safe to say that Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin is one of the best Nature’s Prophet players in the world, and he proved it yet again. The player single-handedly carried his team to victory.
