We take a closer look at Round 1 of the Upper Bracket of Eastern Europe’s DPC Regional Finals.
After the Western European Regional Finals that took place last week, it is time to check what will happen in Eastern Europe. Even though some people might disagree, this is probably one of the most interesting regions to watch right now. It is true that Team Spirit is on another level compared to the rest, but every other team has what it takes to beat the rest.
Division I in Eastern Europe was full of intriguing series, especially in the last couple of weeks. Team Spirit had no problems and finished without losing a single series. However, PuckChamp, VP, and HellRaisers had some difficulties along the way. In the end, these four teams managed to earn a spot for the Regional Finals, where they had to go against each other.
Team Spirit seems like the obvious favorite and will most likely win. Nevertheless, nothing in Dota 2 is 100% sure, so let’s look at what happened in each of the two series today.
Team Spirit vs HellRaisers
The first series was between TI 10 winners and HellRaisers, a team that has proven itself numerous times so far. Needless to say, TS won against its opponents in Division I, so everyone expected to do the same in Game 1. However, things didn’t go as planned.
Game One
Team Spirit decided to pick a draft that focuses on the late game. As a result, they’ve got Phantom Lancer and Leshrac. As for HR, the team decided to roll out the classic Magnus and Troll combo. Even though it is not that popular in the current meta, this combination can do wonders, as long as it has a good start.
Despite the fact that Team Spirit controlled the game early on, the team failed to utilize its advantage. Maxim “re1bl” Afanasyev’s Mars was godlike just 22 minutes into the match and Troll managed to secure himself the Aegis. Needless to say, Team Spirit had no chances in a direct team fight, which is why it tried to delay the game as much as possible so that Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk’s Phantom Lancer could get enough farm.
Despite the fact that he played well, his power was not enough to stop HR’s deadly draft. Re1bl and the rest secured themselves an even more impressive lead and managed to deliver their knick-out punch. After the success, the team gained the lead in the series.
Game Two
After losing the first game, Team Spirit decided to change their draft and pick a mid-game focused lineup. On the other hand, HR’s Luna pick was a clear indication that the team wanted to make sure its late game is secured.
Although HellRaiser’s draft was not focused on the early game, the team did well in the first 10 minutes and had a slight advantage in terms of kills. However, as time went on, Team Spirit gained a substantial benefit. HR’s Luna tried to do everything in her power to slow down the pace and eventually out farm its opponents. Sadly, this never happened because Team Spirit became even more robust. In the end, they managed to win a vital team fight and equalized the series.
Game Three
After winning game two, everyone expected Team Spirit to be motivated and rip through HellRaisers like a knife through butter. However, this was not the case because HR did the impossible and sent the leaders in CIS in the Lower Bracket.
The first couple of minutes were even, but HellRaisers draft with OD, Lycan and Mirana was incredibly effective against Morphling and Lina. Even though Yatoro proved many times that he could carry games alone with his Morph, OD is one of the biggest counters to the hero.
HellRaisers utilized their roster to their full potential. After 30 minutes of play, the CIS squad had more than 10k net worth lead, which was more than enough to push their opponents. TI 10 champions tried to do everything they could to allow Yatoro to carry them, but HR’s OD was just too strong. The hero was two-shotting everyone and allowed his team eliminates one of the best squads in Dota 2.
PuckChamp vs Virtus.Pro
After these two teams witnessed Team Spirit’s defeat, they were even more motivated to win because the loser will have to go up against TS in the Lower Bracket. Judging by the two team’s previous encounter and their overall results, PuckChamp were definitely the favorite. Sadly, the roster was unable to show everything it is capable of in Game one.
Game One
The first game between the two was really fun because Virtus.Pro picked loads of interesting heroes. Instead of sticking strictly to the meta, the CIS squad decided to pick a strategy that focuses on pushing. As a rest, the team got Lycan, Pugna, and Shadow Shaman.
The start was not easy because PuckChamp secured themselves a couple of kills very early on. However, once VP got the kill on Axe on the bot lane, things started going well for them. Slowly but steadily, VP secured enough lead and started pushing their opponents’ towers. After 24 minutes of play, Virtus.Pro got the first lane of rax and had accumulated a massive 15k net worth advantage. Needless to say, this was more than enough for Danil “gpk” Skutin and the rest to win the game and gain a lead in the series.
Game Two
Following their unorthodox draft, Virtus.Pro decided to do the same in the second game of the series. This time, the team picked CK and IO, two heroes who have already proven themselves a couple of times.
The laning stage was pretty even, but VP had a slight lead that allowed them be ahead in terms of net worth. After securing a couple of kills and towers, VP managed to bring down Roshan, which allowed their Leshrac to get an Aegis. As expected, the Eastern European squad used it to full advantage and destroyed a couple of towers. This allowed them to have an even more impressive lead.
PuckChamp secured a couple of vital kills, which helped them bounce back, at least for a bit. With that being said, VP took the Aegis for the second time, which gave them a huge advantage. CK was almost impossible to kill, which allowed VP to push their opponent’s T3 towers. PC tried to use their combo with Tide and Invoker, but IO’s incredible reflex helped his team survive the deadly attack.
Nikita “young G” Bochko and his Invoker played really well, but VP was too strong. Consequently, VP secured themselves the second win in the series and will have to go up against HR.
