Which bring us to Day 2. Four matches are up on Valve’s prediction site, and for the first time in a while, all four matches are quite easy to predict.
Fnatic vs Team Spirit
Team Spirit just showed that they are not just a Tier 3 team. They took out Evil Geniuses with a resounding 2-0 stomp in their elimination matchup. Now, they’ll go up against Fnatic to determine who goes through to the playoffs. Fnatic on the other hand, 1-0d EG in their initial match before getting stomped by Virtus.Pro in the winner’s match.
I think Fnatic have the edge just because of their experience in the DPC. Don’t get me wrong, the Team Spirit lineup has a long history of LAN appearances/wins but this is just their 1st tournament on the DPC. Plus, Fnatic did offer much more of a resistance to VP than Spirit.
My Advice: 1 or 2 Tokens on Fnatic
paiN Gaming vs Team Liquid
It happened once, I don’t see it happening again. IN A BO3.
Yesterday, paiN Gaming may have surprised Liquid and the rest of the Dota fans with their stellar draft and co-ordination + the individual brilliance of their cores W33ha and hFn. But this is Team Liquid we are talking about. They’re a championship caliber team who rarely loses BO3s, I doubt they’ll drop another series to paiN.
My Advice: 2 or 3 Tokens on Team Liquid
Mineski vs LFY
Again the same matchup, but this time in a BO3. While Mineski has definitely regressed from their DAC winning campaign, they’re still strong enough to take down LFY who are playing some very un-coordinated Dota.
The synergy between AhFu and Monet which was the biggest reason for their success in TI7 has become nonexistent. With Super having really poor performances in the midlane as well, I can’t see Mineski losing this game in the slightest.
My Advice: 2 or 3 tokens on Mineski
Virtus.Pro vs OG
I just think Virtus.Pro, PSG.LGD, and to some extent Team Liquid are in an entirely different tier right now. It’s poetry in motion when you see these teams play when they are in form. And VP is in fine form. Their systematic dismantling of Fnatic and Team Spirit is a testament to this.
While OG did win Group B, they did so by beating Vici Gaming and paiN Gaming. While both of them are formidable they are in no way a top tier team. I can’t see VP losing to OG in a BO3 unless they decide to mess around.
My Advice: 3 or 4 tokens on VP