Cover image source : ESL Dota 2
Fans may have been surprised to find Keen Gaming knocked down to the lower bracket early, but the Chinese team struck back convincingly as they swept Mineski in the grand finals 3-0. A structured, disciplined and methodical approach from Keen showed just why the team has been held in such high regards of late and while both teams are attending the upcoming Major, Keen felt like they were on a different level altogether.
Mineski found themselves heavily countered in game 1 and their decision to play 5 man Dota on the back AhJit’s Lycan backfired as Keen themselves picked up some good teamfight. Moon’s SF was reliant heavily on auras and utility and could achieve little as Keen’s heroes showed no signs of passive play. Tidehunter, Spectre and Lich, all made Keen very hard to fight into while Kaka’s Nyx was useful in providing information and map control. Keen took their time and were methodical, and the game never really looked out of their hands at any point.
Game 2 was closer with the Mineski cores finding some farm, but kpii’s offlane Naga could achieve little versus Keen’s aoe magic damage sources. Mineski stayed even till about 30-minutes but lost all 5 heroes, only managing to kill Ember twice in a teamfight. This allowed Keen to pull very far ahead and Mineski found it increasingly hard to play from a deficit, eventually being forced to call the gg.
Keen were well aware of what was to come and Mineski drafted themselves into a corner and resorted to AhJit’s Morphling to strike back. Old Chicken on the Ember decided that his only priority would be the Morphling and a 10 minute Spirit Vessel followed by excellent rotations completely shut down Mineski. Dark’s positioning on Silencer meant that kpii never could land a Blackhole and Keen’s usual display of patience allowed them to chip away and claim a comfortable win.
However there is some consolation for Mineski or at least their standin, Febby who was given the Mercedes Benz MVP award for his efforts. The Korean player may be teamless, but was overcome with emotion after fans held up their promise of helping Febby win the MVP.
With this, ESL One Mumbai comes to an end and in a broad sense calling the event anything less than a success seems misleading. From entertaining games, to tier 1 talent to drama and emotions, it's been a wild ride for the fans here in Mumbai. That’s it for the live coverage of the event from our side. We’ll be reviewing the event in detail as well as doing other content around it in the days to come!
