Cover-Credits:
- Vici Gaming took a commanding victory over Eastern European powerhouse Virtus.pro (VP) and knocked them out of the Lower Bracket of the WePlay AniMajor 2021.
- There seems to be a trend in Dota 2 Majors that the high seeded Upper Bracket teams are the ones to underperform as Virtus.pro joins Team Aster and Alliance in elimination.
- With this commanding win, Vici Gaming secures a spot at TI10 and has accomplished what was arguably their main goal coming into the tournament.
Vici Gaming took a commanding victory over Eastern European powerhouse Virtus.pro (VP) and knocked them out of the Lower Bracket of the WePlay AniMajor 2021. Virtus.pro did not showcase the dominance that they had in the CIS DPC season, getting handily defeated by Team Nigma in their Upper Bracket showcase and then immediately eliminated in their first Lower Bracket round. The first game was a slow-burning loss for Virtus.pro as they were behind most of the game and desperately tried, and failed to make a comeback. It looked like VP had awakened their inner spirit with their game two victory but Vici Gaming had none of it as they swept them in the third game, ending the series.
Vici Gaming takes a big win in the Lower Bracket, knock out Virtus.pro and clutch TI invite
Match Recap
Game One saw an absolutely dominating performance from Vici Gaming, especially by Pyw on the Grimstroke who managed to purchase an Aghanim’s Sceptre 20 minutes into the game just as VP’s carry Wraith King finished his Radiance. Vici Gaming immediately started to win the fights with the heavy advantage of the Wraith King illusion provided by Grimstroke which continued to make the game harder for VP even until the last moments of the game after which VG secured the win.
Game Two was a fast-paced comeback by the CIS bears. VP drafted an excellent lineup with a Centaur, Death Prophet, Luna core lineup which took the pace of the game to the next level to which Vici Gaming could not keep up with. VP kept finding crucial kills, taking the perfect teamfights, and rapidly ended the game shortly after the thirty-minute mark.
Game Three was a clinical beating by Vici Gaming as they were always one step ahead of VP at all stages of the game. VG’s Storm Spirit continuously found crucial catches and kills on the enemy Monkey King, old eLeVeN played fantastically on the Timbersaw and always managed to find and burst Virtus.pro’s supports. Vici Gaming showed the perfect drafting and ruthless execution that Chinese teams are known for in the third game and secured the win.
Highlights
Here are some of the highlights of the series:
It seems to be the tradition of the Majors of the 2021 DPC season that the teams that end the season on the top of the table and get the playoff slots are the ones that end up underperforming or getting knocked out first. As is the case in this Major with Alliance and Team Aster, the top-seeded teams of the other regions also being eliminated immediately in the Lower Bracket
RELATED: Alliance Has Been Eliminated From the WePlay AniMajor
While getting knocked out this early is certainly not optimal for VIrtus.pro. They have a cushion to land on knowing that they are already qualified for TI10. They will look to recuperate and come back stronger at TI10 in August.
Vici Gaming secure the ninth direct invite spot to TI10
With this commanding win, Vici Gaming secures a spot at TI10 and has accomplished what was arguably their main goal coming into the tournament. Their journey upto this point has been a hell of a grind. Vici Gaming entered via the Wild Card slots where they topped the table and then managed to scrape through a grueling Group Stage, started in the Lower Bracket, and now have defeated the CIS region’s best team to qualify for TI10.
