Cover-Credits:
Valve
Evil Geniuses have secured the top spot in the North America Dota 2 Pro Circuit 2021/22 Upper Division Tour 2 following a victory over TSM in the final match of the tiebreakers. The two teams had already secured their spots in the ESL One Stockholm 2022 Major after their victories over Quincy Crew in their opening matches of the tiebreakers.
However, the match still had some spice to it thanks to TSM’s banter against Evil Geniuses following its victory over the latter in the regular season. Artour "Arteezy" Babaev ignited a potential rivalry after responding to TSM’s banter earlier this week.
Evil Geniuses continue to dominate the NA region
Evil Geniuses once again decided to resort to picking Storm Spirit for Abed “Abed” Azel L. Yusop and Medusa for Arteezy as its first two picks. The strategy that had proved to be so effective in its previous match, once again proved to be successful for Evil Geniuses plans. The two picks allowed flexibility in Evil Geniuses support picks, allowing them to once again dominate the lanes thanks to laning matchups.
TSM’s lanes went horribly wrong right from the get go, with the team losing all three lanes and never really getting a foothold in the game. Jonathan Bryle "Bryle" Santos De Guia’s midlane Ember Spirit, in particular, had a horrid day at the office as Abed tore him apart with constant pressure and pick offs.
With no signs of a comeback in sight, TSM chose to tap out early (just 22 minutes into the game) handing Evil Geniuses the win and the first place in the NA DPC 2021/22 Tour 2.
Following the win, Evil Geniuses echoed Arteezy’s Tweet from earlier this week calling TSM’s banter “Funny.” EG support Andreas Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen and offlaner Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko also joined in on the banter.
With that win, Evil Geniuses secured $30K USD in prize money, 400 DPC points, and perhaps more importantly bragging rights in the North American region. The team has seemingly overcome its teething with its new roster and are looking primed for a successful run at the ESL One Stockholm 2022 Major. Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka who was the subject of much criticism at the start of the season has also completely turned it around and looks better every passing day.
TSM who will be disappointed at losing out to EG, will have to settle for $29K in prize money and 200 DPC points.
