Cover-Credits:
Nigma Galaxy has been ousted from The International 12 (TI12)'s Western Europe qualifier after back to back series losses. After a hard fought match in which it was beaten by Entity in the upper bracket, the team fell to the lower bracket where it was taken down 2-1 by Alliance, an unexpected result given both teams' recent results in comparison. Despite the year's lows, Nigma Galaxy has been known to elevate its game in crucial events, but it was a startling two consecutive losses that now see the team lose out on its third TI in a row.
Nigma bows out of TI12 qualifier after lower bracket loss against Alliance
Despite the fact that both teams have some reputed players, Nigma started the lower bracket series versus Alliance as the favorite. Alliance's recent results have been disappointing, especially after it was ousted from Division II in Tour 3.
However, the team played some positive Dota 2 in the series, winning the first game with precision. The squad attempted to match the speed in the second game as well, but Nigma was brutal this time, recording 37 kills to Alliance's two in 31 minutes.
Nigma faltered in the drafting stage in game 3, and when combined with Yuma dying three times in the laning phase, Alliance followed a clear plan without giving away unnecessary kills to win the series.
It is the end of another disappointing season for Nigma. Amer's "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi did move to the inactive roster at the start of the season but the rest of the team remained together. Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan and Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf contributed throughout the year, but plans never came to fruition.
Following their departure, Yuma "Yuma" Langlet and Kasra "Mikey" Mesbah were added as a last-ditch effort to reverse fortunes with young players on the squad for the first time, but the move did not go as intended. The squad appeared to be strengthening its synergy levels at times, most notably during the BetBoom Dacha - Online Stage recently, but consistency in drafting and gameplay remains an issue.
Unfortunately, Nigma has been evading success since its inception as an organization in November 2019, despite being one of the strongest teams a few years ago. The core of the team has remained united despite persistent poor results and times of low morale but missing its third TI in a row could change the way Nigma functions moving forward.
Meanwhile, Alliance has made a solid start in the lower bracket and will now face the winner of Ancient Tribe vs. OG. Alliance has a challenging lower bracket start, but two big wins here might set the tone for a deep run.
