Nigma Galaxy Pushes Alliance Towards Division 2 Relegation With Emphatic DPC Win

The Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2021-22 Tour 1: Division 1 returned for its second half with Nigma Galaxy taking on Alliance in a series with significant standings implications for both teams. It was Nigma Galaxy who came out on top in all departments to secure a 2-0 victory. Compared to what it had displayed in the past month, Nigma Galaxy did look greatly improved; however, Alliance's form seemed to have weakened more with its level of performance lagging quite a lot. Alliance has been pushed towards a possible bottom two finish with this series loss, which has, on the other hand, greatly increased Nigma Galaxy's chances of avoiding relegation.

Nigma Galaxy vs Alliance: Match Recap and Highlights

Recap

During game 1, Alliance went for a mid Dragon Knight, a safelane Sven, and a support Clockwerk. These picks were most likely made as a response to what Nigma Galaxy had chosen. Although the laning stage was fairly even, Nigma Galaxy eventually made the better moves to find more and better kills. Securing the Aegis on iLTW's Ursa only gave Nigma Galaxy the opportunity to amp up its aggression. While Alliance attempted to fight heads on, it failed and lost in 37 minutes.

In game 2, Alliance played for tempo control, but the laning stage failed miserably which gave Nigma Galaxy a strong lead. With the heroes Alliance had, their lineup was not at all good playing from the backfoot, and Nigma Galaxy capitalized on it. MinD_ContRoL's Night Stalker lead the charge as Nigma Galaxy killed every hero in sight to force an Alliance GG within 25 minutes.

Highlights

Here are some highlights of the series.

Nigma Galaxy has turned things around following a dismal start to its DPC 2021-22 campaign with two straight wins over Team Secret and Alliance. There was a question of whether the break would impair the momentum the team had just gained after taking down Team Secret before the break, but the team seemed to prove today that it is on the right track. In light of the allocation of four Major slots to the WEU region, Nigma Galaxy, who was once considered a potential Division 2 candidate in the next season, will now also be looking at the Major slot.

After five series, Alliance has just one series win to its credit. Furthermore, it came against COOLGUYS, which is the only team below it. Finding any positives would be challenging as the team has looked a tier below in almost all departments. From here, Alliance will need to win both its remaining series to have a strong chance of avoiding relegation.

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