Cover-Credits:
WePlay Holding
With its star midlaner Amer "Miracle-" al-Barkawi missing, Nigma Galaxy failed to get the best start to its Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2021-22 Tour 1: Division 1 campaign. The team was not able to defeat Team Tickles despite being expected to have the upper hand against this newly formed squad. In fact, the players on Team Tickles played as if they had been together much longer, displaying top-tier Dota 2 gameplay to win 2-0. Nigma Galaxy, despite having a stand-in in coach Roman "rmN-" Paley, had a disappointing day, losing to a superior Team Tickles side.
Nigma Galaxy vs Team Tickles: Match Recap and Highlights
Recap
In game 1, Nigma Galaxy chose Dazzle as the midlane pick for rmN-. Initially he harassed Shadow Fiend, but his impact diminished as the game progressed. Also, Nigma Galaxy lacked damage as the game progressed and it became increasingly difficult to take down enemy cores when they had BKBs up. Eventually, Team Tickles ended the game in 31 minutes.
In game 2, Team Tickles trusted Shadow Fiend again, putting it in the safelane. Ultimately, both teams opted for comfort picks. iLTW's Terrorblade was the one who started off in the most unfavorable way, dying a couple of times during the laning phase as well as having difficulty finding the farm. He found that recovering was more difficult than he could have imagined, as Team Tickles made some strong moves to contain his side. During teamfights, Team Tickles’ spellcasting and target prioritization were excellent, and Nigma Galaxy never managed to play the game the way it wanted. A few Smoke ganks failed to benefit Nigma Galaxy, who lost in 33 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
Nigma Galaxy did not have Miracle- today, but the team also failed to live up to its potential on an individual and team level. The team will try to turn things around in the DPC WEU 2021-22 with six more series to play, but it will not be easy in a stacked region. Miracle- will not be participating in the next series against Tundra Esports on 7th Dec 2021 as well and will instead return for the 14th Dec 2021 series against OG.
The credit should also go to Team Tickles, as they definitely stood up today. Their individual skill enabled them to outperform the opponent during the laning stage, and their teamwork kept them in control during the teamfights. The players' itemization was particularly commendable, which countered much of Team Nigma's power spikes. Their next series will take place on 8th Dec 2021 against COOLGUYS.
