Cover-Credits:
Vici Gaming has shocked many by eliminating Evil Geniuses (EG) from The International 10 (TI10). Three games were played in the series, and after dropping the first game, Vici Gaming understood the fast-paced strategy that Evil Geniuses brought and managed to defeat it in the second and third games. Vici Gaming got off to a modest start in the second and third games but bounced back in the later stages thanks to some masterful spellcasting and itemization. During the post-match winner's interview, Vici Gaming’s offlaner, Ren "old eLeVeN" Yangwei, who has previously played with Evil Geniuses' offlaner Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang, said that he felt great to eliminate iceiceice from the event.
Evil Geniuses vs Vici Gaming: Match Recap and Highlights
Recap
Game 1 was sheer domination from Evil Geniuses’ side. With some mobile heroes, it moved around the map really well to only find kills but also control a large portion of the map. Vici Gaming was cramped for room and any step to move out of a comfortable spot resulted in death. Knowing that the game was over, Vici Gaming tapped out of it in just 22 minutes.
During Game 2, both teams made a number of sloppy moves, swinging the networth back and forth. Having a safelane Razor and a mid Void Spirit allowed Evil Geniuses to up the ante during the early phases. However, the heroes of Vici Gaming were still able to find farms on the map and the game continued to extend. With frantic teamfights and buybacks galore, it was Vici Gaming who finally edged ahead in the late game to win in 57 minutes.
In Game 3, Evil Geniuses played another fast-paced draft and kept the tempo high early on. Evil Geniuses was knocking on Vici Gaming's door in just 22 minutes with a massively farmed Troll Warlord, but the latter was able to hold on. Multiple times, Evil Geniuses attempted to destroy Vici Gaming's base, but always failed, so the latter sprang back and won in 37 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
A Valve Dota 2 tournament title, let alone TI, remains elusive for Artour "Arteezy" Babaev. Following a stellar season in which the team finished runner-up at both Majors, Evil Geniuses dropped off at TI10. All the way through the group stages and up to this series against Vici Gaming, the team did not perform to the level it had in the past 10 months. Evil Geniuses finishes in 9th-12th place and takes home $800,400 in prize money.
Vici Gaming keeps the dream alive and advances to the next round of the Main Event's lower bracket where it will face T1.
