When the smoke cleared from the wild lower bracket finals between Moscow Five and Counter Logic Gaming, it was the home team Russians of M5 who emerged victorious. The 2-1 victory was as hard earned as could be. Each of the three games was close in its own way, but it was superior team fight execution by Moscow Five that sealed decisive battles in each of their wins.
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Counter Logic Gaming |
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Game 1 |
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Moscow Five |
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| MVP: Vigoss looked true to his once lofty form as Sand King. The top and bottom lanes for M5 struggled under the weight of ganks early, but the Babysat SK mid came through. He was the lone aggressor of M5, but he somehow matched the VS, Slar, Chen CLG ganksquad blow for blow in the early and mid game. |
| LVP: Pajkatt’s Syllabear simply couldn’t get silly. He attempted to mimic LoH’s suicide solo Sylla, but he struggled to get any farm. When he did get space while everyone else was ganking, Pajkatt simply didn’t make the comeback that was needed. A 25 minute Radiance doesn’t do much when M5 are already knocking on your doorstep. |
| That was... perfect: Any final hopes CLG had of taking game one with a farmed Sylla were dashed by a flawlessly executed combo from Moscow Five. PGG’s Enigma boldly blinked in, catching three with his Black Hole. Bl00dAngel followed with a perfect Vacuum, and AA sealed the deal with a devastating Ice Blast. That’s Dota 2 at its finest. |
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Counter Logic Gaming |
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Game 2 |
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Moscow Five |
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| MVP: EG.Misery proved his worth as a stand-in for CLG by going 12-0 on a mid-lane Pugna. He got an insane triple kill at 14 minutes with two perfect Urn charges helping and an Aghanim’s by 16 minutes, he destroyed the entire game with his ganking and pushing power. |
| Beating M5 at their own game: M5 are known for their aggressive gank-style play, but what happens when CLG secures over twice as many kills by the 20 minute mark? Picking up the Nature’s Prophet allowed CLG to set up early ganks all around the map, particularly dominating M5’s bottom trilane. |
| Stuns are overrated!: Despite not picking any stuns whatsoever, it ended up being a nonfactor for CLG. M5 tried abused the lack of hard disable with well-timed TPs, but when PGG blinked into five heroes and tried to Epicenter, he forgot about Rikimaru’s cloud which cancelled his ulti and gave CLG an easy mid barracks and soon after the game. |
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Counter Logic Gaming |
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Game 3 |
2 |
Moscow Five |
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| Almost huge: Loda and Mirakel Waveformed and Burrowstriked into Roshan at the best possible moment hitting the five muscovites, but.... neither picked up the Aegis on the ground next to them, effectively throwing their lives away in a key moment. |
| MVP: Silent played his Shadow Fiend to near perfection, spending most of the game above 500 GPM and finishes on an insane 741 GPM. Not to mention his final fight where he takes on most of CLG alone and manages to live. |
| Vladimir always gets the last laugh: PGG's Enigma certainly took a beating early and throughout the game, but all was made up for when his perfect Black Hole is paired with some Requiem follow-up, ending CLG's hopes in the game, and in the StarLadder finals. |
CLG after their trying third game