ESL One Manila: Wings Gaming Brings Down Fnatic
Up-and-coming Chinese side Wings Gaming takes down SEA team Fnatic in the first semifinal of the day, 2-1.
In the first game, Wings pick up Chen, Nature’s Prophet, Lion, Windrunner and Necrophos against Fnatic’s Enchantress, Beastmaster, Spectre, Pugna and Vengeful Spirit.
Within the first two minutes of the game, six kills were on the board as both teams went with their aggressive ganks and pickoffs against their respective opponents.
DJ showed another impressive performance on the Enchantress and Fnatic as a whole impressed the home crowd with their well-timed rotations. From the 10th minute onwards, Fnatic just went on to set the tempo of the game.
FNATIC takes game 1 in a very convincing fashion. Golden plays from DJ being the icing to the cake! #ESLOne
https://t.co/xixD0IE5RD— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) April 24, 2016
Wings Gaming kept themselves in the game with a well-executed gank on Net’s Spectre in the middle of the map; however, three minutes later, Fnatic wrapped it up with a wipeout of Wings Gaming in the bottom of the map, followed by the barracxks and the GG call.
For the second game, Wings went for a double-carry lineup with Phantom Lancer and Spectre, along with Doom, Witch Doctor and Bounty Hunter to complete the draft. Meanwhile, Fnatic got themselves Sven, Enchantress, Beastmaster, Lion and Death Prophet, aiming to convert their teamfight prowess into a series of towers.
DJ got the first blood two minutes into the game with a gank on Doom near the Radiant secret shop and Fnatic mostly dictated the tempo of the early part of the second game.
However, Wings Gaming showed that they were better this time around with their superior initiation and teamfight execution, as clearly seen in the video below:
Wings comeback incoming? #ESLOne
https://t.co/GgMcyvoBAl— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) April 24, 2016
The fight proved to be the turning point of the game as the Chinese side immediately got themselves into the driver’s seat afterwards, even gaming a rampage in the bottom lane on their Phantom Lancer and bringing it to 1-1.
RAMPAGE by Wings Gaming! They are turning things around! #ESLOne
https://t.co/ZgNbVLyrX6— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) April 24, 2016
With both sides having a map apiece, Fnatic once again demonstrated their faith in DJ by picking up Enchantress for him in the first pick phase. Eventually, they drafted a lineup similar to the first game, only replacing Beastmaster with Nyx Assassin.
The Chinese team picked up a sustain-heavy lineup consisting of Treant Protector and Witch Doctor, along with Beastmaster, Lone Druid and Outworld Destroyer in order to control teamfights.
Wings Gaming simply soared beyond expectations as they enjoyed a 30,000 gold lead at the 25-minute mark with tons of farm and items on their core heroes.
Wings Gaming's Witch Doctor dropping some sick beats! #ESLOne
https://t.co/dQKw5qo9iz— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) April 24, 2016
The match proved to be a master class from the rising Chinese team as they finish the game by the 27th minute, with a 25-7 scoreline on the board.
With these results, Wings Gaming are the first finalists of ESL One Manila, to await the winner of Team Liquid and Team Empire in the other semifinal match.
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