The Manila Major: Day Two Recap

Team Liquid (Liquid) and LGD Gaming (LGD) muscled their way to the Upper Bracket of the Manila Major Main Event on day 2 of the group stages.

Team Liquid were ranked #1 on our power rankings. They didn’t disappoint.

Liquid, arguably the strongest team of the tournament, encountered stiff resistance in Group C as they first went through The International 2013 champions Alliance, beating the scrappy Swedes 2-1. They then clashed with the Southeast Asian powerhouse Fnatic, securing a 2-1 victory and their ticket to the Upper Bracket thanks to the renowned captainship of Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and phenomenal play by Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen on Lycan throughout the series.

Fnatic themselves also found their way into the Upper Bracket. Beginning the day with a 2-0 victory over Vici Gaming Reborn (VG.R), the squad took down Alliance 2-1 after their earlier loss to Liquid. With impressive performances by Zheng “MidOne” Yeik Nai and the Filipino phenom Djardel “DJ” Mampusti and bolstered by the return of Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung, Fnatic looks to cement its place as the top SEA contender in the Major.

Meanwhile, LGD defied all expectations as they repelled the hyper-aggression of MVP Phoenix (MVP), routing the Korean juggernauts 2-0 in the opening series for Group D. The Chinese dark horse then continued its hot streak by taking down the champions of The International 2015, Evil Geniuses (EG) 2-1. With some of the best talents of the Chinese scene, including Lu “Maybe” Yao and Sun “Agressif” Zheng (formerly of the TI5 runner-ups CDEC Gaming), under the leadership of the renowned captain Zhang “Xiao8” Ning, LGD is the second Chinese team to advance to the Upper Bracket.

A recap of MVP’s recent results. They were ranked 5th on our publication’s power rankings.

MVP however, bounced back from their loss against LGD to take second place in Group D. In one of the most thrilling series of the Major so far, MVP knocked the Philippine representative Mineski.Sports5 (Mineski) down to the lower bracket in a 71 minute bloodbath that featured throws, counter-throws, and a new defensive strategy involving multiple Helms of the Dominator by MVP. The Korean juggernauts continued their rampage by sweeping EG 2-0 on their way to the upper bracket.

With their loss against MVP, EG, another fan favorite to win the tournament, join VG.R, Alliance, and Mineski in the lower bracket, where they will have to fight through single-elimination matches to stay in the tournament.

Here’s a brief recap of the team standings after the group stage:

Group A
1.	NewBee			2-0	4-0
2.	OG			2-1	4-3
3.	Team Empire			1-2	3-4
4.	compLexity Gaming			0-2	0-4

Group B
1.	Natus Vincere			2-0	4-0
2.	DC			2-1	4-3
3.	Wings Gaming			1-2	3-5
4.	Team Secret			0-2	1-4

Group C
1.	Fnatic			2-1	5-3
2.	Team Liquid			2-0	4-2
3.	Alliance			1-2	4-4
4.	Vici Gaming Reborn			0-2	0-4

Group D
1.	LGD Gaming			2-0	4-1
2.	Evil Geniuses			1-2	3-5
3.	Mineski			0-2	2-4
4.	MVP Phoenix			2-1	4-3

The Main Event begins Tuesday, June 7, with a double elimination format. Upper bracket matches are best-of-three matches, while lower bracket matches will be best-of-one. Check out https://www.themanilamajor.com/schedule-main-event-day-one/ for the full event schedule. You can see the final bracket draws below:

Upper Bracket
Team Liquid
vs
MVP Phoenix
Natus Vincere
vs
OG
Newbee
vs
Digital Chaos
LGD Gaming
vs
Fnatic

Lower Bracket
Wings Gaming
vs
Complexity
Alliance
vs
Mineski
Evil Geniuses
vs
Vici Reborn
Team Empire
vs
Team Secret

For more Manila Major and Dota 2 coverage, stay tuned on Esports by Inquirer.net.

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