The IAP Road: StarLadder X LAN Groupstage

Last Thursday, Philippines’ Inter Active Philippines Execration (IAP.XctN) fought against some of the world’s best Dota 2 teams in the group stages of the Starladder Season X LAN Finals in Kiev, Ukraine. It is important to remember that this is the first time both for the Philippines and the Southeast Asian (SEA) region to field a team in one of the most prestigious Dota 2 tournaments in the world (apart from the International) and it is also good to recall that the team has been placed in what is arguably the easier group, composed of Team Secret (TS), Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) and Virtus Pro (VP).

Here is what has transpired for our country’s sole representative in Kiev:

DAY#1:

Match#1: Na’Vi vs. IAP.XctN

IAP.XctN picked a good team fight lineup which was composed of Ogre Magi, Tidehunter, Shadow Demon, Wraith King and Naga Siren. On the other hand, Na’Vi got their Batrider, Skywrath Mage, Treant Protector and Gyrocopter line-up; it is important to know that they are heroes that the Europeans are very comfortable with, thus giving them the upper hand in terms of picks. Only Dragon Knight was a bit different, and yes indeed, the first fifteen minutes were good times for IAP.XctN as they got the necessary pickoffs in order to stunt the growth of the enemy cores.

However, a series of sloppy team fights as well as some very good BKB timings on Na’Vi’s core heroes turned the game around and from that point on, it was just a matter of time before IAP made the GG call.

With that, the Pinoy representative started with a loss in their first appearance in Kiev.

Match#2: IAP.XctN vs. VP

This time around, the Filipino team picked up the notorious Death Prophet for Jay, a hero which can easily bring down towers with Exorcism and clear down creep waves with Crypt Swarm. In addition, they took for themselves a Centaur Warrunner and a Skywrath Mage, both of which sync very well together with their nukes and initiation skills. Finally, they rounded out their picks with the Witch Doctor for the sustainability in team fights as well as the infamous Cask and Death Ward, and Nyx Weaver who can whittle down enemies during chaotic clashes.

Virtus.Pro picked up a lineup that can scale better into the late game, which was composed of Spectre, Razor, Puck, Ogre Magi and Dazzle.  Spectre can do large amounts of damage during skirmishes once she gets her Drums, Radiance and Manta Style up, while the Ogre Magi syncs very well with the Puck and Razor as well. Finally, Dazzle provided the much needed survivability factor for the team; clutch Shallow Graves determined the outcomes of team fights.

The game started with a roller coaster performance by both teams; however, the Filipino team got their act together and started to play more carefully and farm more efficiently. It came to a point where VP’s Spectre wasn’t able to do a lot in teamfights, while IAP’s Death Prophet just farmed away a massive net worth lead. After besieging the VP base for a couple of minutes and taking two sets of barracks in the process as well as getting kills on multiple heroes, the Russians were forced to tap out of the game.

Match#3: Team Secret vs. IAP.XctN

The third game is all about showing Europe and the rest of the international Dota 2 community that Execration and Southeast Asia are capable of more than the comeback that happened for Team Secret. Puppey and company selected a line-up that can scale into the late game and get even trades as well (Sven, Mirana, Tidehunter, Viper and Elder Titan); while the Filipino team got their hands on most, if not all of their signature heroes (Skywrath Mage, Razor, Death Prophet, Earthshaker and Nature’s Prophet). The thing is that IAP.Execration and Team Secret were on even terms until the late portion of the mid game, wherein Secret found a way to come back through essential item pickups such as Force Staff on Elder Titan as well as Refresher Orb on Tidehunter, not to mention the numerous BKB timings on their core heroes.

As mentioned above, IAP got all outer towers by mid game and they had a substantial gold lead; however, it is important to notice that Secret went for even trade-offs after the early game and made sure that most, if not all of their heroes gain the area experience from taking down the heroes of IAP.Execration. This shows that very small details are important when it comes to playing Dota 2 at a professional level.

With that, IAP ended the day with a final score of 1-2 in the group stages of StarLadder; but most importantly, they have shown the world that they can fight toe-to-toe with the juggernauts of the Western Dota scene.

DAY#2

Execration began the day by waiting for the results of the Natus Vincere and Team Secret matchup, which determined whether they will have a three-way tiebreaker for second place or be relegated outright to the lower bracket. If TS wins, then Execration will play Na’Vi and VP once again, but if Na’Vi wins, then IAP rounds out the group as its third placer and will fight the fourth placer of Group A. TS eventually wins against Na’Vi, and the tiebreakers began.

Match#1: IAP vs. VP

IAP picked up a very team-fight oriented lineup with Jakiro, Skywrath Mage, Razor, Witch Doctor and Faceless Void, while VP gets Windranger, Ogre Magi, Mirana, Nature’s Prophet and Ancient Apparition. The Filipinos have many ways in order to initiate (in addition to having a massive AoE lineup), while the Russians got many ways both to nuke down and disable enemy heroes.

The early game went awry for the Filipino side, with G on the Windrunner getting a very hot streak early on and the aggressive trilane of Ogre Magi, Mirana and Ancient Apparition completely wrecking the Jakiro-Witch Doctor-Skywrath Mage lineup in the bottom lane. Over the course of the match, IAP gets kills left and right in order to  remain in the game, but relentless split-pushing by the Russian side sealed the deal for them. With that, IAP gets their first loss in the tiebreakers.

Match#2: IAP vs. Na’Vi

In this matchup, the Ukrainians pick themselves a very tanky lineup that can also conduct clashes at the same time, which was composed of Razor, Ogre Magi, Abaddon, Faceless Void and Jakiro, while the Filipinos got themselves Brewmaster, Tidehunter, Shadow Demon, Mirana and Medusa; they wanted a control lineup that can shine throughout any phase of the game.

Early on, the game was pretty much on spot for IAP with successful gank attempts, however, Void was farming freely in his lane, gaining items and the levels needed in order to strike back. Indeed, they did so, but the fights went back and forth for both sides until the late game when a 4-0 fight won the game pretty much handily for the Ukrainian side. At this point, there was nothing much that IAP can do as their main heroes were mostly underfarmed compared to the cores of Na’Vi. They just typed the “gg” call, and this pretty much summed up Execration’s journey in the group stages.

This was basically IAP.Execration’s path in the first part of the tournament and now that they have reached the playoffs, it is now all about how far they can go in the brackets. Will they bring a miracle for the Southeast Asian Dota 2 community?

This is the right time for Execration to give all they have got. To end this feature, here’s a quote, which serves as the motto of the British Special Air Service (SAS):

“Whoever dares, wins.“

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