Of Rapiers and Aegises: Highlights from Day 1 of the Group Stages
After the doozy set of Wild card matches that saw Korean team MVP Phoenix and Chinese team CDEC qualify for the main event of the International, the preliminary matches foreshadowed the craziness that was the first day of the Group stages. How’s that for a stale meta, Peter “ppd” Dager of Evil Geniuses?
no salt but this meta allows bad teams to beat good teams. hoping for a new patch soon
— Peter Dager (@ppdDota) April 6, 2015
A bit salty ppd? There was intense base racing involved in the last series of Vega Squadron and MVP Phoenix. I was definitely at the edge of my seat. I have no idea what you are talking about, ppd.
Did you mess Day 1’s amazing matches? Don’t worry, we’ve prepared a set of quick bites for you chomp down on.
Flavor of the day picks
Next time on the Walking Dead
Instead of a midget with a gun, we get a midget on a helicopter.
Do you wanna build a snowman?
Undying, Tusk and Gyrocopter. These heroes dominated the first day of the group stages with numerous pick-ups and for good reason. These heroes are excellent tempo setters that can swing the game early in a team’s favor.
Mushi does Rapier stacking
In a game where both teams couldn’t afford to throw caution to the wind, iG and Fnatic fought it out to the bitter, 90+ minute end. Malaysian superstar Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung garnered 1000 last hits in a game that clocked in at nearly 98 minutes. Mushi decided he should have back up Divine Rapiers just in case he died.
For those of you keeping count, that’s two of the most expensive items in the game. As back-up. Just because he can.
C9 blow a tremendous lead… again
C9 is a top team but sometimes they don’t know when to properly step on the breaks. C9 careened headfirst against a formidable LGD team (who currently tops the standings after Day 1).
Fnatic wrecks Team Secret to force the draw
Team Secret took the first game in their series but, boy, was Mushi and company mad. The Malaysian squad shocked the world by thoroughly schooling the “best team in the world.”
30-3. Never forget.
Epic Aegis steal!
Pyo “MP” No-a is proving Koreans belong in the Dota 2 pro scene with this flashy (Raijin would be proud) Storm Spirit play. Diving against the whole Vici Gaming team into the Roshan pit, MP makes it out with Aegis of the Immortal in tow.
Sonneiko is proving he is a top-tier 4-position player
Akbar “Sonneiko” Butaev is Natus Vincere’s new shining star. The young gun is definitely in excellent form and he is showing it consistently in the group stages.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, folks. It’s just gonna get better from here. Can TI be even more awesome? Why, yes it can.
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