https://www.facebook.com/pg/dota2/photos/?tab=album&album_id=297893156942815 Courtesy Dota 2 facebook page.
Series 7 totally made up for the games earlier in the afternoon. Let’s see how the standings look right now;
| Team | Series Score | Game Score | Points |
| LGD Gaming | 4 – 1 – 1 | 9 – 3 | 9 |
| Team Liquid | 3 – 3 – 0 | 9 – 3 | 9 |
| Evil Geniuses | 2 – 4 – 0 | 8 – 4 | 8 |
| TNC Pro Team | 1 – 5 – 0 | 7 – 5 | 7 |
| Team Secret | 1 – 5 – 1 | 7 – 7 | 7 |
| iG Vitality | 1 – 4 – 1 | 6 – 6 | 6 |
| Team Empire | 1 – 4 – 2 | 6 – 8 | 6 |
| Infamous | 0 – 3 – 3 | 3 – 9 | 3 |
| Fnatic | 0 – 1 – 5 | 1 – 11 | 1 |
To remind everyone briefly, the points probably matter anymore. The wins & losses still matter and formatting is annoying. On to each series!
Team Secret (2) vs Fnatic (0)
Team Secret have finally decided that they want an upper bracket draw. It was delightful to watch Team Secret dominate the game so much so that they won in under 22 minutes. Everyone on Secret had a great game and their draft was top notch. Despite the win in game two Team Secret really struggled to close the game out despite being ahead by 12K net worth at 30 minutes. Team Secret need to focus on their last series against Liquid.
Team Liquid (1) vs TNC Pro Team (1)
Team Liquid got a solid win in game one, their draft was fine and they executed it well enough. Game two was surprising from both teams, I don’t expect another Lone Druid pick from Team Liquid anytime soon. TNC continue to be just as baffling as iG Vitality. Their position in the standings will remain in flux through tomorrow but I do believe the end result will be the same, a quiet exit in the lower bracket.
ig Vitality (1) vs Team Empire (1)
Game one was a good win by Team Empires standards. Legion Commander seems like a solid pick for a team that wants to fight all the time and Duel lets them do just that. Game two ended after 128 minutes. Team Empire held onto a lead for roughly 105 minutes but by that point they had run out of ideas. iG Vitality just calming cleared mega creep waves and won every team fight they needed to win. Heart-breaking loss for Team Empire, they are destined for the lower bracket now. They do play Team Liquid later but that match was out of reach before they lost a two hour game.
Evil Geniuses (2) vs Infamous (0)
Evil Geniuses came out in game one and just slapped Infamous across the face. Game one legitimately almost ended before 20 minutes had passed. Game tow was a lot closer fought than game one but EG showed they were a superior team mechanically. Timado was continuously caught and killed on Ember Spirit; and I think it was a combination of his lack of experience on that Hero and EG keeping him in check. I think it’s unfair to single out one member of EG for this game because Suma1L, Arteezy, Universe, zai & Cr1t all had moments on their respective heroes. IF EG can stay at this high level of individual skill and teamwork they can make a very deep run in the upper bracket. Potential opponents of EG should might consider banning Earthshaker and Naga Siren in the future.
Group A concludes today with Evil Geniuses vs LGD Gaming, Team Liquid vs Team Empire, iG Vitality vs Fnatic and TNC Pro Team vs Infamous.
