The Summit: And then there were three

Fnatic's Stand-In

Expectations weren't high for Fnatic at this event, and for good reason. Most teams don't have a great track-record with stand-in's, but when your stand-in is an entirely unknown player attending his first ever LAN, things start to look a lot more dire. However, Steve 'Excalibur' Ye rose to the occasion quite admirably and given his age of only 16 and lack of experience, the potential is clear. Catching both DK and ViCi Gaming off guard during the groupstages was no small feat from Fnatic, and more than most expected of them.

But then, you have to do it again. DK picking Fnatic as their opponent for the first round of the upper bracket was not a surprise, and as they both gave the respect to the unknown kid and generally knew what they were going into, DK crushed Fnatic, followed by EG doing much the same in order to eliminate Fnatic as the first team from the competition. Expected? Probably. But for a moment there, they had us hoping for more.

The Na`Vi's

Na`Vi.US had one of the roughest tournaments in a while. Their first time together on LAN had them struggling to find a common tune, and while they at times looked like they could put up a fight during the groups, they ended it ultimately 0-5. Meanwhile their European brethren also started out on a rough note, dropping straight games to DK and ViCi before defeating EG and Fnatic, indicating a potential turn-around.

But Na`Vi.Eu still looked shaky through-out. They never felt quite comfortable in the strategies they were running, in no small part because these strategies were often picked wholesale from other teams. Still, it netted them a win in the second game of their series against VG in the upper bracket on the back of a very Fnatic Tiny+Wisp, and to everyone's surprise VG were even willing to give them the same lineup for game 3. But while Na`Vi showed few signs of reigning in their failures with the combo (believe it or not, you can be too aggressive with these heroes), ViCi opted to bait Na`Vi into making the same mistakes that had haunted them in game 2, and used this to their advantage in advancing to the winners finals.

So it came to be that Na`Vi met Na`Vi to fight for their relegation. To call the first game a blowout hardly does it justice, with a 19-1 and 15minute game, but that one glimpse of greatness was all Na`Vi.NA really got this tournament. The Ukrainian squad bounced back, taking the second game convincingly and coming out on top of a mammoth 71 minute third game. It might not have been pretty, but Cane had overcome Abel once again.

Evil Geniuses path to redemption

EG did not have the best tournament. They came in looking all out of place, their drafts were poor and the team just couldn't do anything right. They improved slowly over the course of the event, but ultimately there was a reason why the two bottom teams at the end of the groupstages were North American. Luck was a bit on their side as they faced an already weakened and largely figured out Fnatic in the losers bracket, and while the first game was within Fnatic's reach at times, EG overall looked by far the more confident of the two and would advance on a straight 2-0 to face Na`Vi.Eu.

By the time they had to face Na`Vi the team was again back to being the top tier competitor that was expected to show up for this event. They slaughtered the Ukrainians in the first round and then entirely out-thought Na`Vi with a curve ball Faceless Void and Enigma zoning lineup. It wasn't even close. EG continues on as the only remaining Western team, and with the form they displayed today they might well make it all the way to the finals yet. A final word should be said about Clinton 'Fear' Loomis, who reportedly has been hard at working trying to pound some common sense into his players heads, trying to convince them that you win Dota games by killing buildings, not by farming heroes at the fountain.

ViCi Gaming stand strong on tested ground

ViCi has been mostly about as predictable as they are. They have their heroes they enjoy and their playstyle, and they've been playing that and it's been working out against the Western teams, mostly because their opponents haven't seemed all that ready for them, which should be a surprise given how long ViCi has had these same elements to their play.

DK however has been a different beast for ViCi, and the winners bracket final showed just how different. The first game seemed to suspend the current meta almost entirely, as neither team got much of that frontline tanky power that has been all the rage in China as of late. Instead, ViCi tried to get cute and got countered hard by heroes that excel at picking them off, including the rarely seen Wisp+Rikimaru combination and the Queen of Pain that DK has been putting a lot of stock in as of late. For the second game, ViCi reverted to something closer to their comfort zone but not quite, with Alchemist and Lone Druid being the chosen tanks for the lineup. DK however once again got the better draft, with key counters like Brewmaster and Doom, and proceeded to bully ViCi into submission.

ViCi faces an re-invigorated EG next, and the question for them is do they go all the way back to the Bristleback picks or do they still try to find something different enough to surprise EG? That's the question ViCi has to wrestle with before tomorrow's games.

DK in the finals again

What is there left to say? DK is playing about as good as they did at WPC ACE and they look the favourites to win the tournament again. There are still cracks in their play, but it's up to the other teams to exploit them while dodging DK's attempts to counter-pick their heroes. It's a tall order, but it's not impossible.

For the remainder of the schedule check out the tournament website over at BeyondTheSummit.tv