In the decisive game, gpk's Queen of Pain once again dominated the laning phase, but had no rhythm in the mid-game. Liquid relied on Nisha's Storm Spirit to sweep the map and expand the economic lead, while Saika's Dragon Knight was limited in development and couldn't get his items! Although the game dragged into the late stage, Liquid had Insania's Enchantress transitioning to core to supplement the damage. In the crucial team fights, gpk's Queen of Pain and old Tokyo's Phoenix both missed their ultimates, 33's Enigma used BKB and Black Hole to kill Saika's Dragon Knight, securing the game for Liquid. After three intense games, Liquid defeated BB and advanced to the winner's bracket!
Both sides' BP:
Radiant BB: Save Batrider, MieRo Timbersaw, Saika Dragon Knight, TORONTOTOKYO Phoenix, gpk Queen of Pain
Dire Liquid: Insania Enchantress, m1CKe Weaver, Boxi Tusk, Nisha Storm Spirit, 33 Enigma
Post-match data:
Match details:
[4 minutes] In the bottom lane, old Tokyo's Phoenix and 33's Enigma traded kills, with old Tokyo's Phoenix getting the first blood!
[7 minutes] Boxi's Tusk TP'd to the top lane, used an Ice Shards to trap MieRo's Timbersaw, and with m1CKe's Weaver, they forced a kill on MieRo's Timbersaw! Then, 33's Enigma in the bottom lane, in a 1v2 situation, managed to trade with old Tokyo's Phoenix! Liquid with a 1 for 2 trade!
[11 minutes] Nisha's Storm Spirit reached level 6, maintaining the team's momentum, and consecutively killed BB's positions 3, 4, and 5, also clearing BB's ancient stack! The economic lead increased to over 2K!
[15 minutes] Liquid got a bit overconfident, attempted to dive the tier 2 tower to kill Dragon Knight but failed, resulting in Nisha's Storm Spirit dying for nothing! 33's Enigma used Black Hole but was focused down and killed! In this team fight, MieRo's Timbersaw got a double kill, and BB managed to survive with two low-health heroes, countering with a 1 for 3 trade!
[16 minutes] The fight continued, Boxi's Tusk used an Ice Shards to block the path and, with teammates, instantly killed the charging MieRo's Timbersaw. Nisha's Storm Spirit caught m1CKe's Weaver, who then solo killed Save's Batrider. BB's team was picked off one by one, and Liquid achieved a 0 for 5 team wipe, extending their economic lead to 6K!
[20 minutes] MieRo's Timbersaw was instantly killed in the mid lane by a Cyclone + Walrus Punch combo! Liquid grouped up and pushed the mid tier 2 tower!
[23 minutes] Save's Batrider initiated and, with teammates, caught Nisha's Storm Spirit in the mid lane, but Liquid still managed to control the next Roshan! Nisha's Storm Spirit with Aegis!
[33 minutes] At the Roshan fight, Nisha's Storm Spirit initiated, MieRo's Timbersaw used BKB but didn't catch anyone, and old Tokyo's Phoenix's Supernova was almost wasted! Liquid killed Phoenix and then took Roshan! m1CKe's Weaver with Aegis! The economic lead increased to 12K!
[37 minutes] BB grouped up in the top lane and found an opportunity, with gpk's Queen of Pain getting a double kill! However, MieRo's Timbersaw was instantly killed in the mid lane, and in the high ground fight, old Tokyo's Phoenix used Supernova to buy time, trading with Insania's Enchantress! Both sides disengaged!
[40 minutes] Liquid attempted to go high ground, but 33's Enigma was caught by Batrider's Lasso + Queen of Pain's ultimate and died again. However, Liquid found Save's Batrider, forced his buyback, and then pushed the mid high ground and transitioned to the bottom lane. gpk's Queen of Pain missed two consecutive ultimates, watching as Liquid destroyed the second lane. The freshly revived Save's Batrider tried to initiate but died instantly, and old Tokyo's Phoenix's Supernova was wasted! 33's Enigma with BKB used Black Hole on two heroes, instantly killing Saika's Dragon Knight with teammates! Liquid destroyed all three lanes, and BB, unable to defend, called GG!
