The first day of the ESL One Los Angeles Online playoffs saw its second upset in as many series. Following Nigma’s woeful display vs. Chicken Fighters, Vikin.gg put up a spirited fight against Alliance and pulled off a 2-1 victory today.
The first two games of this Dota 2 series were rather one-sided affairs. Vikin.gg attempted to go for an Alchemist, the strategy that they beat OG with, in the first game. Taking advantage of the weak lanes, Alliance crushed all three and harassed the Alchemist incessantly. Vikin.gg’s Alchemist couldn’t surge ahead and Alliance secured game one.
The second game saw Vikin.gg try out another cheese strategy, this time with a Broodmother pick. Alliance weren’t expecting the last pick and had a severe lack of physical AoE damage to deal with the Brood. It didn’t take long for Miroslav “BOOM” Bičan’s Brood to take over the game, aided by a Indji “Shad” Lub Dragon Knight, and Alliance conceded.
Game three was a whirlwind of emotions for both sides. Both teams operated on razor-thin margins for most of the match, but it was all about the top four cores in the game.
Nikobaby’s Spectre and Limmp’s Ember Spirit along with Shad’s Anti-Mage and BOOM’s Queen of Pain stopped at nothing to slaughter the opposing supports and offlaners. The entire game revolved around the exploits of these four, with saves and initiation focusing entirely on them.
Both teams’ carries suffered in the lanes and it was up to Limmp and BOOM to carry the majority of the early load. Vikin.gg were the more successful of the two. Anti-Mage, renowned for his farming speed, quickly caught up and held sole ownership of the top spot on the net worth chart.
It was far from over, however. Alliance’s Nikobaby has routinely shown off his top-notch decision-making and hard carry play. Slowly but surely, the Spectre began to approach wrecking-ball status. Vikin.gg had to commit more and more resources to try and bring down Nikobaby, but he held his ground.
Feeling cornered and lacking damage, Shad decided to purchase a Divine Rapier on Vikin.gg. As both teams Smoked to try and procure a decisive advantage, Anti-Mage, with Rapier in hand, made an errant jump far too swiftly.
Vikin.gg couldn’t react in time and Shad hit the deck, handing the Rapier to Nikobaby. Alliance brought down two lanes of barracks and pulled off a Rapier heist. But there was a price to be paid. Shad bought back instantly, managing to chase down some escaping Alliance heroes, but Nikobaby was home free. Vikin.gg took down Roshan for their troubles, but the game was increasingly difficult.
Then, the story played out again. This time around, the shoe was on the other foot and it was Nikobaby who committed for a creep wave. Vikin.gg pounced and Shad recovered the Divine Rapier.
With Aegis, Rapier, and The Leveller, Shad’s Anti-Mage waltzed down the mid lane with his allies in tow. Alliance attempted to draw attention away from their buildings, but Vikin.gg didn’t let the chance slip. Shad made short work of the enemy base and the pendulum swung for the last time.
Alliance have been eliminated from the competition with a top-eight placing, earning an extra $7,500 for their efforts. S4’s return to the team might have been spoiled early, but they’ve genuinely played well. With their hard support position yet to be permanently filled, Alliance’s search for a team that can win The International is far from over.
Vikin.gg move on to the next round of the lower bracket, awaiting the loser between OG and Team Secret. It won’t be an easy matchup either way, but the team has proven themselves capable of standing up to late-game pressure.
