With their 2018-19 season potentially on the line at the StarLadder Ukraine Minor, Alliance managed to come out on top of their group on day one.
After a full day of competition, Alliance secured a top-four finish in the Minor by being the first team to make the playoffs. They were one of the favorites in Group A, with only EHOME having any substantial experience in Dota Pro Circuit events. And that experience difference showed in their matchup with Winstrike Team.
Winstrike showed a lot of poise by not buying into any of Alliance’s bait tactics in game one, but they eventually fell. The overpowering draft of Sven, Grimstroke, Earth Spirit, Storm Spirit, and the first Mars of the tournament broke down Winstrike’s defenses.
Alliance was taken down in game two, mainly due to Winstrike drafting much better and timing their strikes with more communication. Forcing a game three, things went the distance as both sides dug in and gave no ground.
Alliance ended up amassing an insane 55 kills during the 67-minute finale, dominating the final minutes on their way to securing a trip to the winner’s match.
There they met EHOME, who had just finished their own tight series against Team Anvorgesa. This series between two veteran organizations again went the distance, but no matches were close.
Alliance won the first game handily, doubling EHOME’s kills and beating them down as they closed things out and took the lead. EHOME fought back with their own quick win, forcing GGs just past the 32-minute mark.
Game three was close early on but Alliance slowly built up their resources and pushed into the lanes. They pulled off a massive killing spree to claim control of the map and didn’t let go of that stranglehold as they waltzed to their second series win and into the playoffs.
EHOME and AVGSA will fight for the final Group A playoff spot tomorrow at 12:30pm CT. Winstrike bombed in groups and are the first team eliminated from the event.
