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In what could potentially be one of the last LAN events of the Dota 2 season, Fnatic battled Evil Geniuses for a spot at the grand finals of the Dota Summit 12.
The first two games were rapid stomps split between the two teams, but the third saw clinical execution from Fnatic, a team usually known for their stylish but unstable play.
The first game of the series saw the Southeast Asian squad picking up a support Axe, which backfired horrendously. After the stomp, Fnatic played like a team possessed. Their team fights and on point decision-making were put on full display in the two games they won, even winning with an unorthodox safe lane Shadow Fiend.
Fnatic has seen marked improvement every time they show up at an event. The team had a lackluster performance at the MDL Chengdu Major on their way to a bottom half finish. Their appearance at the DreamLeague Leipzig Major saw them running into two of the best teams in their first two playoff series and proved themselves capable of taking games off of them.
It seems to have all come together for the SEA all-stars at the Summit. Unfortunately, they won’t be able to flaunt their stylish plays at the ESL One Los Angeles Major because of the event’s cancellation, but the roster’s performance thus far could prove to be the magical mix Fnatic needed to stop its disappointing string of results at The International in recent years.
EG was unable to capitalize on their game one stomp where they picked up Abed’s favored Templar Assassin to speed up the tempo and dominate the game. Their drafts in the next two games relied too much on long-cooldown ultimates which were punished duly by Fnatic.
Regardless, the North American team has overcome this situation too many times for fans to count them out. The crew remains dangerous, and a little setback now might be just what they need.
Fnatic moves on to the grand finals of the tournament, while EG will have to fall to the lower bracket finals. EG awaits the victor between Team Liquid and OG.Seed. The champion will go home with $50,000 in their pockets while the runner-up will have to make do with $25,000.
Both series will be played out tomorrow on the final day of the Dota Summit 12, starting 11am CT.
