Playing a total of 81 out of 113 available heroes in Dota 2, it’s fair to say that diversity was Virtus Pro’s biggest asset at The Summit 7.
The predominantly Russian roster, who disappointed at the $500,000 Epicenter LAN finals on June 4, aimed to make a statement at The Summit 7—one of the last LAN events prior to the start of The International 7.
Having been criticized for their narrow hero picks by the Russian-speaking Dota 2 community, Virtus Pro’s run at The Summit 7 saw the players pick a wide array of the game’s available heroes as a way to showcase their skill. The end result was a tournament run that saw Virtus Pro only play four heroes more than once.
The Russian team’s journey to the grand finals wasn’t entirely smooth, however, as Virtus Pro were pushed into the lower bracket by LGD in the semifinals. From there, Virtus Pro had to make their way through Digital Chaos, NP, and finally LGD before facing off against Team Secret in the grand finals.
Upon reaching the grand final, both teams looked poised to leave Los Angeles as champions, as the series spanned a total of five games. While Team Secret grabbed the initial lead in the confrontation, Virtus Pro answered back by winning two games in a row—only to have Team Secret steal the fourth game, sending the series to a decisive fifth confrontation. To cap off the event, Virtus Pro’s Ilya “lil” Ilyuk picked an old-school-style Sven support, which together with Alexei “Solo” Berezin’s Warlock was able to quickly deter Team Secret’s ganking efforts. After 42 minutes, the final game had been decided, and Virtus Pro were crowned champions of The Summit 7.
With a tournament victory, as well as an invitation to the International 7 in the bag, odds are that Virtus Pro are more than happy with their weekend in Los Angeles.
