MVP Phoenix’s Korean lineup claimed another international Dota 2 victory on Sunday, making it their second title this year. Just as in the last tournament, they left little to no chance for their adversaries in the grand final, closing out a one-sided victory against Vega Squadron with a 3-1 scoreline.
The team subsequently slumped following their victory at DotaPit Season 4 last month. But despite this, it seems the new patch has worked in favor for the Koreans’ aggressive playstyle. They demonstrated this time and again in the grand final, where none of the games MVP Phoenix won lasted for over 30 minutes. Kim “QO” Seon-yeop was once again the standout player for MVP. His exceptional play on Slardar in the grand final caused all kinds of hell for their Ukrainian opponents.
WePlay also saw the debut of the new Evil Geniuses squad. The North Americans tournament run began in less convincing fashion, where they just survived an early deficit to the greeks of Ad Finem before losing to both eventual grand finalists in their remaining group stage games. Fighting from the lower bracket, the International champions eliminated Team Spirit, Elite Wolves, and Team Empire before finally being eliminated by Vega in a narrow 2-1 series in the lower bracket final.
Once in the grand finals, it seemed as if Vega’s fortunes had changed. Despite this being the debut of the new EG roster, the North Americans were still considered one of the favorites at the event. But unfortunately for the hometown heroes, MVP seemed to have an impeccable read on them following their encounter in the group stage. The Koreans defeated Vega 2-0 in the upper bracket final and once again gave them no quarter in the finals.
