DreamHack Vengeance Cup Day 2, hosted in Jönköping, Sweden, was in full force earlier as Group C and D came to a conclusion along with the first half of the quarter-final round in the knockout stage. In Group C, it was no surprise to see the reigning The International 2011 champions, Na'Vi (Natus Vincere) go on a full 3-0 sweep to finish top of the group while taking on all three local Swedish teams in CLG (2nd place, 2-1), MAD (1-2) and Cop Top (0-3). As expected, the two invited teams: Na'Vi and CLG dominated their group as they defeated the other Swedish underdogs within 30 minutes. 
Although the results were to be expected, MAD and Cop Top played well and gave their home crowd a reason to cheer as they competed against some of the best teams in the world. Cop Top ended up being swept and going 0-3 but they did so in great fashion. In their game against Na'Vi, they pulled an unorthodox move by going for a lv 1 Roshan attempt before the creeps spawned.
The move was successful and threw off the Ukranian powerhouse Na'Vi off guard for a moment. Na'Vi was able to get back on their feet as they took over and won the game but the play showed a lot of guts on Cop Top's side to even try something like that against the arguably best team in the world.
Now that's one for the home crowd entertainment! In the most anticipated match of the group between Na'Vi and CLG it was a fast paced rush at the start and both teams were almost even for the most part until Na'Vi got map control and were the more aggressive side after, giving them the win in the end and finishing 1st in Group C.
Group D was a little more balanced in terms of skill spread through the group, as they had mTw (Mortal Team Work), EG (Evil Geniuses), DN Gaming and SIB. DN Gaming was the most hyped out of all the BYOC qualified teams and were easily the crowd favorites of Group D but in the end they were no match for the invited powerhouse teams as they fell short a game from making it to the playoff round.
In the end it was the rising mTw (3-0) and the Americans, EG (2-1) that took the last playoff spots as they ended the group stage. None of the BYOC teams ended up making it to the playoff round but it was a great experience for all of them. The only Swedish team in the playoffs will be CLG (Counter Logic Gaming) as they were also one of the invted teams and will also be competing in The International 2012, come August 31st.
The playoff rounds will be played in a best-of-three fashion. Two of the four quarter-final games were played today, starting with Mousesports against the Swedish favorites, CLG. In the first game between the two, Mousesports started with their familiar tactics of Anti-Mage and Crystal Maiden in the middle lane against CLG's Dual Venomancer and Queen of Pain. Although it seemed like CLG had the upper hand along with the roaring cheer from the crowd, Mousesports turned the tables around by the 36 minutes mark. Game 2 started in a similar manner as CLG seemed to have had the upper hand and dominated the first minutes of the game but once again, Mouz stayed in the game and slowly took over to secure the second win and a place in the semi-finals.
The second match in the quarter-finals featured two powerhouse teams in Quantic Gaming and mTw. Two skilled teams and also a statement game as Quantic Gaming wanted to win it as a way to avenge their loss from the hands of the eventual champions of The International 2012 qualifiers' west wild card tournament, mTw, whom ended up sending them home in the losers bracket. The first game was an intense one that ended up lasting over an hour of both teams going back and forth. In the end, Quantic managed to take advantage of a rare error on mTw's part but it was not enough as mTw managed to turn the tables around taking the first win.
The second game was completely different as mTw was able to out-rush Quantic Gaming in a short lived game. Mortal Team Work went with a final aggressive rush and went on to win the second game and giving themselves a spot in the semi-finals. Day 3 will feature the rest of the quarter-finals along with the semi and grand finals, with all the powerhouse teams in the tournament. Will Na'Vi once again be the victors as expected or will an underdog heavyweight team take it all? Find out soon as the conclusion of the DreamHack Vengeance Cup approaches!
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About the author: Saturo My name is Saturo. Creative writer with an upbeat style but with versatile skills when something requires technical details. Several years of experience in writing articles. Varying from entertainment to real estate. |
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