The DreamHack Vengeance Cup's third and last day went by and it had everything from drama to miracles and all else you could ask for in a great tournament. The day started off with a Ukranian all star match up between Darer Entertainment and the reigning The International 2011 champions, Na'Vi (Natus Vincere). The Ukranian rivals are very well used to one another as they have played against each other countless times over the years.
The game started heavily in favor for Na'Vi as they had a 4-17 kill lead within the first 10 minutes along with a 7,500 gold lead. Darer's captain, Ivan "ArtStyle" Antonov, went for an all or nothing move which ended up being a heavy risk that didn't pay off. What was expected to be a close game 1 was completely off as Na'Vi dominated Darer in an amazing 14 minutes to take the 1-0 lead. In game 2 Darer started off with a slight edge but was not enough, although it was a tighter game, in the end Na'Vi took the win at the 42 minute mark.
The last game of the quarter-finals featured the Americans, EG (Evil Geniuses) against the Aussies aL (Absolute Legends). The first game was a bit more on the defensive side as both teams played patiently against one another but as time went by it was obvious that EG were the clear victors and won the game in about an hour. The second game seemed like a complete opposite, as the confident Americans pushed and played a more aggressive style as aL could not gain momentum from suffering the loss in the first game, they went on to win it in 20 minutes to win a date against Na'Vi in the semi-finals.
The semi-finals started off with a new rivalry between mTw (Mortal Team Work) and Mousesports. Mouz has played exceptionally well thus far in the tournament as they went to the semi-finals in a perfect score to meet up with mTw for the revenge match after mTw eliminated their dreams of making The International 2012 in the losers brackets finals of the west qualifiers. In Game 1, they both had similar approaches as they played safely and avoided confrontation. As time went by, mTw had a clear advantage in experience along with 10,000 gold more than their German counterpart and went on to win it in 30 minutes.
Game 2 featured a few twists as mTw played more aggressively to try finishing off Mouz in two games but things did not go their way this time as mTw were eventually cornered on the map and were eventually wiped and were forced to forfeit after 20 minutes. Mortal Team Work went with a similar aggressive approach in Game 3 but this time they were a lot more careful and made sure to stack up on gold as well with a nice 8,000 gold advantage to start off in the first few minutes. Both teams continued to play carefully for the most part of the game but in the end, similar to game 1, mTw went on the offense and overpowered Mouz and getting the GG.
In the second series of the semis it was a match up between Na'Vi and EG. Game 1 seemed like an easy victory for Na'Vi as they overwhelmed the Americans with their heavy rushes. Although EG were able to counter-attack and made things difficult for Na'Vi, in the end they were always a step behind and lost as Na'Vi made it look easy. The second game was similar to the first, as Na'Vi continued where they left off. EG did not have an answer for Na'Vi's dominating offense and eventually fell to Dendi's AoE in the mid lane. The win gave Na'Vi a ticket to the finals against mTw.
Na'Vi and mTw were the last remaining teams to play for the championship of the DreamHack Vengeance Cup 2012. Na'Vi being the famous and arguably best team in the world had the highest expectations to win the event against the recently rising underdogs, mTw.
Game 1 between the two was the closest one, as Na'Vi went with their usual seemingly unstoppable offensive rushes while mTw played carefully and patiently when they could. Na'Vi made the first aggressive rush in the 16 to 27 minutes mark but mTw were able to stay alive with some luck with an invisibility rune and getting three kills on Na'Vi with a triple Black Hole. In the 40 minutes mark, both teams went head to head by the Roshan with no Black Hole and the Aegis was placed on the Weaver. As both teams played their respective games well, mTw were not able to find an opening and ended up losing the first game.
One more game was needed for what seemed like an unstoppable Na'Vi team as they've yet to drop a single game in the entire tournament. It seemed like they were destined to win the championship as they took every game by storm but Game 2 told a different story. Team mTw started off as the stronger side with a 4-1 kill lead in the first 4 minutes. 10 minutes in, a teleport on mid lane led to the kills of Invoker and Bane and things were looking surprisingly well for mTw. By the 24 minute mark, mTw had an astonishing 10,000 gold lead on Na'Vi. At the 40 minute mark, mTw pulled a miracle as Na'Vi were not able to get to Roshan on time. This was the first game loss to Na'Vi at a crucial moment in the tournament.
Game 3 started off with mTw having a slight kill advantage of 3-1 after 11 minutes of both teams playing carefully. Within 10 minutes after, mTw were able to get a 5,000 gold advantage and were able to take down Roshan a few minutes after that. The score was still close at 5-4 and Na'Vi found themselves in an unfamiliar situation as they were being pushed. Mortal Team Work went on and kept playing their way as they were slowly putting Na'Vi against the wall and forcing them to play defense. By the 36 minute mark, mTw had a 13-6 kill score going their way.
Na'Vi's Danil "Dendi" Ishutin went for a brillian Aegis steal but it was not enough as mTw won the game as they picked the naked throne. At the 37 minute mark, the giant powerhouse Na'Vi have lost to the underdogs, mTw, as their dreams came true in DreamHack. Agaisnt all odds, the win crowned mTw as the DreamHack Vengeance Cup champions in what was a stunning grand finale.
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