And combating in the classic BO3 system in the Lower Bracket is:
[divider]Team Serenity v.s. OpTic Gaming[/divider]
Serenity was on fire, making clean, crisp teamfight decisions and showing off their individual skill on a shaky Fnatic. Fnatic played poorly, greatly overplaying their hand in an early teamfight, and then being stuck in a rut after that. Although there were signs of life after their poor early showing, it was too late for them to come back. Pyw’s Tiny was on fire, setting up fights by one-shotting supports and then drawing enemy fire to himself, allowing Serenity’s cores to execute freely.
OpTic was thoroughly dispatched in two games by Liquid, with the series taking a little over an hour. In fact, it was so fast that the delayed event corrected its schedule. I might have overrated ppd’s drafting slightly, but there was slight signs of life coming out from OpTic during the series. Against a team that is not as individually skilled as Liquid, their drafting prowess might shine through again.
OpTic will take this 2-1. As Serenity has shown over the few days, the lack of knowledge on their team has played into their hands, allowing them to take a more greedy approach to drafting. However, I find it hard to see OpTic losing two games to an unknown team.
Related: A look back at Day 1!
[divider]Mineski v.s. Virtus.pro[/divider]
Remember how I mentioned Mineski had two of the most experienced players in SEA? Well, it clearly showed in their game, as their patience and mental fortitude saw them turn a stomp the other way around. Maestro Moon had a powerhouse performance on Shadow Fiend, playing the hero like a true ace. TNC.Predator had the game in the bag for so long, and a few crucial outplays meant that instead of celebrating a certain win, they were the second SEA team to go home. Now, Mineski carries the hopes of the SEA region with them, as all other SEA teams have been eliminated in the first round of the lower bracket.
Virtus.pro surprisingly drops to the lower bracket, after humiliating losses against PSG.LGD. For the entirety of the DPC season, Virtus.pro looked unstoppable, and look set to dominate the International. However, LGD quickly put that theory to bed, as LGD’s superstar Somnus played VP like a fiddle. Despite dropping down to the lower bracket, VP is no doubt raring to go, and will look to last year’s TI as inspiration – after all, Liquid was in this exact same spot last year.
It’s hard to bet against VP. Mineski has played three series against VP, not even managing to take a single game off VP. All signs point towards history repeating itself, VP 2-0.