Kiev major: Invictus Gaming evaporates Team Liquid to advance to the Semifinals
Invictus Gaming took down a valiant Team Liquid 2-1 to seal a spot in the semifinals of the Kiev Major. Despite Liquid claiming the second game in a spectacular fashion, IG kept their cool and went on to close the series.
Game 1
Team Liquid sprung up quite a few surprises when they picked Visage for Game 1 of the quarterfinals. Invictus Gaming went for a BurNIng Morphling and an Xxs Batrider. Liquid claimed first blood as GH caught Xxs’ Batrider in the jungle and punished him. There was never a chance for Liquid as they
constantly lost team fight after team fight giving away valuable gold and XP lead to IG.
A bad decision by liquid left IG’s Morphling farm alone in the safe lane as BurNIng finished the game with an incredible 47 denies. This free farm for BurNIng hurt Liquid badly as he completed his Linken’s Sphere, Ethereal Blade and Manta Style in just 28 minutes.
Meanwhile, Op lost the mid lane to Miracle’s Templar Assassin but recovered wonderfully, thanks to his team fight participation. Matumbaman had no time to recover as he finished his Linken’s by 31 minutes. By that time, Invictus Gaming was cruising towards victory and there was nothing that Liquid could do.
MVP. BurNIngwas the MVP of the match as he propelled his team towards the victory with his plays on Morphling.. Carry. Invictus Gaming. BURNING
Game 2
In Game 2, Team Liquid once again showed the world how deadly they can be in team fights. Team Liquid gave away BurNIng his signature Anti-Mage but in turn opted for Spectre on Matumbaman. IG had the gold lead all along as BurNIng got a triple kill in the 23rd minute giving him ample amount of gold to finish his Manta Style.
A smoke rotation from IG was expertly spotted out from Matumbaman as he juked out of a Legion Commander duel using his ultimate. It was a game-changing moment as Team Liquid got the much needed confidence.
Team Liquid capitalized on a lapse in judgment by Op as he dived deep into Liquid’s jungle and choked as he was out of mana. On the other side, Matumbaman valiantly held himself against Warlock, Monkey King, and the Legion Commander and still came out on top. With a triple kill in his bag, it was game over for IG as they fell to Liquid.
MVP. Matumbaman was the best player on the map with his plays on Spectre.. Carry. Team Liquid. MATUMBAMAN
Game 3
Team Liquid went on into Game 3 with a new found confidence as they drew first blood killing Xxs’ Dark Seer. The match was pretty much even for the first twenty minutes with both teams trading blows. The first real came for IG as
they wiped 4 liquid players with Xxs landing an amazing wall. From there, it was all too easy for IG as BurNIng completed his BKB. Even though it was a great draft by Liquid, Matumbaman’s Spectre couldn’t come online as IG closed the game within 40 minutes.
In the end, it was too much for Liquid as Xxs landed a beautiful Vaccum-wall combo, decimating Liquid’s lineup which forced them to call GG.
MVP. Xxs is the MVP of the game as he landed a lot of Vaccum-Wall combos making Liquid’s day horrible.. Offlaner. Invictus Gaming. XXS
Stay tuned to DireDota for more coverage of the Kiev Major!