Manila Masters: EG crushes Faceless 2-0

North American aces Evil Geniuses defeated Team Faceless in the first round of Manila Masters. EG continued their undefeated streak against Faceless by winning 2 games straight in a dominating fashion. They proceeded to face IG in the Upper Bracket.

Evil Geniuses has forever been a consistent team in contrast to Faceless. Faceless tried swapping roles by shifting xy to Carry and Jabz to support, but in vain. The team still shows severe inconsistency and lack of discipline against better teams such as EG.

EG continued their superior form in yet another LAN event by winning the first round 2-0. They move on to face IG in the upper bracket of the tournament.

It is interesting to see how Faceless are going to fare against the other SEA team in the tournament, Clutch Gamers in the lower bracket.

Game 1

Draft

Evil Geniuses

Team Faceless

EG drafted Treant, Puck, Phoenix and Faceless Void with clear intentions of team-fighting and holding high ground. Faceless who recently changed roles, drafted ShadowFiend-Clockwork  focusing on dominating the mid lane.

Team Faceless managed to pick up a significant lead in the early game after a dream start and winning all the three lanes. Black^ on Shadow Fiend had a stellar performance in early-mid game. Puck got caught too many times in Disruptor’s Static Storm, giving him no chance to escape. Even Universe who was on his signature Faceless Void had a rough start and was too squishy to front line.

It seemed like Faceless’ game as they proceeded to rack up over 10,000 gold lead over EG. But EG showed impeccable high ground defense fending Faceless off of the high ground, simultaneously healing towers using Treant Protector. Faceless got caught off guard multiple times during this siege giving EG glimpses of comeback. Arteezy’s Heaven’s Halberd proved effective, disarming Black^ in the critical stages and reducing his damage significantly.

As Puck hit Level 25 and picked up +420GPM talent, EG pulled ahead in the net worth. After a few chaotic teamfights and multiple buybacks expended by both teams, EG stood tall thanks to their teamfight  synergy. SumaiL’s item build enabled him to burst down Black^ in the final moments of the game, eventually winning them the game by making a huge comeback.

Game 2

Draft

Evil Geniuses

Team Faceless

EG began with the same opener in the draft, but switched things up by picking Nature’s Prophet and Razor. The draft showed clear emphasis on early game. Faceless this time went for team fight approach byb picking up DarkSeer and Queen of Pain.

With clutch plays from SumaiL and flawless execution from Arteezy, EG secured a remarkable lead in the early mid game. Meanwhile, Arteezy secured a rampage just 14 minutes into the game.

Arteezy soon reached a critical mass absorbing every instance of damage coming his way and still surviving. He soon picked up Aghanim’s Scepter wasting no time in taking their base and securing the victory.

Stay tuned to DireDota for more coverage of the Manila Masters. You can check out our post-Kiev Major Shuffle post here.