MDL Macau: win vs VGJ.Storm
NAVI.G2A to playoffs!
The final encounter had Natus Vincere G2A go up against VGJ.Storm. Even with the playoffs beyond reach, the North American roster came into the match with determination and focus.
Natus Vincere [1:0] VGJ.Storm
Natus Vincere G2A
-
Dendi
-
Crystallize
-
GeneRaL
-
SoNNeikO
-
RodjER
VGJ.Storm
-
Ryoya
-
kpii
-
Sneyking
-
FrancisLee
-
Stan King
The draft stage saw VGJ.Storm remove Morphling, which resulted in the Medusa pick for Crystallize. With the opponents having Slark as a carry, our boys decided to position three heroes in the hard lane. Worth noting is Dendi and General’s position swap, which yielded us much advantage early into the game: the enemy Slark couldn’t find a comfortable position, moving from one lane to another and losing much gold in the process.
At the 8th minute mark, when Medusa had already acquired some of the necessary items, RodjER and SoNNeikO switched to roaming around the map, while Crystallize was left playing solo in the hard lane. By minute 10, our team secured eight kills and 3K gold advantage, and by minute 14, Medusa was ahead of Slark by 3,5K, with victory slowly starting to slip out of VGJ.Storm’s hands.
At the 19th minute mark, a smoke gank attempt was made by our opponents, but it was to no avail due to NAVI’s favorable positioning near the Shrine, which allowed them to take down two enemy heroes.
Crystallize’s Medusa was getting more and more dangerous as the time passed: he was farming ancient creep camps and destroying towers together with his teammates. At minute 24, another teamfight went our way, and our boys went on to solidify their lead even further by securing Roshan.
Despite some successful moves, VGJ.Storm were still unable to bring down Medusa, as the hero was equipped with Skadi, Linken Sphere and Hurricane Pike at minute 28.
At the 30th minute mark, Natus Vincere G2A moved to the high ground and destroyed VGJ.Storm’s bottom barracks, but their attempts to move further were denied as they lost four heroes in the process. The opponents did not only kill Medusa for the first time in the game, but also took down the barracks on our base.
Moving on, another fight attempt ended in NAVI’s failure, as Crystallize died for the second time in a row, and VGJ.Storm claimed themselves an aegis. However, they failed to use it properly, as our boys fought back and moved to the enemy’s side to destroy their middle barracks.
At minute 40, the deciding teamfight happened, propelling Natus Vincere to the well-deserved victory. Crystallize’s Medusa was too strong to be thwarted, forcing the GG call from the opponents, with three of their heroes dead and throne destroyed.
Therefore, Born to Win finish their group stage run at MDL Macau with a 5-3 record, guaranteeing themselves a playoff berth and 30 qualification points for The International.
The playoff action will unfold tomorrow, so stay tuned! #gonavi