The International 4 Play In Series Is Full Of Surprises
The International 4 kicked off yesterday with the Play In Series, a mini tournament of sorts, which saw the runners up from each of the 4 qualifiers battle it out for the final spot in the main TI4 event.
If you have read my predictions then you may find this article quite amusing.
The first best of three saw European runners up Virtus.Pro take on the SEA runners up MVP Phoenix. The first game saw some uncommon picks and a developed into an interesting game. VP had a great chance to win the game but a few strong plays from MVP saw them take the first game. The second game (which I unfortunately was not able to watch) was apparently a similar story, with VP having a solid early game but MVP taking the mid game and snowballing to victory. This meant that MVP Phoenix took the first series 2-0 and advanced to the final of the Play in Series.
The second match saw China runners up CIS take on the American runners up Liquid. The draft was very interesting as CIS picked a strategy favored by many of the Chinese in the current Meta whilst Liquid went for quite a safe draft. Liquid dominated the first game and comfortably won in just over 30 mins. The 2nd game was slightly more entertaining. CIS went for a very greedy and late game focused draft that ended up costing them dearly. Their late game focused line up simply couldn’t fight in the early stages, and against an incredibly farmed Weaver from Qojqva they stood little chance. Liquid took the win with a score of 23 kills to 6 at the 26-minute mark. This meant Liquid took the series and advanced to the final to face MVP Phoenix.
The first game of the final saw Liquid take a push heavy line up securing both a Lycan and a Batrider, two heroes who are usually banned early on. A fairly uneventful early game was quickly spiced up around the 9 minute mark as a QO snuck into the pit to steal the kill and the Aegis from under the noses of Liquid. (I fully understand many of you wont understand that, but fortunately you can check out the beginner’s stream during matches so you can learn the game). The rest of the mid game remained fairly even; MVP seemed to be the stronger of the teams up until a few bad fights. Some sly plays from the Lycan saw Liquid pick up the rax advantage and from there it was clear who would win.
The 2nd game in the final saw some very open first bans resulting in Liquid picking up Lycan and Ember Spirit with the first two picks not a good result for MVP, although they did grab a surprising Naga Siren. The strong draft from Liquid was a sign of things to come, a strong early game followed by a dominant mid game saw Liquid take the win in just over 30 mins and they didn’t lose a single tower. Liquid take the series 2-0 and manage to secure the final spot in the main competition that kicks off later today.
Be sure to stay tuned to God is a Geek for more coverage of The International 4.
