The Dota 2 Stockholm Major takes a break today as the remaining eight teams prepare for the fight of their lives. At the top, it’s Tundra Esports versus TSM in the Upper Bracket Finals. It means these two are already guaranteed a third-place finish.
The Long Game
Heading into their match against Thunder Awaken, Tundra was heavily favored to win. In the first game, Tundra's picks gave them the needed advantage during the laning stage and the mid-game. With Oliver "skiter" Lepko on Wraith King and Leon "Nine" Kirilin on Mars, Tundra dominated team fights. It didn't help Thunder Awaken that Tundra's Neta "33" Shapira was on Lycan.
Despite that, Thunder Awaken managed to put up a good defense on their base. However, with Tier 5 neutral items and a lot of refreshers, Tundra eventually broke through that stubborn defense. Overall, it took one hour and four minutes for Tundra to get the victory.
The second game was much closer compared to the first one. Both teams had some good back-and-forth but eventually, Tundra managed to get the advantage and the sweep.
NA Shines
With Evil Geniuses eliminated early in the tournament, it's now up to TSM to prove that NA teams are on par with their counterparts. They showed that in their match against Gaimin Gladiators.
In the first game, TSM took the lead early in terms of kills. However, Gaimin had the advantage when it came to gold. As a result, Gaimin won team fights and even destroyed the barracks for two of the TSM's lanes. At the 44-minute mark, TSM turned things around and won a crucial team fight. With four heroes on Gaimin down, TSM knew it was time to push and they did. Gaimin had no choice but to call GG and give the win to TSM.
The second game was like the first one at the start. The only difference was in the mid-game, where TSM got the lead in both kills and gold. This pretty much sealed the deal for TSM to win and sweep Gaimin.
Upcoming Matches
The Stockholm Major takes a break today but when matches return, it’s going to be another exciting day. That’s because these are Lower Bracket fights, which also means some teams are going home. The matches are:
- Match 1: beastcoast vs. BetBoom Team
- Match 2: OG vs. Fnatic
- Match 3: Gaimin Gladiators vs. [winner of Match 1]
- Match 4: Thunder Awaken vs. [winner of Match 2]
Which two teams do you think are moving to the next stage of the tournament? Dota 2 is available on PC.
