Introduction
There are so many tournaments going on at the same time that it can get overwhelming trying to keep up with them. In this series of blog posts, I will share matches which I have found notable and worth watching in the past week or two.
vs 
I really like the drafting strategy in this game - one of those games that are won in the drafting stage alone.
Na'vi get second pick and thus are able to pick up two heroes in a row, and they go for Naix + Storm Spirit, an aggressive combination that has served them very well in the past - the infamous Naix bomb, where Naix infests into the Storm Spirit and they go ganking. From the point Storm Spirit gets his Orchid no hero can solo farm safely - even traditionally safe farmers like Anti-Mage - due to the instant activation on the Orchid silence.
However, iG immediately counter-pick with Outworld Devourer. This creates a laning problem for Na'vi, where their Storm Spirit is unable to solo mid (Outworld Devourer is not only a strong mid but is especially strong against Intelligence heroes). Yet Storm Spirit needs a solo lane for a fast level 6 - without getting his ultimate he is very easily killed and can't contribute much to the game. iG further seal the deal by picking Treant, where his global defensive potential counteracts the Naix + Storm Spirit global ganking potential.
In the end, Na'vi have terrible lanes, with Storm trying to solo their safe-lane and getting repeatedly killed by the iG aggressive tri-lane, their Naix trying to solo mid against the Outworld Destroyer and losing, and they just get crushed overall and lose the game badly.
vs
This game is particularly notable because there are no players in any well known competitive team that use Bone Clinkz except Funnik, and even Funnik has not used Bone Clinkz for months.
Na'vi run a free farming Clinkz (Funnik) while LGD have a free farming Spectre (Sylar). Obviously Spectre is a stronger lategame carry, however, once Clinkz finishes his Orchid (at which point Sylar is still farming his Sacred Relic), he starts terrorizing everyone on LGD, to the point where Sylar only dares to farm when his entire team is standing behind him to save him from being ganked by Clinkz. Even that doesn't save him once Clinkz gets his BKB and Daedalus.
Clinkz is a hero with a very niche role in DOTA2 and is often misunderstood, leading to his poor win rate. He's not a carry (despite appearances), and does very poorly in teamfights. His skill set is deceptively simple but in reality requires a lot of skill to play properly. Clinkz is a hero that has a really bad early game and really bad late game - he only shines for a small window in the mid-game, and only if he managed to farm a fast Orchid. When he does shine though, he's an absolute terror, as this match shows.
The Alienware Cup was really well run and had very enjoyable commentary from a variety of people with good insight into the game. I might review more games from it next week. Also there was the StarLadder Finals going on which I missed most of (there's only so much DOTA2 you can watch in a week) which I guess I will review next week. And right now the Defense is starting up again. Also I nearly didn't get to post this because I've been playing too much Endless Space lately but that's a topic for a different blog, methinks...
There are so many tournaments going on at the same time that it can get overwhelming trying to keep up with them. In this series of blog posts, I will share matches which I have found notable and worth watching in the past week or two.
iG outpick Na'Vi
vs
Tournament: Alienware Cup (Lower Bracket Finals Game 3)
Casters: LD, 2GD, Luminous, Merlini, & Bruno
I really like the drafting strategy in this game - one of those games that are won in the drafting stage alone.
Na'vi get second pick and thus are able to pick up two heroes in a row, and they go for Naix + Storm Spirit, an aggressive combination that has served them very well in the past - the infamous Naix bomb, where Naix infests into the Storm Spirit and they go ganking. From the point Storm Spirit gets his Orchid no hero can solo farm safely - even traditionally safe farmers like Anti-Mage - due to the instant activation on the Orchid silence.
However, iG immediately counter-pick with Outworld Devourer. This creates a laning problem for Na'vi, where their Storm Spirit is unable to solo mid (Outworld Devourer is not only a strong mid but is especially strong against Intelligence heroes). Yet Storm Spirit needs a solo lane for a fast level 6 - without getting his ultimate he is very easily killed and can't contribute much to the game. iG further seal the deal by picking Treant, where his global defensive potential counteracts the Naix + Storm Spirit global ganking potential.
In the end, Na'vi have terrible lanes, with Storm trying to solo their safe-lane and getting repeatedly killed by the iG aggressive tri-lane, their Naix trying to solo mid against the Outworld Destroyer and losing, and they just get crushed overall and lose the game badly.
Funnik plays Bone Clinkz
vs
Tournament: Alienware Cup (Finals Game 2)
Casters: LD, 2GD, Luminous, Merlini, & Bruno
This game is particularly notable because there are no players in any well known competitive team that use Bone Clinkz except Funnik, and even Funnik has not used Bone Clinkz for months.
Na'vi run a free farming Clinkz (Funnik) while LGD have a free farming Spectre (Sylar). Obviously Spectre is a stronger lategame carry, however, once Clinkz finishes his Orchid (at which point Sylar is still farming his Sacred Relic), he starts terrorizing everyone on LGD, to the point where Sylar only dares to farm when his entire team is standing behind him to save him from being ganked by Clinkz. Even that doesn't save him once Clinkz gets his BKB and Daedalus.
Clinkz is a hero with a very niche role in DOTA2 and is often misunderstood, leading to his poor win rate. He's not a carry (despite appearances), and does very poorly in teamfights. His skill set is deceptively simple but in reality requires a lot of skill to play properly. Clinkz is a hero that has a really bad early game and really bad late game - he only shines for a small window in the mid-game, and only if he managed to farm a fast Orchid. When he does shine though, he's an absolute terror, as this match shows.
The Alienware Cup was really well run and had very enjoyable commentary from a variety of people with good insight into the game. I might review more games from it next week. Also there was the StarLadder Finals going on which I missed most of (there's only so much DOTA2 you can watch in a week) which I guess I will review next week. And right now the Defense is starting up again. Also I nearly didn't get to post this because I've been playing too much Endless Space lately but that's a topic for a different blog, methinks...
