Eastern Europe is always full of surprises, so let’s go through some of these most exciting games this week.
Eastern Europe became one of the most exciting regions in Dota 2 following Team Spirit’s successful run at TI 10. Despite being the heavy underdogs, the roster was able to rip through the competition and lift the trophy. Needless to say, this had a positive impact on the region because it gained even more popularity.
There were several interesting results and loads of epic team fights during the week, especially in Division I. With that being said, here are some of the best highlights.
Division I
Like other regions, Eastern Europe’s Division I consists of the best teams in the CIS. Everyone was eager to watch Team Spirit, but there were several other interesting matches, so let’s go through them.
Team Empire vs AS Monaco Gambit
The first series of the week was between two CIS teams that have a lot of experience in playing against each other. Although Team Empire used to be the favorite back in the day, now things are different. Andrei “meLes” Romanov and the other from ASM Gambit didn’t allow TE to show their prowess and win the series.
ASM Gambit used almost the same lineup in both games and needed around 35-minutes to take the win both times. Team Empire tried to bounce back in both games because they had heroes, such as WK and Bloodseeker. Sadly, they were unable to carry their team to victory.
Natus Vincere vs PuckChamp
This was another intriguing series to watch because Natus`Vincere and PuckChamp are two teams with a lot of potential. After another set of roster changes, Na`Vi was hoping to become the most dominant team in the region again, but sadly, they couldn’t show the world what they could offer.
PuckChamp decided to pick IO, Razer, and Doom twice in a row and didn’t give Na`Vi any chances of succeeding. Vladimir “No.[o]ne ”Minenko and the rest didn’t go down without a fight; trying to turn the game around. Unfortunately, they did not have enough firepower as PC seized the series and the victory.
Team Spirit vs Team Unique
The third series of the week was undoubtedly the most anticipated one because it was the first time we had the chance to see Team Spirit in action after their successful run at TI 10. The CIS powerhouse shocked the world, but everyone knows they’re special after defeating the best teams on TI’s main stage.
Judging by the results and the team’s performance, it seems like the TI curse hasn’t caught up to Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk and the rest just yet.
The first game was slightly more interesting because Team Unique picked an exciting draft including OD and Faceless Void. Despite having a lot of firepower, TS managed to snatch the victory, thanks to their Shadow Fiend and Wraith King.
After winning Game One, the second match of the series was a lot easier for TI 10 champions. Yatoro needed just 24-minutes to unleash his potential, giving his team the first win in Division I.
PuckChamp vs AS Monaco Gambit
This series was highly anticipated because both teams were able to win their first matches of the week. Consequently, the victor was definitely going to finish as the leader in Division I.
Some people thought that AS Monaco Gambit was the favorite; but Nikita “young G” Bochko and his teammates proved them wrong. After two amazing games, PuckChamp won and secured themselves two victories. This time, the mighty CIS roster utilized Bane in both of their games, which shows that they are really diverse when it comes down to picking heroes.
Virtus.Pro vs HellRaisers
The final series of the week in EEU Division I was between Virtus.Pro and HellRaisers, two of the oldest and most respected CIS Dota 2 teams. VP’s new roster is dangerous and always ready to fight, but it was unable to stand its ground against the mighty HR.
After multiple back-and-forth skirmishes, HR pulled the game in their favor. VP had a solid early game and looked on track to win, however, OD and Luna had other plans. The two monsters managed to do tons of damage during the team fights, allowing HR to secure the victory.
After the loss, VP decided to change their strategy and picked other types of heroes. Although the lineup didn’t look good on paper, Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin and the rest of his team were able to utilize it to its full potential. This pushed the series into a final Game Three.
Despite having the momentum on their side, VP failed to survive the series. After several mistakes. HR took manners into their own hands and delivered their knock-out punch, taking the win 1-2.
Division II
With all the action in Division I, it’s easy to forget about the lower bracket. Here’s some of the most interesting results in Division II.
Gambit vs B8
These two teams have been fighting each other for a couple of years. Since Danil “Dendi” Ishutin created B8, he’s been trying to become a Tier 1 Dota 2 team, but it seems like he can’t find the recipe for success. Following the most recent roster changes, B8 finally had what it takes to fight the best in the region. Sadly, the team was unable to show its prowess in the first series of the week after losing both games against Gambit.
Although the first one was close, Gambit didn’t allow B8 to use the snowballing power of Ursa and QoP. After shutting them down, Vasilii “AfterLife” Shishkin and the other members of Gambit won the game.
The second game of the series was better for Gambit because they didn’t even have to bounce back. After securing a good lead in the laning stage, the team successfully defeated B8.
CIS Rejects vs Nemiga Gaming
CIS Rejects is the favorite in Eastern Europe’s Division II because it consists of some of the best players in the world. As expected, Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev and the other superstars could defeat Nemiga Gaming. However, it wasn’t as easy as people thought. Both games lasted for nearly one hour. Needless to say, there were tons of back-and-forth action, but in the end, CIS R was victorious.
V-Gaming vs Fantastic Five
FF is one of the teams in Division II people like a lot because they have a lot of potential. Unfortunately, V-Gaming was able to claim the series following a 2-1 deathmatch. The first game went in favor of V-Gaming, but FF couldn’t bounce back after winning game two.
The decider looked promising at first, but after a couple of minutes, it was obvious that V-Gaming was going to win. Following the laning stage, the CIS squad got a few items and didn’t allow Fantastic Five to utilize their roster’s power.
Winstrike Team vs Hydra
Winstrike Team used to be one of the most promising names in CIS (similar to Team Spirit before winning TI 10). Sadly, they were unable to live up to the expectations, and it seems like the new roster also has a lot of work ahead of it because it lost its series against Hydra.
Both games were fun to watch because there was some back-and-forth action. Sadly, Winstrike was unable to claim the victory after losing both of them.
B8 vs CIS Rejects
The last series was also fun to watch because Dendi can meet some of the best players in the region that he used to play against when he was a part of Na`Vi. Game one lasted over 50 minutes, and B8 nearly managed to win, but the second map was unfortunately, one-sided with the series going to CR in the end.
Stick around as ESTNN continues covering all the highlights from the 2023-22 DPC Season!
