Fnatic goes to the packed lower bracket. Southeast Asian Dota never fails to surprise!!
When Valve postponed The International to October, it left a void in Dota 2 esports. Tournament organizers were quick to announce new events and in some cases change the dates of existing events. Beyond The Summit, famous for its Dota 2 events, quickly announced BTS Pro Series Season 7 for SEA and Americas. Galaxy Racer has now reached the grand finals of the SEA section after a 2-0 win over Fnatic.
Four teams started in the upper bracket playoffs at BTS Pro Series Season 7. Execration, Galaxy Racer, T1 esports and Fnatic had a strong showing in the group stage and as a result, started in the upper bracket. Galaxy Racer defeated T1 esports 2-1 while Fnatic took down Execration with a similar scoreline to set up a match against each other. The winner of this upper bracket final match between Galaxy Racer and Fnatic would secure a spot in the Grand Finals of the $50,000 tournament.
Game 1: Turn Opponents to stone
Galaxy Racer picked up Medusa as their carry hero in Game 1. It was a second pick Medusa, giving Fnatic ample time to counter this early pick. With Enchantress constantly applying pressure in the safe lane, Fnatic’s Brewmaster was simply unable to have a good game. Medusa had free-farm and the early dominance impacted the mid to late game.
Galaxy Racer was able to capitalize on the space its heroes received to secure a lot of farm. Medusa had 805 GPM while the safe-laner Chaos Knight ended the game with 790 GPM. Both cores had the Aghanim’s Scepter and Aghanim’s Shard buffs. Medusa even had a Moonshard buff, hitting significantly faster and dealing immense damage to the opponents.
Fnatic had a moment of victory around the 33-minute mark when they managed to convincingly win a team fight. But the lack of significant objectives and allowing Galaxy Racer to continue farming turned out to be a disastrous decision. Galaxy Racer always had the lead throughout Game 1. It was a matter of when and not if Galaxy Racer would win Game 1.
Game 2: MVP Rubick turns the tide
Galaxy Racer got the Medusa pick again, surprising since most of their wins in this tournament have been on the back of this hero. This game was significantly balanced with both teams fighting neck and neck to secure a lead. Fnatic had a decent start and held the lead for a long time. But the lead did not grow. It felt the outcome was inevitable and sure enough Galaxy Racer with its late-game picks clawed back into the game once their core heroes secured crucial items and farm.
A team fight at the 30-minute mark saw Galaxy Racer team wipe Fnatic without losing a single hero. It was a team fight with Aegis on Luna. The MVP of this team fight and much of the game was Rubick. Rubick was able to steal Dark Seer’s Vacuum and set up three enemy heroes on the high ground teamfight.
Galaxy Racer awaits an opponent in the Grand Final
With this victory, Galaxy Racer now sits in the Grand Finals. Fnatic heads down to the lower bracket and will face the winner of Team SMG and T1 esports. With strong Medusa performances, it will not be a surprise to see Medusa in the ban list of the Grand finals.
The BTS Pro Series Season 7: Southeast Asia Grand Finals take place on August 15, 2021. The matches will be broadcast live on Twitch.
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