SL 9 Finals Day 1: DK, EG Dominate April 17th, 2014 18:43 GMT Text by TheEmulator Graphics by riptide Focus Mode

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SL9 Finals Day 1:

DK, EG Dominate!



Day 1 Standings!



[Brackets on Liquipedia] and [Match discussions in the LR thread]



Countdown:

(Day 2 Starts in:)





The first day of the Starladder Season 9 LAN Finals came to an end today with DK and EG dominating their groups. Both are now well on their way to the Winner’s Bracket in the playoffs, and have already secured their way into it. DK went toe-to-toe with both Alliance and Empire and in the long run just straight up outplayed them in pretty much every stage of the game.



Though they played from behind against Alliance, and took somewhat of a beating in the laning stage vs Empire, where Resolution played a very flashy Mirana and even picked up first blood against iceiceice’s Invoker, DK were calm and collected throughout, executing near-perfect team fights and generally making the correct calls at every point in the game. The most striking aspect of their play at Starladder so far, of course, has been the fact that they have let Lycan through the first ban phase and then constructed their own lineup around countering him, something which they did successfully against both the European teams they faced today.





iceiceice still has time to clown around despite being so composed (and deadly!) in game.



The other big winner of the day, of course, was EG. Coming into Starladder off a hot streak in North America, they went straight for the jugular and took down Na`Vi, at home, in Kiev. That’s no mean feat! Even with EE standing in for Fear, the team looked poised and on the ball, and they played very well as a unit. Universe’s Dark Seer stole the show in their game vs Na`Vi, and just moments ago we saw them crush RoX in 21 minutes riding along the backs of Arteezy's OD and Universe's Timbersaw.



Meanwhile, iG looked to be back in form as well, and they laid a 21 - 3 beatdown on RoX.KIS, finishing the game in just 19:15. Their game vs Na`Vi didn't go in their favour, but it ended up being one of the most interesting games of the day. Both Na`Vi and iG are now tied after day 1 with a 1-1 score.



The other European juggernauts did fairly average today. Empire, Alliance, and Na`Vi all went 1-1, so they are in no way out of things yet, but they will all have to fight hard to keep in it. MVP and RoX ended last in each group, going 0-2. This was expected from everyone, but with that being said they put up some better games than we expected.



See you tomorrow for day 2!



Games of the Day



Not much to say about these other than watch them if you want to see some great Dota from SL Day 1!



Group A: Alliance vs DK



I think Lycan, I think Lycan, I think Lycan. I think Lycan, I think Lycan, I think Lycan.



Group B: EG vs Na`Vi



Despite Icefrog's best efforts, Dark Seer is still a good hero. Despite Icefrog's best efforts, Dark Seer is still a good hero.





CREDITS

Writers: riptide, TheEmulator

Gfx: riptide

Editors: riptide

The first day of the Starladder Season 9 LAN Finals came to an end today with DK and EG dominating their groups. Both are now well on their way to the Winner’s Bracket in the playoffs, and have already secured their way into it. DK went toe-to-toe with both Alliance and Empire and in the long run just straight up outplayed them in pretty much every stage of the game.Though they played from behind against Alliance, and took somewhat of a beating in the laning stage vs Empire, where Resolution played a very flashy Mirana and even picked up first blood against iceiceice’s Invoker, DK were calm and collected throughout, executing near-perfect team fights and generally making the correct calls at every point in the game. The most striking aspect of their play at Starladder so far, of course, has been the fact that they have let Lycan through the first ban phase and then constructed their own lineup around countering him, something which they did successfully against both the European teams they faced today.The other big winner of the day, of course, was EG. Coming into Starladder off a hot streak in North America, they went straight for the jugular and took down Na`Vi, at home, in Kiev. That’s no mean feat! Even with EE standing in for Fear, the team looked poised and on the ball, and they played very well as a unit. Universe’s Dark Seer stole the show in their game vs Na`Vi, and just moments ago we saw them crush RoX in 21 minutes riding along the backs of Arteezy's OD and Universe's Timbersaw.Meanwhile, iG looked to be back in form as well, and they laid a 21 - 3 beatdown on RoX.KIS, finishing the game in just 19:15. Their game vs Na`Vi didn't go in their favour, but it ended up being one of the most interesting games of the day. Both Na`Vi and iG are now tied after day 1 with a 1-1 score.The other European juggernauts did fairly average today. Empire, Alliance, and Na`Vi all went 1-1, so they are in no way out of things yet, but they will all have to fight hard to keep in it. MVP and RoX ended last in each group, going 0-2. This was expected from everyone, but with that being said they put up some better games than we expected.See you tomorrow for day 2!Not much to say about these other than watch them if you want to see some great Dota from SL Day 1! Administrator