The first Dota 2 Major of the new season is already seeing some new teams emerge as the strongest lineups. The Ninjas in Pyjamas (NIP) which feature Peter Dager as well as Mind_Control as a stand-in has managed to reach the Top 4 at the major. Despite falling earlier in the day to Virtus Pro [ they are yet to defeat Virtus Pro] NIP maintained their dominant status in the lower bracket against TNC Predator.

NIP win 2-0 over TNC Predator

NIP’s win over TNC Predator had only one MVP, Mind_Control. The Team liquid player who is a stand-in for the Ninjas was dominating in both the games. The first game saw Mind_Control play Axe. Laning against the Spectre and a Crystal Maiden, he never really had enough pressure on him early game. As he started getting his early items and the levels, he soon spun out of control. Mind_Control’s Axe was 14-1 at the end of the game and the score still does not display his dominance in the lane and the map.

In Game 2, it was almost a similar situation, this time with Centaur. However, with a really tough to kill lineup, NIP simply was able to out-tank their opponents for the most part. With heroes like Weaver, Necro, Spectre and Centaur TNC Predator simply did not deal enough damage to nuke them down. TNC Predator put forth the Arc warden, but they did not have the same effect as Team Secret’s Nisha. They just did not manage to create the space necessary for the hero to get important items and levels.

TNC Predator’s run at the major comes to an end. They did manage to eliminate Vici Gaming in the Lower bracket earlier. For now, NIP looks very strong and possibly a contender for the Grand finals. However, they still have two more matches to win before a Finals appearance.