After a week full of action, here are some of the interesting things that happened in CIS.
CIS is one again one of the most interesting DPC regions to follow, especially when it comes down to the Lower Division. This is one of the regions in Dota 2 that is unpredictable, which makes it fun to watch.
Lower Division
After doing numerous roster changes, HellRaisers has finally found the route to success. Their latest acquisition of Roman “Resolut1ion” Fominok is playing really well and helped the team to win the series against PuckChamp. However, it was definitely not as easy as they thought it would be.
Game One started really well for HR, but sadly, they were unable to secure the victory. After a good laning stage, Reso and his teammates decided it was time to push, but little did they know, this was their biggest mistake. PC won several team fights in a row, and thanks to their Death Prophet, the team was able to push really fast.
Despite this unfortunate loss, HR didn’t give up and ripped through their opponents in the next two games, especially in the third one. Thanks to Wraith King, HR defeated Andrei "meLes" Romanov and co. in less than 30 minutes.
The next series that was fun to watch was between Gambit Esports and Imperial Pro Gaming. Game One seemed as if it will go in Gambit’s favor, but sadly, they couldn’t win. IPG’s DP and Void Spirit managed to win a few fast team fights. This allowed them to snowball out of control and ultimately win the game.
After the heavy loss, Arslan "xannii" Shadzhanov and his teammates decided to pick a really strong late-game carry in the face of Phantom Lancer. Even though the start wasn’t easy, the hero managed to get a few items relatively fast. This allowed him to slowly but steadily accumulate enough wealth to deal with his enemies.
Also Read: DPC Weekly Recap – EU Feb 2-6
Upper Division
There were a few intriguing series to watch here, but the one that turned out to be the most interesting was between VP and EXTREMUM. This series was important for VP and luckily, the best CIS team in the last couple of years managed to secure the victory.
Although things were looking good for EXTREMUM in Game One, Virtus.Pro completely ripped through their opponents. In fact, they needed just 28 minutes to win the game after securing 22 kills.
Needless to say, the victory gave the team a lot of motivation, which is why they went into Game Two holding their heads high up. Although EXTREMUM had their chances, VP was relentless once again. Their aggressive lineup allowed them to gank their opponents all the time, and in the end, they delivered their knock-out punch.
After the impressive victory, Virtus.Pro is yet to taste a defeat during the qualifiers. The next series ahead of the CIS powerhouse will take place on February 14. Danil "gpk" Skutin and his teammates will have to go up against Team Spirit, who are always dangerous.
Also Read: DPC Weekly Recap - China Feb 1-7
Highlight Series: Natus Vincere vs Team Empire
After several years of changing their roster, Natus Vincere finally found a formula for success. The CIS powerhouse is currently occupying second place in the group after yet another dominant victory. This time, Danil “Dendi” Ishutin’s ex-team managed to defeat Team Empire.
Game One between these two Dota 2 behemoths was really full of back and forth action. As a result, it lasted more than an hour. Even though Team Empire had a lot of chances to claim the win, Na’Vi’s Black Hole was too strong. After winning a really important team fight, Alik "V-Tune" Vorobey and his teammates were able to push their enemies and secure the victory.
After the heavy loss, Team Empire seemed demoralized. As a result, they were completely run down by their opponents in the same game. The T1 champions needed just 18 minutes to win.
Sadly, this loss puts TE in a bad position because they are second-last in the group. The good news is that they still have two more weeks to try and bounce back. We just have to wait and see whether they have what it takes to do that.
