EPIC League Division 1 Week 2 Results

The second week of EPIC League Division 1 is over and the results are not what you’d expect. It’s true that some of the big teams confirmed their strength but it’s also true that some of the lesser ones shocked everyone with their exceptional playstyle. Let’s take a look.

EPIC League Division 1 Results

Week 2 of EPIC League Division 1 took place over a period of 4 days. During this time, we had the opportunity to watch 12 amazing matches. And strangely enough, the last 10 of them ended with a score of 2 – 0.

Day 1: November 19^th

On the first competitive day, the situation was clear right from the start, except for the first match. Virtus.pro was to some degree expected to beat Just Error. But it was hard to say for sure because they had only played one match during week 1. Nevertheless, VP did a good job and in spite of losing the first game, they made a comeback and won in the end.

The second match was Vikin.gg’s big test. After defeating Team Secret and shocking everybody, everyone wanted to know if their victory against Puppey was a fluke or if they really were that good. Vikin.gg won the match and the opponent was a strong one: mudgolems. Of course, at this competitive level everyone is strong. But FATA-‘s team is arguably one of the better competitors.

The third match was easy to predict. After losing to OG and Na’Vi, Alliance was definitely expected to lose against Nigma. With KuroKy back, Nigma is a strong team again and I do expect them to finish at least in the top 6 at EPIC League Division 1.

Day 2: November 20^th

On day 2, Vikin.gg continued to impress, beating OG with a score of 2 – 0. The manner in which they beat them was extremely dominant: 23 minutes for game 1 and 33 minutes for game 2.That’s all it took to defeat the winners of the last two TIs.

Nigma had some difficult games against Just Error but in the end the difference of skill and experience proved to be too much to handle for SumaiL’s squad.

And finally, the third match offered a rematch between Secret and their nemesis from ESL One Germany 2020, Team Liquid. Both games were hard fought but Puppey proved to be much better prepared this time.

Day 3: November 21^st

On day 3 we had two casual results and an upset. Virtus.pro defeated mudgolems, which was expected given how successful they had been up until that point. Secret smashed Just Error in two quick games. But the middle match was a total surprise.

Alliance should have lost to Vikin.gg. Their form looked abysmal and Vikin.gg was at the other extreme. And yet they still found a way to win, with two completely different drafts. It’s true that they abused the notorious Tiny + Viper combo in the second game, but hey! You need to do what works. Who can blame them? IceFrog will probably ban one of the heroes soon, in order to avoid this kind of thing.

Day 4: November 22^nd

On the 4^th competitive day, OG found a way to win against a much stronger opponent, Na’Vi. The first game looked hopeless right from the start. But in the second one, which lasted 46 minutes, OG picked a very risky combo: Morphling + Spectre. Both heroes need a lot of farm and space to be effective, and OG succeeded in delaying the game long enough for both of them to come online. After that, it was over.

The other two matches were Liquid – Alliance (2 – 0) and Virtus.pro – Nigma (2 – 0). The first one doesn’t tell us much, because both of these teams, along with Just Error, have been a mess at this tournament. But the other match clearly proves that Virtus.pro is just as strong today as they were several months ago. I mean their roster, of course.

 

Photo credit: Valve