Ad Finem and WG.Unity Surprise in the First Round of Dota 2 Boston Major

First round playoffs aka the top 16 of the Dota 2 Boston Major just finished this morning. Some of the top teams managed to easily overcome their opponents and advance to the next round. But besides that, some teams underdog apparently managed to make a surprise and disqualify those who on paper are more favored.

First round playoffs this was filled with matches that ended with a score of 2-0. Virtus.Pro who emerged as the favorite champions managed to overcome IG.V even though in that match they began to show little gaps or weaknesses.

OG and Digital Chaos managed to overcome their opponents, respectively MVP Phoenix and Team Faceless who were not seeded in this tournament with a score of 2-0. Then even though on paper it is quite balanced, Team NP, which has beaten EHOME several times, again surpassed this Chinese team, but this time with a score of 2-1.

Two derby also happened in this first round. Evil Geniuses and Wings Gaming, who both won The International, were forced to meet, and EG was superior and won 2-0. Then, LGD.Fy who played with two substitutes managed to beat their “brother” team LGD.

In addition there are two very surprising results. WG.Unity, which I initially pegged as one of the teams that will fall quickly, actually managed to beat CompLexity with a straight 2-0 score. Indeed, neither am I confident with CompLexity’s odds, but I also didn’t expect them to lose against a team from Southeast Asia who lacked experience in major tournaments.

But the main story in this round is of course Ad Finem. The Greek team, which is always “almost through” to the Major and The International tournaments, faced Newbee in their first Major tournament.

At first, Newbee, who was the more seeded, looked solid after winning easily in the first game. But the next two games, Ad Finem turned around and instead managed to beat Newbee with a score of 2-1.

dota-2-boston-major-bracket hasil first-half-playoff results

With all these results, the Chinese team that originally had a total of six teams now only has one team left in this tournament. And that’s because they faced another Chinese team as well (LGD vs. LGD.Fy). This reminds me of last year’s Shanghai Major, where many Chinese teams had bad results and ended up making a lot of changes roster. So don’t be surprised if in these two weeks Chinese teams will make a lot of changes roster.

The quarter-finals will take place at midnight tonight. Virtus.Pro will face tough opponents Evil Geniuses, OG will face surprise team WG.Unity, Digital Chaos will face their American rivals Team NP, while LGD.Fy will have to face Ad Finem to keep the Chinese team’s hopes in this tournament.

Who do you think will advance to the semifinals, and who will win the Dota 2 Boston Major?

Main image source: Liquid Dota Twitter account