Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, and VP.Prodigy Upsets in WePlay! Pushka League Playoffs
The playoffs of the WePlay! Pushka League started off with three surprising upsets today. Higher-seeded teams were defeated in 2-0 sweeps by Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, and VP.Prodigy.
Out of the three series, the victory by VP.Prodigy was the most dominating. The highly skilled Alliance roster couldn’t find a way to counter the high-tempo gameplay of the CIS team.
Alliance attempted their standard opening draft with Nikobaby’s Slark and s4’s Centaur Warrunner, but VP.Prodigy countered with an extreme control lineup featuring Monkey King, Pugna, and Grimstroke. As a result, Alliance was restricted early on and had little hope of surviving. Egor “epileptick1d” Grigorenko had a remarkable performance with 9 kills and 20 assists, while Rostislav “fn” Lozovoi excelled with 14 kills, 1 death, and 14 assists on Kunkka.
Alliance allowed Monkey King to be picked again in the second game, and once again, epileptick1d capitalized on this opportunity with 13 kills, 2 deaths, and 17 assists. He, along with fn, led the developmental roster to the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Team Liquid continued their remarkable turnaround, going from a bottom-six team at ESL One Los Angeles to one of the top eight teams in the next Major. They defeated Virtus Pro, sending them to the lower bracket.
VP put up a competitive fight in the first game, but Team Liquid dominated in terms of core play. MiCKe showcased an impressive performance with 14 kills, 5 deaths, and 20 assists on Clinkz, while the entire team displayed great initiation and stunning abilities in teamfights. Game two was even more one-sided, with all three core players of Liquid outplaying their CIS counterparts and securing a decisive 37-9 victory.
With this 2-0 victory, Team Liquid now holds a 5-2 record in the tournament, with an overall 11-6 score heading into the upper bracket semifinals.
In another matchup, Ninjas in Pyjamas faced off against HellRaisers. The former Chicken Fighters roster managed to defeat the CIS squad in a close series, thanks to some unconventional lineups centered around Bounty Hunter and Meepo.
HellRaisers showed determination in their draft after being overwhelmed by Ondřej “Supream^” Štarha’s Meepo in game one and Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek’s Bounty Hunter, who both had excellent performances. Instead of banning these heroes in the second game, HellRaisers opted for a different strategy and nearly pulled off a win despite the 23-12 loss.
For game two, Ninjas in Pyjamas drafted Chen, Meepo, and Bounty Hunter, but HellRaisers were prepared and prevented them from being as dominant as in the first game. However, Charlie “CharlieDota” Arat’s Juggernaut stepped up and helped Ninjas in Pyjamas secure the upset victory, despite HellRaisers making excellent adjustments.
Upcoming Match: Team Secret vs. Natus Vincere
The final series of the first round will feature tournament-favorite Team Secret against Natus Vincere, which will take place on May 9 at 9am CT.
WePlay! Pushka League, esports news, upsets, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, VP.Prodigy, Alliance, CIS team, Monkey King, Pugna, Grimmstroke, Egor “epileptick1d” Grigorenko, Rostislav “fn” Lozovoi, Kunkka, Team Secret, Natus Vincere.