The Kiev Major: Day 1 Recap
The first day of the Kiev Major has already seen multiple records broken and some major upsets.
Featuring 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams, it seemed like the underdogs were the most determined to prove their worth at the $3 million event.
In the swiss format group stage, the tournament favorites, Invictus Gaming and OG, won their first set of games. However, even they faced struggles. OG lost their opening map to Brazilian hopefuls SG e-sports, but managed to secure a top seed in the following round.
But the biggest surprises of the day came from TNC Gaming and Digital Chaos. TNC defeated Evil Geniuses, while Digital Chaos emerged victorious against Newbee.
And TNC wasn’t done surprising everyone. In their second series against Thunderbirds, they made an impressive comeback after losing the first game. Carry player Marc Polo “Raven” Luis Fausto’s performance on Spectre earned him a total of 33 kills, the highest ever recorded in a professional Dota 2 game.
On the other hand, mousesports, with their newly acquired Greek roster, struggled throughout the first day. They were no match for Invictus Gaming and lost to them in both maps of the series. Although they performed better in their second match against Newbee, they ultimately lost the deciding game after a 75-minute brawl. This puts them in a difficult position, with the lowest possible seed if they lose their next series and enter the playoffs.
The action continues tomorrow at 2am CT, with Virtus Pro, TNC, Invictus Gaming, and Team Secret vying for a spot in the playoff stage.