VP's first major and TI7: what changed?
The Boston Major 2016 was the first stepping stone for updated Virtus.pro roster. Over half a year has passed since that event, so let's take a peek at how the team has changed over this time.
Virtus.pro's status has grown – the invitation to TI7 proves that
Qualifying for The Boston Major 2016 proved not an easy feat. VP managed to overcome its many challenges along the way, one among them – their victory over soon-to-be TI7 champions – Team Liquid.
VP finished the group stage in first place, topped only by Ad Finem. First play-off rounds, however, resulted in a loss to Team Liquid (0:2), but consequent performance in the Lower Bracket allowed VP to defeat Team Secret and get revenge against Team Liquid (2:1)
Despite the results of The Boston Major 2016, it was a crucial stage of team's development. As a result, Virtus.pro were the only CIS team to get qualified for The International 2017.
VP's hero pool increased drastically
In play-offs alone (7 games), Virtus.pro used 24 unique heroes, compared to the entirety of The Boston Major (8 games), where they only picked 23.
In 8 months separating these events, Lifestealer, one of the VP's favorites during The Boston Major 2016 faded away. Curiously, we can't say the same about Sand King and Ogre Magi – those heroes dominated VP picks in Boston, and consequently in Seattle.
RAMZES666's progress
Vladimir “No[o]one” Minenko claimed the title of The Boston Major's MVP, boasting an impressive KDA of 8.19. In The International, however, Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev had his eyes on this title with KDA of 7.47.
In the group stage Roman claimed the first place, but was passed by four other players during the play-offs. No[o]ne, however, claimed the title of one of the best farmers, ensuring his place in the top 5.
Virtus.pro were considered favorites as in Boston, as in Seattle
VP were called clear favorites of The Boston Major 2016. Perhaps, the team would have showed better results in other play-off format, but single-elimination made things complicated. As a result, VP only placed 5-8.
General director of Evil Geniuses Peter “ppd” Dager: “Single elimination tournaments are filled with disadvantages. Virtus.pro should have finished in second or third place, not in 8th. If Ad Finem were to play in Double Elimination, they would have never reached the finals. And semi-finals between OG and EG looked more like the finals”.
Before The International 2017 Virtus.pro were considered one of the three clear favorites, but the first place was already reserved for Team Liquid. VP shared second and third place with Evil Geniuses.
RuHub's caster Vitaly “v1lat” Volochai: “They [Virtus.pro] are feared – that means everything in series of The International caliber”.