Virtus.pro defeats Newbee and ties with paiN Gaming

The third day of TI8!

Virtus.pro – Newbee – 2:0

The first game's score was opened up by Newbee with their kill on RodjER. Despite that, Virtus.pro came out ahead in the early-game skirmishes. The first Roshan was claimed by VP. On the 23-minute mark, our team cemented their lead by winning a series of crucial team fights. The second Roshan in VP's bag forced the Chinese line-up to play defensively, limited to their half of the map only. Newbee were defending successfully for a while, but a mistake around 53rd minute cost them the game.

VP put all their eggs in a positional gameplay basket in the second game. Both teams were neck and neck in the early game. After the 15th minute, Virtus.pro won a couple of skirmishes in a row, which allowed them to take the first Roshan of the game. Being at a disadvantage, Newbee lost their midlane structures. Around the 30-minute mark, the opponents' Phantom Lancer got caught completely off-guard without a buy-back. Having numbers advantage, CIS representatives demolished yet another lane and cemented their victory – 2:0.

Virtus.pro – paiN Gaming – 1:1

Virtus.pro claimed the lead from the earliest stage of the game. Even though paiN Gaming managed to grab the first Roshan, VP instantly eliminated the Aegis holder. The second Roshan was claimed by our team, which allowed VP to take out 4 enemy heroes unopposed. The Brazilian team lost 2 lanes and was defeated after a couple minutes of fruitless defense.

pG were the ones to claim the second game's first blood. Both teams opted into a more passive laning phase, so none of the teams gained any significant advantage in the early game. Virtus.pro claimed the first Roshan and defeated paiN Gaming in a couple of skirmishes. The second Roshan ended up being taken by VP, as well, but our team couldn't utilize the advantage this time. The Brazilian team reclaimed the initiative by sending two of our heroes respawning after a midlane skirmish. After a little downtime, paiN Gaming claimed the third Roshan and tied the score, defeating VP in a decisive fight.