The last opportunity for Na’Vi to qualify for the EPICENTER Major was StarLadder ImbaTV Minor Season 2. The minor participation could have given them a hop to secure qualification for the TI9 via DPC points. The former world champions will now have to try their luck in the regional qualifiers.
The 2018-2019 DPC circuit for the CIS side was a complete nightmare, since they attended just 2 out of the possible 10 competitions. The team occupies the bottom ranks of DPC rankings since they have earned just 140 points. The qualification for the SL ImbaTV Minor would have been the best chance for them to silence their critics come the end of the season. Yet, after a very impressive performance in the first two days of the qualifiers. Na’Vi lost to Winstrike in the grand finale.
What a performance from Cooman on this quals👏
That Storm Spirit in first match tho😍 pic.twitter.com/o84pY8SovE
— Winstrike Team (@Winstrike_Team) May 22, 2019
It is quite interesting to see Winstrike, securing qualification for the Kieve Minor. Since this is the first time that the team will be participating in a DPC tournament. The team has zero DPC points, and will really need a miracle to qualify for the TI9. Recently the CIS team made tons of changes to its roster. Earlier in May, they recruited three new players and just on the eve of the qualifiers, they signed Alexander “Nofear” Churochkin and Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk. Meanwhile Zaur “Cooman” Shakhmurzaev was picked up from Team Empire.
Domination by WInstrike
The current roster of Winstrike holds some of the most talented players of the CIS region. Most of the players in the lineup have previously played in teams like FlytoMoon. Their chemistry was surely evident in their series against Na’Vi. The team had a perfect start to the finals of the qualifiers, since they dominated Na’Vi in the first game. They had a perfect control of the laning phase and Cooman was just exceptional on the Storm Spirit. Na’Vi relied on the late of their carry Alchemist. Yet Winstike didn’t hesitate to impose fast and aggressive strategy, to finish the game early on.
In the 2nd game Na’Vi had a decent draft to control the Roshan pit and counter the aggressive gameplay of their opponents. It worked since after 30 minutes of play, the series was tied 1-1.
Thank you guys for the emotions! Long-awaited LAN tournament for Winstrike Team and this is just the beginning😏 pic.twitter.com/JsQybjgrRM
— Winstrike Team (@Winstrike_Team) May 22, 2019
The game three of the series was an absolute thriller. Na’Vi had a decent lead during the first 30 minutes of the game. Yet Winstrike had the patience to make a comeback. In the late game, Winstrike managed to catch Na’Vi out on two occasions. It resulted in a team wipe and the series was ultimately won by the possible underdogs.
The SL ImbaTV Minor will take place from 12th to 16th June at the Cybersport Arena in Kiev, Ukraine. It is the last and the first Minor of the year where two teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the EPICENTER Major. Let’s see who will get the ticket to Moscow, Russia
