[DotA 2] The road to DotA 2 champions ~ E-Sports PH

Na’Vi has now been crowned as the first ever DOTA2 champions and has taken home 1 million dollars. It took them five days to take the championship but it took so much more time to get where they are now. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Na’Vi’s journey started about six months ago when they acquired GosuGamers 2010 captain of the year Ivan 'Artstyle' Antonov and carry player Daniil 'Dendi' Ishutin. Along with Alexander 'XBOCT' Dasjkevitj, Artur 'GO[blin]' Kostenko and Bogdan 'Axypa' Boychuk they tried to create a pure Ukrainian team but got off to a slow start.

Na’Vi gained more momentum on June 2011 when they gained GGnet captain Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov as well as former M5 carry Dmitry 'LightOfHeaven' Kupriyanov. Together with Artstyle’s unique picks and everyone being able to fit any role it seems Na’Vi slowly gained the parts they needed to win a championship all that is left now is for a Major Tournament.

When VALVE announced that they will release of DotA 2 they also announced that they will be hosting “the international” a DOTA2 tournament with 1 million dollars prize pool. VALVE invited the 16 best teams of the world and among them was Na’Vi. Like most teams Na’Vi then set off to prepare and boot camped.

During the first day of the tournament in the group stages Na’Vi was pitted against Scyth.SG, nevo, and GGnet. At the end of the day Na’Vi cruised by with a record of 3-0 earning a place at the winner’s bracket.
In the first round of the playoffs they were to face long-time rival M5. It was a close match but with a late flurry Na’Vi managed to send M5 to the loser’s bracket. In the second round they were in a gruelling match against one of China’s powerhouse iG. By midgame Na’Vi gained the upper hand and never gave iG another chance. In the winner’s bracket Finals they were to face off against the team that sent MYM and EHOME to the losers’ bracket, the dark horse from Singapore Scythe.SG. It turned to be a one sided match and Na’Vi found itself one step away from a million dollars.

In the Finals with a one game advantage they had only one obstacle left and that was the ever constant EHOME. In game 1 of the best of five Na’Vi decided to use an unorthodox pick but was beaten in one of the most nail-biting and thrilling game of the tournament. The deemed unbeatable Na’Vi was beaten for the first time in the tournament. Then Na’Vi went and stick to their guns using their aggressive push strategy against EHOME. Again in another epic fight but this time Na’Vi went on to win the game. Na’Vi now only needed 1 win. And in game 4 EHOME couldn’t handle the overly aggressive play of Na’Vi. When the “GG” was called Na’Vi became the first DOTA2 champions.