Djardel Jicko B. “DJ” Mampusti may have just helped his team pull off one of the greatest comebacks in Dota 2 history.
Facing Neon Esports in the group stage of the BTS Pro Series SEA League, the Fnatic player leveraged his incredible Earthshaker skills to carry his team to victory. The “greatest comeback ever” label isn’t just talk, either. At one point during the game, Fnatic had a 0% chance of victory according to the Dota Plus prediction model.
After dropping game one of the series, Neon looked poised to close out the series after commanding the pace of the second game and whittling away at Fnatic’s structures. They had two lanes of barracks cleared out, a 33,000 gold net worth lead, and Rolen Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong’s Weaver was six-slotted with a Divine Rapier.
DJ leads Fnatic to huge comeback despite Dota Plus odds
Neon got a bit too confident in their lead, which DJ punished with a massive Echo Slam just outside the Radiant fountain to make a deep cut into Neon’s advantage.
Fnatic was in command at that point and began pushing the high ground, but Neon found new life when the Divine Rapier was gifted back into the hands of skem’s Weaver. But again, Neon was stopped dead when DJ hit a huge double Echo Slam thanks to a Refresher Shard.
This allowed Fnatic to even the odds and fight their way back to even footing with Neon. The deciding team fight came with Neon’s core heroes being cut down quickly, forcing out a “gg” call after 60 minutes of play.
The victory doesn’t necessarily do much for Fnatic as the team was already mathematically guaranteed a spot in the BTS Pro Series playoffs. This also isn’t necessarily a big enough event to justify being labeled as the greatest comeback of all-time in Dota 2. But considering the 0% win probability, it’s hard to argue just how big this was.
Regardless, DJ’s skills and savvy are definitely something to admire. Earthshaker players everywhere should take note.
Steven Rondina
About Steven Rondina
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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