When Thunder Predator and Vira-Lata Caramelo faced off in the Great American Rivalry, Thunder Predator decided to make things interesting with their draft.
As one of the final matches of the group stage, Thunder Predator had already secured a spot in the upper bracket while Vira-Lata Caramelo was mathematically guaranteed an elimination. Because of that, Thunder Predator decided to have a bit of fun in one of the games by picking a meme team composed of Void Spirit, Ember Spirit, Earth Spirit, Storm Spirit, and Vengeful Spirit.
The four spirits are linked both in Dota 2’s lore and in its events, with the included quartet being forces of nature made corporeal. Vengeful Spirit isn’t technically a part of that group, with her only direct lore connection to another hero being to Skywrath Mage, but she has long been regarded by fans as the fifth spirit based simply on her name.
In a hilarious but perhaps unwise turn of events, Vira-Lata Caramelo actually dedicated its last ban to Spirit Breaker, a hero that serves as a hard counter to the entire roster of spirit heroes. At least, according to his name.
Though Thunder Predator drafted a lineup for form rather than function, the team made it look like a very viable strategy by securing a 22-minute win.Â
Thunder Predator’s Farith “Matthew” Puente made the surprising decision to build Void Spirit as a Meteor Hammer-wielding support hero, but the move paid off as he racked up a number of early kills. Off laner Frank “Frank” Arias took Vengeful Spirit and also built Meteor Hammer, giving the team strong pushing potential in the mid-game alongside some wacky stun combinations. This allowed mid laner Leonardo “LeoStyle-” Sifuentes to really take over as Storm Spirit.
In just 22 minutes, Predator had scored 38 kills to Vira-Lata Caramelo’s eight, sealing a 2-0 series victory.
Though Thunder Predator was playing for fun here, they’ll be much more serious moving forward. The team is set to begin the playoffs with a series against CR4ZY.
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