Vici Gaming faces Gambit Esports for spot in ONE Esports finals

Steven Rondina Published 21/12/2019

Vici Gaming is looking like it might be the team to beat at the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore.

The Chinese squad has advanced to the lower bracket finals thanks to a pair of victories over Team Secret and Alliance in the event’s lower bracket. This sets them up with a guaranteed top-three finish at the tournament and a match with Gambit Esports in the lower bracket finals.

Vici Gaming’s day in Singapore opened with a series against Secret. The game was a back and forth affair as the teams traded team fight victories, but neither seemed particularly worried about that given each side’s strong late-game compositions. The game ultimately boiled down to Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen’s Anti-Mage against Zeng “Ori” Jiaoyang’s right-clicking Puck. In the end, Ori came out on top to give Vici Gaming the win.

Vici Gaming jumped into the lead early in game two, as they rocked Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg by killing him four times in the first 15 minutes. However, once Secret finished building their key items, the game swung around. From 19 to 26 minutes, Secret and Vici Gaming were constantly fighting with Secret getting the better of of almost every exchange. That allowed them to build a significant lead and even the series.

The door to a comeback was slammed shut early in game three. Vici Gaming utterly thrashed Secret in the early game, closing out the game in just 18 minutes after scoring 24 kills.

From there, Vici Gaming faced Alliance for a spot in the lower bracket finals.

Vici brutalized Alliance early as the two teams brought trilanes bottom, with Vici standing tall through the ensuing chaos. Things didn’t go any better top or mid as Vici’s solo laners ended up getting solo kills to advance the team’s lead. This combined for a decisive opening victory for Vici.

Things went a bit better for Alliance in game two as they overcame more early Vici aggression. But Vici’s cores came through in the end with Yang making good on a surprise offlane Abaddon pick, which gave the Chinese side the 2-0 series win.

Vici Gaming faces Gambit Esports for spot in ONE Esports finals

Vici Gaming initially looked shaky in Singapore, going 5-5 in the group stage of ONE Esports Singapore to start in the lower bracket. That was a surprising turn for the team, given how they managed to reach the grand finals of the MDL Chengdu Major.

The playoffs have been seen Vici Gaming hit their stride however, with the team getting revenge on MDL Chengdu winner TNC Predator and following that up with a pair of wins. The team is operating at full strength here, but faces a stiff test against Gambit Esports in the lower bracket finals.

, Gambit stands as a fairly big underdog, but that line doesn’t necessarily reflect reality. The CIS squad has looked strong throughout the event and should have a very real chance of advancing to the finals.

They faced off in the group stage of ONE Esports Singapore, with the teams splitting the series 1-1.

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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