Dota 2: Nigma Galaxy secure a return to Division I with 2-0 sweep over EU Rejects
After a disappointing Spring Tour in the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) regional league for Western Europe, Nigma Galaxy regrouped by adding Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan as the team's midlaner while Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi returned to playing the carry role.
The result? Nigma Galaxy are currently 12-0 in Division II, and are guaranteed a promotion back to Division I for the next DPC season.
Nigma Galaxy secured their return to Division I match after they swept EU Rejects in their latest match on Thursday (7 July).
While the series started off as a stomp in game one, it turned into a highly entertaining slugfest in game two.
Here's how it all went down.
Nigma Galaxy crushed EU Rejects in game one
In game one, Nigma went for a high mobility draft, picking Monkey King for Miracle- and Queen of Pain for SumaiL.
Ivan "MinD_ControL" Ivanov provided global presence with Dawnbreaker while Kuro "Kuroky" Salehi Takhasomi added global damage with Zeus. Maroun "GH" Merhej rounded up the draft with Crystal Maiden.
EU Rejects focused on picking durable heroes and buffing them up, and to that end, played the carry Bristleback for Indji "Shad" Lub and mid Kunkka for Elliott "adzantick" Hammond.
Rasmus "Chessie" Blomdin was expected to win top lane with Batrider, while stand-in Jason Connor "TANNER" Weedon picked Marci, one of the strongest supports in patch 7.31d.
A lot of pressure was on Alexei "j4" Lipai to land good ultimates on Winter Wyvern.
From the moment the horn sounded in the game, Nigma Galaxy were in the lead as they absolutely crushed their opponents in the laning stage.
A big part of their success was due to SumaiL doubling adzantick's net worth early on, giving Nigma a 2,000 gold lead just five minutes into the game.
The high mobility draft played by Nigma Galaxy allowed them to snowball their early game advantage, as their players can dive deep into enemy territory and make it out unscathed after securing kills.
When EU Rejects tried to disengage after a bad fight at the 15-minute mark, Nigma Galaxy were able to chase them down and secure three kills thanks to their mobility.
Games in Dota 2 can be one-sided sometimes, and that was how the first game in the series went. Nigma Galaxy were in complete control throughout the match and there was nothing EU Rejects could do about it.
Or could they?
Despite a near 30,000 gold lead 28 minutes into the game, EU Rejects managed to find Miracle- and bring him down, stealing his Divine Rapier in the process.
Shad started working on SumaiL, managing to take him down as well.
Unfortunately for EU Rejects, j4 tried to heal his carry instead of letting him teleport to base, allowing MinD_ControL to find Shad and reclaim the Divine Rapier.
That was the last chance for EU Rejects, as they tapped out three minutes later after another teamwipe.
Thanks to the fight at the 28-minute mark for Divine Rapier, EU Rejects entered game two with a lot more confidence and put the match favorites on the ropes.
Shad goes godlike in game two but it's still not enough
Over the years many Dota 2 heroes have become more flexible in their roles, with supports being picked as cores and core heroes proving to be effective as supports.
This was best exemplified in game two of the series, as Nigma Galaxy ran a carry Pudge for Miracle, a mid Keeper of the Light for SumaiL, and an offlane Undying for MinD_ControL. Kuroky and GH were less adventurous with their support Tiny and Phoenix picks respectively.
EU Rejects wanted to fight in game two and picked up Dawnbreaker for Shad and Winter Wyvern for adzantick. Chessie would have to tank for the team on Timbersaw while j4 disrupted enemies on Clockwerk.
The biggest difference in game two wasn't the draft, but the mentality of EU Rejects, as they came in swinging.
The team had no problem going toe to toe with Nigma Galaxy and played a more aggressive style that worked in their favor.
After an even laning stage, EU Rejects decided to take a fight mid and thanks to a beautiful Winter's Curse and Hookshot, manage to bring down three Nigma Galaxy heroes, including their two most farmed cores.
A huge part of EU Reject's success in game two was due to Shad playing like an absolute god.
His Dawnbreaker was easily the most important hero in the game and despite losing the match, Shad was MVP in game two.
Shad proved his worth 31 minutes in the game, as he got a double kill against Nigma while pushing them away from his team.
That said, despite Shad's incredible 22 kills in game two, it just wasn't enough to give the team the victory.
EU Rejects were on the cusp of taking the game when they won a decisive fight near Roshan, but a few timely buybacks from Nigma Galaxy, along with a double Supernova from GH, turned the tables and gave Nigma the advantage they needed to win the series.
With the win, Nigma Galaxy keep their undefeated streak alive, despite some close calls against EU Rejects.
Nigma Galaxy's final opponent for the Summer Tour will be Into The Breach, who are also 6-0 in this Tour and similarly headed for Division I next season.
Despite the loss, EU Rejects proved they could go toe to toe with one of the best teams in the world and put up a good fight. Time will tell what their plans are and if we will see them again in the next DPC season.
Nigma Galaxy EU roster:
Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi
Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan
Ivan "MinD_ControL" Ivanov
Maroun "GH" Merhej
Kuro "Kuroky" Salehi Takhasomi
EU Rejects roster:
Indji "Shad" Lub
Elliott "adzantick" Hammond
Rasmus "Chessie" Blomdin
Jason Connor "TANNER" Weedon (stand-in)
Alexei "j4" Lipai
Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.
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