Azure Ray Clinch 2-1 Victory Over Team Liquid To Secure Top 3
Team Liquid looked like the best team in the tournament judging from the Group Stage, but Azure Ray had something to say. The Chinese squad has defeated Team Liquid in the first 2-1 series of the Elite League Playoffs.
In the first map, Azure Ray played methodical Dota, winning the early game and choking Team Liquid out of the map. After slowly maintaining and expanding their net worth lead, Azure Ray eventually ended the game in 44 minutes without much impact from their carry player. Lou on Gyrocopter ended the map with a KDA of 2/2/2 out of the 28 kills the team got.
Nisha was not satisfied with his individual performance from the first map, and woke up for the second playing Leshrac. Team Liquid was the team that came out of the laning stage on top. Similar to the previous game, the Western European team slowly gained control over the map and prevented Azure Ray from getting much done. The Pole finished the game 20/5/15 with 32,000 net worth and 57,000 hero damage.
The decisive map was the main highlight of the series and day. In Team Liquid fashion, Pudge carry was picked for miCKe with a game plan to end the game early. The Europeans were on the right track, building a sizable lead. However, with no objective taking heroes on the lineup, Team Liquid could barely push buildings, allowing Azure Ray to enter the late game with their Faceless Void and Sniper draft.
Team fights began to feel much easier once Lou completed his core items and got his Level 20 talent, but credit has to be awarded to Faith_bian’s Centaur Warrunner. The TI winner played the fights exceptionally well, and was putting up insane damage numbers to help Azure Ray win the series 2-1.
This result means Azure Ray would face Team Falcons for a spot in the Grand Final, while Team Liquid fall to the Lower Bracket, where they will only have one chance remaining.