Chicken Fighters upset the streaky Nigma in the ESL One Los Angeles Online lower bracket matchup 2-1 today. KuroKy’s Nigma squad now find themselves out of the Dota 2 competition after fighting hard on the final day of the group stage to prevent their elimination.
The first game was an aggressive undertaking from Nigma. Their heroes simply never stopped the slaughter. Led by w33’s Mars, four Nigma heroes charged around the entire map and boxed Chicken Fighters in, allowing Miracle-’s Morphling to freely farm his way to the top. Once Miracle- joined the fracas, Chicken Fighters didn’t have the firepower to bring Nigma down and conceded game one.
Chicken Fighters decided to give Nigma a taste of their own medicine in game two, last picking the Meepo in hopes of staving off elimination. Nigma decided to do a little experimentation, though, and attempted a position five Sniper handled by KuroKy.
This was made possible with Sniper’s new Aghanim’s Scepter that reduces the channeling time on his ultimate, Assassinate, and increases the stun duration to nearly two seconds. This makes Sniper a possible long-range support since the 3,000 cast range of Assassinate ensures that the hero can stay in the backline and consistently charge his ultimate.
The strategy might have worked if Chicken Fighters didn’t have such a good Meepo game on their hands. Nigma’s crowd control, except for Mars, was sorely lacking and had to rely on GH’s Rubick for additional disable.
Ondřej “Supream” Štarha’s Meepo had free rein and it wasn’t until Miracle-’s Phantom Lancer managed to pick up a Divine Rapier that Nigma looked like they had a chance to push back. Nigma managed to take down the Meepo, timing the Aegis perfectly yet again.
It still wasn’t enough, however. Chicken Fighters weathered the brief storm, took another Aegis, and proceeded to take down Nigma’s only hope, Miracle-. Support Sniper proponents will be happy to know that KuroKy ended the game with the most hero damage on his team. Supream’s Meepo simply stood in Shrapnel rather than deliberately avoiding it.
Game three saw Miracle-’s Gyrocopter begin with a first blood, but Supream’s Templar Assassin was the star of the show. Nigma intended to have a mid-game tempo with the Gyrocopter and Chen but was punished for diving far behind enemy lines.
Chicken Fighters capitalized and picked up Black King Bar on their two cores. The squad proceeded to wipe the floor with Nigma with a final, beautifully-executed teamfight. KuroKy, realizing that Nigma’s timing is now in the past, stayed on the floor and yielded.
Chicken Fighters move on to the next round of the competition and will await the loser of all-CIS matchup between Virtus Pro and Team Spirit in the lower bracket. Nigma exit the tournament with a top-eight placing and $7,500 in hand. The team has been wildly inconsistent throughout the season. Their loss at such an early stage of the event will be disappointing but unsurprising for ardent fans.
Chicken Fighters move on to the next round of the competition and will await the loser of all-CIS matchup between Virtus Pro and Team Spirit in the lower bracket. Nigma exit the tournament with a top-eight placing and $7,500 in hand. The team has been wildly inconsistent throughout the season. Their loss at such an early stage of the event will be disappointing but unsurprising for ardent fans.
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