Fnatic bid an early farewell to DreamLeague Season 8 after Na'Vi bested them 2:1 in the Lower Brackets Round 1.
DreamLeague Season 8 just kicked off today in Jönköping, Sweden but with a three-day event, the first teams were already facing elimination.
Both Na'Vi and Fnatic had their work cut out for them, their first series against two of the favorite teams of the event - Virtus.pro and Team Liquid respectively. Unable to surmount the powerful opponents, they were relegated to the lower brackets to fight for survival shortly later.
Game One
The first match started out as well as Na'Vi could have hoped for. The Ukrainian team was leading 6:0 in the first five minutes. It took until six minutes in before Fnatic were able to register their first kills on the board. After a rocky start they hustled around to pull things together. Fnatic's efforts were futile as the gap continued to widen between the two teams and while they were able to hold their own, their demise was certain. Despite the clear advantage, Fnatic stood their ground forcing Na'Vi needing a full hour to close out the game even having had a 21k gold networth lead at one point.
Game Two
With their tournament lives knocking on the door, Fnatic were in for an intense battle of survival. Doing their best to keep Na'Vi's slight initial lead at bay, Fnatic were able to seize the control about 17 minutes in. Looking extremely strong, Fnatic started to take barracks shortly after, finding kills and coordinating spells and activity perfectly. Steamrolling to the end, Fnatic tied up the series and forced the deciding third game.
Game Three
Neither team could afford to lose the final game of the series as elimination was on the line. Trying to shut down the Terrorblade early on, Na'Vi were not as successful as they hoped as Fnatic thwarted their plans with great rotations, coordination, and plays. However, on the backend while Fnatic were committing resources to keeping Terrorblade alive and well, the rest of Na'Vi continued to farm and push forward. Gaining control of the map, Na'Vi began to take the lead and gain their momentum. With over a 30k networth lead, Na'Vi eliminated Fnatic and move on to through the lower brackets.
DreamLeague Season 8 Major prize pool and Dota Circuit Points (DCP) distribution:
1st place: $500,000 + 750 DCP
2nd place: $200,000 + 450 DCP
3rd place: $100,000 + 225 DCP
4th place: $70,000 + 75 DCP
5th-6th place: $45,000
7th-8th place: $20,000 - Fnatic
