The first day of the playoffs has come to an end with Newbee, VGJ.Thunder and Team Liquid left standing when the dust settled.
Even though the PGL Bucharest Major started almost one week ago, the playoffs just began. Already though —due to the single elimination format— three teams have been eliminated. TnC, Team Secret and Evil Geniuses walked away after their first best-of-three series of the event with $30,000 in their pocket and no DPC points to brag about.
TnC 1:2 VGJ.Thunder
The first playoff series started with an overwhelming win by TnC over VGJ.Thunder as the SEA team came out with an explosive start and on fire. At every turn, TnC seemed to be ready and waiting for the Chinese team and crushed them with little contest. VGJ.Thunder looked awestruck in their wake, uncoordinated and struggling but their hazy cloud cleared up quick as they lashed back with a reverse sweep.
The second game VGJ.Thunder looked stronger and while the drafts seemed to be even, it came down to gameplay and execution with the Chinese team coming out on top in the end.
The last game was an inverted reflection of the first match, with VGJ.Thunder this time in the dominant seat, demolishing TnC with the same power and precision that TnC had displayed in the first game.
Newbee 2:0 Team Secret
The second series of the day was between two of the DPC leaders and regional powerhouses. As expected from this matchup, the first game started out pretty even between the two teams. Secret started to pull ahead slightly but a favorable engagement for Newbee 19 minutes in helped the game swing in their favor. With such even skills and plays, the game could have gone either way but it was Newbee that would prevail in the end.
The second game featured a flawless performance by Song "Sccc" Chun on the Death Prophet and a fantastic performance by Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi on a roaming EarthSpirit, setting up the kills across the board and being a crucial factor in the Chinese domination. The sweep by Newbee sent Team Secret packing early and set Newbee up to face VGJ.Thunder in the semifinals - ensuring that at least one Chinese team would see the grand finals.
Evil Geniuses 1:2 Team Liquid
The first match of the series Team Liquid took a Williow and last pick of AntiMage to help counter the Abaddon. Evil Geniuses had a good laning phase and early game, ganking the AM as much as they could, but it would ultimately not be enough. As the game started to progress into the midgame, Team Liquid was about to take good team fights and gain the upper hand and advantage - which quickly escalated into a complete domination for a relatively easy win.
The second game EG made sure to sack the Timbersaw quickly to shut him down and mitigate for any risks later in the game. Nine minutes in EG were leading by 7:0 and 4k gold. Things didn't get any better for Team Liquid as EG continued to obliterate the Europeans with 20:0 score and 14k gold lead at 25 minutes in, ending 32 minutes in with a whopping 27:0 score.
The elimination match started equally strong as the last one, but this time in favor of Team Liquid. Not to be underestimated or knocked out so early, the Europeans struck hard and fast with a 6:0 score 7 minutes into the game this time around. Team Liquid had not buckled under pressure or embarrassment and instead took control of the last game to outplay and outlast with excellent execution and team plays for a place in the semifinals.
Action resumes tomorrow, Saturday, March 10th at 10:00 CET with the remaining quarterfinals match-up between Virtus.pro and OpTic Gaming. The winner will face Team Liquid in the semifinals later the same day.
PGL Bucharest Main Event Format:
- Single elimination bracket
- Quarterfinals and Semifinals are bo3
- Final is bo5
