Image: Gam3rs_x + GRID
Despite a direct berth to the tournament's Playoffs, 1win Team had to pull off a lower bracket run to claim the Dota 2 CCT Series 5 title.
1win Team claimed victory in the Dota 2 Champion of Champions Tour (CCT) Series 5 after they defeated 
Passion UA, 3-1, in the tournament's grand finals on Tuesday (November 26). 1win claimed the grand prize of $50,000 out of the tournament's $50,000 prize pool and captured a Dota 2 CCT Series title after finishing second in the CCT Series 3 back in August.
1win received a direct invite to the CCT Series 5 Playoffs alongside 
AVULUS. There, they were joined by 
MOUZ, 
One Move, 
DMS, 
Natus Vincere Junior, Passion UA, and 
Dragon Esports Club after surviving the CCT Series 5 Group Stage.
Despite an automatic start to the Playoffs, 1win's victory didn't come easy. They were swept by CCT Series 4 champions Dragon Esports Club, 2-0, in the upper bracket quarterfinals and got knocked down to the lower bracket. But 1win were quick to bounce back by sweeping MOUZ, 2-0, in the first round of the lower bracket before taking down One Move in three games at the lower bracket quarterfinals.
1win then faced AVULUS in the lower bracket semifinals for a rematch of the CCT Series 3 grand finals, where the former emerged victorious. 1win avenged that loss by sweeping AVULUS, 2-0, and advancing to the lower bracket finals against NAVI Junior. The eventual champions swept that series as well to face off against Passion UA in the grand finals.
1win had a strong start to the grand finals by taking a comfortable 36-minute victory in the opening game. Stand-in midlaner 
Ilya “Squad1x” Kuvaldin led the way for 1win by pacing the team's 32-15 kill lead with 10 kills and 15 assists on just one death as Void Spirit.
1win looked like they were in control of game two as well, but Passion UA managed to pull off a 50-minute late game comeback to tie up the grand finals at 1-1.
The pivotal game three saw 1win return to their winning ways, as they came out of the midgame firing on all cylinders to take a 2-1 series lead after 32 minutes of action. Nikita “Munkushi~” Chepurnykh spearheaded the win as Gyrocopter and notched eight kills and assists apiece on just one death out of the team's 23-11 kill lead. ALEXANDER “cloud” ZAKHAROV on Beastmaster also added seven kills and 11 assists on four deaths.
The fourth and final game of the grand finals was an absolute stomp, as Passion UA could do little to stop a 1win squad brimming with momentum. Despite Passion UA's best efforts to extend the series to a game five, it only took 1win 31 minutes to close out the 3-1 grand finals victory. Georgii “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov showed out in the tournament-sealing game on Rubick by recording eight kills and 14 assists on two deaths to fuel 1win's lopsided 27-8 kill lead. Munkushi also had Gyrocopter again and pitched in with six kills and 12 assists on one death.
With 1win walking away with the trophy and the $30,000 grand prize, Passion UA settled for second place and $10,000 in consolation. Third place finisher NAVI Junior also walked away with $7,500 while AVULUS earned $2,500 for their efforts.
The Dota 2 CCT Series 5, organised by Gam3rs_x + GRID, featured 12 teams from all across Europe fighting for their cut of a $50,000 prize pool from November 16 to 25. This marked the fifth iteration of the Dota 2 CCT Series of online tournaments, which kicked off last June.
