The Pinnacle Cup Malta Vibes #1 is nearing the Grand Finale. Natus Vincere and ex-HellRaisers are the only teams remaining in tournament. With just hours on the clock until the highly-anticipated final, here’s a look at how each team would fare up.
Pinnacle Cup Malta Vibes #1 Semifinals Recap
It was a chaotic segment at ex-HellRaisers’ Playoffs branch. While fans rooted for a Old G and Team OG’s clash, HR and Virtus.pro came out on top instead. Both teams brawled it out in the semifinals, and HR emerged victorious as anticipated.
After all, they did win the Eastern European Division 1 of Tour 2 Dota Pro Circuit 2023 (DPC 2023), surpassing Team Spirit and BetBoom. They are on a completely different playing field, where their equals are the likes of Major contenders.
Nevertheless, kudos to VP for giving their all against a more formidable opponent that they have historically lost to.
Natus Vincere’s Journey in Pinnacle Cup Malta Vibes #1
While HR and VP ended the OG fan club, Navi had a much easier path to making it into the Grand Finals of Pinnacle Cup. For the uninitiated, NAVI was invited into Round 3, where they managed to defeat Ancient Tribe and Into The Breach, both of which are Division 2 teams.
Facing Monaspa was a tougher ordeal than what is presented. Monaspa had a phenomenal run themselves, upsetting BetBoom, a Berlin Major team. The Greek squad that once gave many powerhouses a run for their money, certainly lived up to their explosive performance when they upset a stronger team.
Yet, it was short-lived as they lost to Navi. In hindsight, Monaspa might have been too traditional and passive with their drafts. Unlike Navi’s better formation and available initiations, Monaspa had to rely on expensive ultimate for successful team fights.
Five most banned heroes of the Pinnacle Cup: Malta Vibes #1
Natus Vincere vs ex-HellRaisers
There’s no doubt that HR is the fan favorite going into the Pinnacle Cup Malta Vibes #1 Grand Finals.
Even so, NAVI might just be the most ideal candidate to face HR in the finals. For one, Navi has had multiple instances playing HR in Division 1. They are still a relatively new team with young blood, so there will surely be opportunities to grow.
If NAVI opts to turn the tables against HR, it will have to be on not giving Broodmother to HR. HR has had one too many successes with the hero, and she is, in fact, very powerful in the recent update. She has great laning capabilities and could snowball well into midgame with extra support. Potentially, taking out resources that their opponents need, such as towers, safe jungling space, and time.
HR plays very offensively with their hero choices and it’s blatant that they are trying to end matches quickly, ideally before the late game. Hence, two can play that game, whereby Navi would have to be just as fast-paced themselves.
Navi has always been quick on the midgame meta, so they should fit right into the same pace of the game HR wants to play. That said, the grand finals being a devastating best-of-five means that HR could figure out what Navi is up to and adjust their gameplay before losing the entire series.
Nevertheless, wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could say, “How the turn tables!” if Navi somehow manages to pull off a miracle at the Pinnacle Cup Malta Vibes #1?
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