https://www.cybersport.ru/dota-2/articles/virtus-pro-opyat-provalila-meidzhor-na-etot-raz-ne-poluchilos-voobshe-nichego

What about the laning stage?

Virtus.pro’s tournament frankly did not go well, and the matches went downhill from the very first minutes, which is not typical for a team that is accustomed to dominating the lanes due to good setups and personal skill and taking advantage of the advantage it earned at the start. We will not touch on maps with Kunkka in the offlane and carry Monkey King – Virtus.pro does not get into the meta for the second major in a row, although after Singapore Vitaly Save-Melnik did not agree with this thesis. Let’s leave the assessment of drafts to the players themselves and talk about direct execution on signature heroes.

Let’s take the first card against Nigmawhere VP took an almost perfect draft for herself. Sergei Glamazda, for example, said that the team acted correctly at the beginning of the game.

However, let’s take a look at the overall value of the heroes. VP’s combination of Dark Willow and Mars has excellent lane kill potential. The opponent’s Specter, especially with support Rubick, should be very difficult, and she should only see creeps on big holidays. However, in the sixth minute, Nigma’s carry had more gold than Mars. And this trend continued after both supports left the lane, leaving the characters in a 1v1 situation.

English-speaking analysts, for example, drew attention to the confrontation on the center line. Invoker is a convenient opponent for Magnus, who, due to huge damage at an early stage, can leave his counterpart without creeps. but Danil gpK ~ Skutin and Amer Miracle- al-Barkawi had an equal amount of gold throughout the laning stage. Yes, Magnus then pulled ahead at the expense of jungle stacks, but he gave Invoker his own, although in theory he could destroy his economy and simply drive him out of the lane. As a result, having a faster setup, Virtus.pro reached its peak of strength with a minimal advantage. There was almost nothing from the aggressive style of Virtus.pro at the Major – it is no coincidence that the team, having Dark Willow and Ancient Apparition, made their first kill only in the ninth minute. This passivity and slowness was beneficial to Nigma, but not to VP.

And where is the moral-strong-willed?

“We tried to show our best game, but in almost every game at some point something goes wrong with us, and we can’t go back to the previous level and come back.”

This quote from gpK ~ perfectly describes Virtus.pro’s performance at the Major. As soon as the team began to yield at the beginning of the game, a certain doom was felt in the team’s actions. Yes, on the second map against Nigma, already well behind in gold, Virtus.pro tried to make several desperate attacks, and a couple of times she even managed to kill one or two opponents. But all this resembled a kind of agony of despair, which often happens in regular matchmaking for 3-4 thousand MMR. As for the rest, losing in the beginning, Virtus.pro began to act even more constrained, tense and uncertain, as if hoping for a miracle and a series of opponent’s mistakes. However, these mistakes must be knocked out of the opponent.

For comparison, revise the second map TNC Predator vs Team Asterwhich roster Gabbi I was able to win in an incredible way. The team from Southeast Asia was 6 thousand behind in gold in the 11th minute, but continued to look for various options and surprise the opponent. Over the next 20 minutes, the Chinese squad destroyed the opponent all over the map, overgrowing with items, taking Roshan and so on. However, TNC clung to the game with its teeth: the characters sacrificed themselves in order to push the lane in time or make an important pick-off, thereby not letting the opponent into their base. The subsequent comeback of the team would not have been possible if it had not been for a series of Aster’s mistakes, but it was TNC’s obstinacy and dedication that forced the rivals to make these mistakes. Have you seen something similar in the Virtus.pro vs Vici match? Personally, I am not.

One gets the impression that Virtus.pro still hasn’t learned to lose. Unfortunately, so far the team can only give up, and these are completely different things. At the moment, Virtus.pro is able to demonstrate its best game only in conditions that are comfortable for itself – this is suitable for a match against EXTREMUM or Natus Vincere, but they probably won’t be on TI10.

Still not needed a coach?

The conversation about the coach willy-nilly will rise after any defeat to Virtus.pro. However, this time it is more relevant than ever, because in Kiev the team had systemic problems, and not just single errors.

Perhaps there is really no coach in the CIS who could strengthen Virtus.pro in game aspects. However, this is far from the point. Example with ArtStyle in Virtus.pro’s “golden” roster shows that a mentor can take on completely different tasks. It is not necessary to lead drafts and tell you how to hit creeps in order to benefit the team: the coach is able to maintain the necessary morale, act as an arbiter in disputes, extinguish conflicts and any tension. And tension will inevitably arise after two failed majors – just look at the moment after the defeat on the first map of the match against Vici Gaming.