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After an eventful run at the inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships 2022, the Indian DOTA 2 team is returning with a bronze medal. The men in blue played impeccably in the decider series and won the title after a clean sweep over New Zealand.
The multi-nation tournament is being hosted by the partnership of Global Esports Federation and Commonwealth Games Federation and is supported by the British Esports Association. There were three esports titles in the event: DOTA 2, Rocket League, and eFootball from Konami, that teams from various nations competed in.
The Indian contingent participated in the first two titles. Despite the Rocket League disappointingly failing to qualify for the playoffs, the DOTA 2 team booked their berth in the bronze decider after a semi-final defeat at the hands of Malaysia.
Commonwealth Esports Championships 2022: Indian DOTA 2 team clinches the bronze decider
The Indian DOTA 2 team, comprising Moin Ejaz, Ketan Goyal, Abhishek Yadav, Shubhnam Goli, and Vishal Vernekar, met New Zealand for the bronze decider match in a Best of 3. India won the series 2-0, with a comfortable win in the first match and a hard-fought, but deserved, win in the second.
Game 1
Radiant (India) - Death Prophet, Earthshaker, Juggernaut, Ember Spirit and Grimstroke.
Dire (New Zealand) - Spectre, Abaddon, Zeus, Marci and Pudge.
Game 1 was a dominating performance from the Indian team, who put up quite a clean show. The supports did a perfect job during the laning phase, rotating to the mid lane, helping Ember Spirit secure runs and gain an advantage.
The team perfectly invaded the enemy's jungle and came away with kills, especially with perfect performances from Ember Spirit and Grimstroke. Ink Swell became a menace to deal with as the game went on.
Team play was on point as the cores on the Indian team scaled up properly. Team India managed to control most of the map as time went on to secure a win in Game 1 at the 30 minute mark with a scoreline of 38-11 and a 32k net worth lead.
Game 2
Radiant (India) - Razor, Phantom Assassin, Puck, Marci and Tusk.
Dire (India) - Juggernaut, Dragon Knight, Treant Protector, Windranger and Beastmaster.
Much like Game 1, India started off strong, slowly building a net worth lead, especially with PA allowed to free farm. The other team members tried similar jungle invasions from the first game, but this time New Zealand were more preemptive in dealing with the threat.
New Zealand decided to group up and constantly threaten India. The aggression did bring them kills and a couple of buildings. Although PA kept farming, New Zealand did not let the net worth lead spiral out of control. The team also itemized with multiple blink daggers on heroes to quickly set up and dispatch targets.
Later in the game, India tried to quickly dispatch off the second Roshan, but New Zealand perfectly nailed a beautiful combination of spells: Gale from WR, followed by Treant Overgrowth, and Juggernaut's Omnislash. But the issue of a farmed Phantom Assassin persisted.
Dragon Knight's decision to build Bloodthorn did bear fruit, and for a time, the match was poised at 50-50. A mistake by Juggernaut that led to him dying in the bot lane without a buyback while solo pushing, opened up the opportunity to go mega for India.
After securing the mega creeps, India quickly dispatched New Zealand's final defence, with Puck putting in a skilful performance of being both elusive and chaotic.
The Dire ancient fell soon after, and the ebulent members of the Team India DOTA 2 team clinched the bronze medal on offer at the Commonwealth Esports Championships 2022.
The Indian DOTA 2 team performed remarkably well throughout the tournament, winning their first match against Wales 60-15, to book their place in the semi-finals.
A defeat there saw them fight for the bronze medal, but the team stepped up and went ahead to win it on the big stage.
