ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs: OG, Na’Vi showdown in Grand Finals

OG stormed through the semifinals, eliminating their European arch rivals, Team Liquid, as Na’Vi overpowered Vega Squadron in the ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs. OG and Na’Vi have advanced to the Grand Finals. OG will be looking for their third championship title in one month and Na’Vi are aiming to clinch their first championship title in approximately 19 months. The action continues at 18:00 CEST in a best-of-five series.

The ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs pitted rival teams against each other in an exciting and intense single elimination bracket series.

The first series gave fans the always fierce battle between the two European titans – OG and Team Liquid. OG bounced back from a one-game deficit after being crushed by Team Liquid in the first match. OG turned things around in the second game on the back of Andreas Franck “Cr1t-“ Nielsen’s Elder Titan and took the third game and the series with their better draft.

OG’s victory secured them the first spot in the Grand Finals and eliminated their nemesis – Team Liquid.

The second series of the ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs was a CIS clash between Na’Vi and Vega Squadron. The first match was an hour of nail-biting and breathtaking plays from both teams, Rostislav “fn” Lozovoi and Danil “Dendi” Ishutin being in the spotlight. The second game was pure CIS aggression in which Na’Vi would shine in and wipe out Vega from contention.

Na’Vi have secured a spot in the Grand Finals to face the two-time Major championship team, OG.

ESL One Manila semifinals

OG vs Team Liquid

In the first game, OG went with a Meepo pick, which didn’t work out as expected. In only 19 minutes, Team Liquid overpowered OG in a heavily one-sided game. With a perfect game by Adrian “FATA-“ Trinks on Alchemist mid and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi’s flawless performance on Dazzle, Team Liquid raced to the end easily.

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In the second game, Team Liquid went with the very popular Lifestealer-Riki combo. Team Liquid started out strong, taking the lead, but after 20 minutes and a 9k gold deficit, OG started to climb their way back to even out the game. Andreas Franck “Cr1t-“ Nielsen’s Elder Titan was a key factor in OG’s success, as they tied up the series, 1:1, with a victory.

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The third game belonged to OG for the most part. The laning stage and very early game was more even, but 10 minutes in OG started to pull ahead. Once again, Team Liquid went with the Lifestealer-Riki combo which didn’t end up serving them well. Team Liquid didn’t have enough tools to deal with Johan “n0tail” Sundstein on Naga Siren.

© DotaBuff

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs: OG 2:1 Team Liquid. OG continues to the Grand Finals. Team Liquid has been eliminated.

Vega Squadron vs. Na’Vi

In the first game, Vega Squadron went with an Abaddon and Slark pick, while Na’Vi went with Timbersaw for Danil “Dendi” Ishutin. In a nail-biting showdown between Dendi’s 12:1:11 score and Rostislav “fn” Lozovoi’s 23:2:7, fans were on the edge of their seats. Na’Vi had the advantage for the entire game, although it didn’t always seem that it would be lasting. In a five minute long fight at the end, Na’Vi claimed the victory and the first game of the series after just shy of one hour.

© DotaBuff

In the second game, a very early blood-fest gave Na’Vi the advantage. They secured four kills in the rune fight before the first minute. Na’Vi continued to take charge, setting the pace and the tone that would give their aggression success. In just over 30 minutes, the Ukrainian team secured their second win with a perfect game by Dmitry “Ditya Ra” Minenkov on Lifestealer.

© DotaBuff

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs: Vega 0:2 Na’Vi. Na’Vi continues to the Grand Finals. Vega Squadron has been eliminated.

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs format

• The group stage was played in a classic GSL format.
• The eight participating teams were split up into two groups of four.

  In each group, the teams played best-of-three matches, as shown below:

  Match one: Team A vs. Team B
  Match two: Team C vs. Team D
  Winners’ match (WM): Winner of match one vs. winner of match two – winner advances to semifinals
  Elimination match (EM): Loser of match one vs. loser of match two – loser drops out
  Decider match: Loser of WM vs. winner of EM – winner advances to semifinals and loser drops out

• Four teams – Fnatic, compLexity Gaming, Alliance, and Virtus.Pro were eliminated in the group stage.
• Four teams – OG, Vega Squadron, Na’Vi, and Team Liquid – had advanced into the playoffs.
• During the playoffs, the four remaining teams will play a single-elimination bracket.
• The Grand Finals will be best-of-five series, with no winners’ advantage.

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 playoffs prize pool

The base prize pool for this tournament is $250,000. As of June 17, 2016, the total prize pool was $311,806.

• 1st place – $155,903 –
• 2nd place – $62,361 –
• 3rd-4th place – $28,063 – Team Liquid/Vega Squadron