Manila Major: Team Liquid press forward to Grand Finals, Newbee eliminated

Team Liquid got Newbee eliminated, 2:1, in the lower bracket finals of the Manila Major. The Chinese squad are the 14th team to be knocked out of contention in the main event and will walk away with $315,000 for their third place finish. Team Liquid will face OG in the Grand Finals next at 10:40 CEST.

The last game of the elimination series delivered incredible games and thrilling moments.

Newbee took the first game, which put an end to Team Liquid’s flawless sweep through the lower brackets. Team Liquid played some terrific Dota and overpowered the Chinese qualified team in the last two games, seeing Newbee eliminated.

Team Liquid had taken second place at the Shanghai Major and now will look to take their first Dota 2 Major championship title.

Only three teams have advanced to the Dota 2 Majors so far – OG, Team Liquid and Team Secret. The Frankfurt Major saw OG vs Team Secret, Shanghai Major featured Team Secret vs Team Liquid and now Manila Major will display OG vs Team Liquid.

The Manila Major recap: Team Liquid vs. Newbee

In the first game, Newbee had established the tempo and control from the start and never let it go. In 31 minutes the team had secured their win with a Beyond GODLIKE streak for Chen “Hao” Zhihao on Juggernaut and Wong “ChuaN” Hock Chuan had a perfect game on his signature Enchantress.

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The second match Team Liquid went with a very greedy lineup that ended up paying off in the end for them. Team Liquid started off the the lead, which slipped away from then at minute 20 when Newbee brought the game back to even. Eight minutes later the Europeans once again seized the control of the game and would hold on to it until the end. Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Borislavov had an amazing game on Weaver with a fantastic performance by Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen on Lycan. Their victory tied up the series and forced a deciding third game.

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The deciding game of the series Team Liquid went with a Drow start and Medusa for Adrian “FATA-“ Trinks – the first time he played the hero in an official match. The game started out to be a real nail-biter. While Newbee had a slight edge and advantage overall, the trade offs, exchanges and pace was thrilling and relatively even. Around 32 minutes in, Team Liquid took a favorable fight then Roshan to started to grab the momentum and lead. Only 8 minutes later Team Liquid seized the victory and the series to go to the Grand Finals.

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Manila Major standings: Team Liquid 2:1 Newbee. Team Liquid advance to the Grand Finals after seeing Newbee eliminated.

Manila Major

The Manila Major – the third and final Major this season in advance of The International 2016 – is produced by PGL, with the main event scheduled to take place between June 7-12 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. Sixteen teams will compete over six days in a double elimination tournament.

Europe had six teams at the Manila Major, followed by China with four teams, the Americas and Southeast Asia with three representatives each.

The Grand Finals will be played out between two European teams.