HellRaisers Upset EEU giants in Tour 2 of DPC 2023

It’s starting to feel like the good old days for Alexey “Solo” Berezin and the rest of HellRaisers. The only difference is that they aren’t called Virtus.pro.

This team did pretty well in Tour 1, finishing third in Eastern Europe and then getting a decent result at the Lima Major: 9th–12th. But after the position 1 player was replaced, everything changed for the better.

Why HellRaisers’ situation improved so much

It’s well-known that Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev is one of the most talented carry players in Eastern Europe. He’s been around for almost 10 years, despite being just 23 years old. During this time, he made more than $1.8 million just from tournament prize money alone.

He obtained his best results between 2017 and 2018, while he was competing for Virtus.pro. His captain at the time was none other than Solo, who decided to bring him to HellRaisers at the end of Tour 1.

The core of HR’s roster was already functioning well. All that was missing was a formidable carry player who could help the team win the unwinnable matches, against the likes of Team Spirit and BetBoom Team. And that’s exactly what RAMZES did.

By far, the most impressive wins for HellRaisers in Tour 2 of DPC 2023 were against BetBoom and Spirit. Against BetBoom, Solo managed to win without losing a single map and he did it in quick games, which clearly suggests that his strategy is superior to that of his opponents.

Against Spirit, things were a bit more complicated and HR lost game one. But managed to win games two and three and did it with some highly creative drafts. Not that many teams have the audacity to pick Bounty Hunter and Tinker as part of the same draft. And in game three, Solo picked Techies!

In the old days, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov used to pick the hero just to send a message. But he didn’t do it in serious matches, against formidable opponents. He mostly did it to give the audience a good time. In Solo’s case, he obviously knew what he wanted to do and his team executed his plan to perfection.

Against a Drow lineup that had scary supports like Rubick and Undying, HellRaisers kept it even until the 26-minute mark and then won the match in just eight minutes.

Spirit and BetBoom finished second and third in the region, and will participate in the Berlin Major as well.

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