The playoffs of ESL One Berlin Major start with upsets

The playoffs of ESL One Berlin Major have begun and some of the favorites have already been sent to the lower bracket. The opening matches were very exciting to watch and the meta is likely to evolve because of their results.

Several teams were stubborn enough to pick Storm Spirit, thinking that they can succeed with him. But the hero was picked so often during the group stage that a lot of the top teams have already come up with highly effective ways of countering him.

Six of the games that were played on day 1 of the playoffs had a Storm Spirit, but five of those games ended with a defeat for the team that picked him.

Gaimin Gladiators vs. Team Spirit

This was the only match of the day that went exactly as we expected. Gladiators had solid drafts and then played them to perfection. Despite knowing that Medusa is a broken hero right now, Spirit decided to ignore her. This proved to be a terrible idea. Gladiators picked her in both games and won with ease.

When you do the math, it’s not hard to understand why a Medusa draft is hard to counter. This hero farms too fast, has too much damage in team fights, and is very hard to kill after she buys her Eye of Skadi.

OG vs. Team Liquid

Team Liquid seemed to be in control of this match and won game 1 with ease, despite Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov’s Invoker pick. But in the next two games, OG completely changed the tempo and outdrafted them.

Game 2 was a masterclass and showed the community how you need to play against Phantom Lancer to beat him.

9 Pandas vs. Shopify Rebellion

9 Pandas have confirmed their strength in this match and became one of the few teams to win a long-duration game against Medusa. Game 1 lasted 50 minutes but luckily for 9 Pandas, they had a Faceless Void, a Skywrath Mage, and a Nyx Assassin. All of these heroes work really well together. The final score of the match was 2-0.

Tundra Esports vs. PSG.LGD

Tundra used a very risky draft against PSG.LGD, picking both Slark and Ursa in game 1. But they played it so well that the game was over in less than 30 minutes.

In game 2, their Alchemist bought defensive items, which proved to be a mistake that led to defeat. But in game 3, the team’s Sven plus Mirana plus Bounty Hunter combo worked to perfection and Tundra won 2-1.

Header: ESL