Last night, Metro Manila’s top team Mineski, reinforced by new member Bong, battled against Davao City’s best team, Ch¡LL. And it was definitely three of the best, most thrilling games I’ve ever seen.

Playing for Team Ch¡LL of Davao throughout the three games were Davao’s number one player Nelson “Ding” Lao, and three of his best men, Franco “Cocoy” Villaroman, Yuki “Yukz” Perez, and Bernard “Burnz” Flores. Subang Padilla of Team CORPOration substituted for Topher “Top” Lopez.

For Game 1, Mineski was composed of brothers Roro Robinson and Dix Robinson, Caloy Mangco, Marky Duenas, and Mineski’s newest recruit, Bong Silva, former leader of Team Ninja.

For the first game, Mineski surprisingly picked the Alchemist, along with three other stunners, Sand King, Leshrac, and Mirana. Completing their line-up was Zeus who struggled against Ch¡LL’s Nevermore for the control of the middle lane. Ch¡LL also picked other heroes with area od effect skills, Magnataur, Lich, and Venomancer. They picked Bristleback as their main end gamer.

Initially, Mineski and Ch¡LL played an even match. Mineski played their usual gank and harass game, while Ch¡LL stuck to their farming gameplay. Mineski’s was caught more than once in Ch¡LL’s combination of area of effect skills: reverse polarity + requiem + poison nova + quill spray + chain frost. This gave chances to Ch¡LL to take advantage of the multiple deaths of Mineski’s heroes to push aggressively and win the game. Undeniably, the star of the game was Cocoy’s Nevermore.

For game 2, Mineski banned both Nevermore and Magnataur. Khen Sy played in lieu of Dix. Having been deprived of both Nevermore and Mirana (picked by Mineski), Cocoy picked Viper to battle it out with Bong’s Tinker for the battle of the middle lane. This time around, Cocoy stuggled to farm and buy items. In the top lane, Mineski’s Leoric and Puck bullied Ch¡LL’s Silencer and Sand King. Puck came as a surprise to Ch¡LL as it is still a banned hero in tournaments here in Davao City. In the bottom lane, Ch¡LL used the Sven-Chen combo against Mineski’s Mirana and Nerubian Assassin.

Unlike the first game, Mineski became more aggressive. They were able to bully and choke by constantly ganking and harassing Ch¡LL. However, Ch¡LL’s heroes proved to be tougher in clashes, thus, giving them the edge again. After killing off multiple heroes during clashes, Ch¡LL persisted to push, and damage Mineski’s base. Eventhough they were able to destroy the middle base tower and barracks, Ch¡LL had a hard time getting to the Frozen Throne as Mineski continued to counter-push every chance they got. Unfortunately, Ch¡LL proved to be a tough defender, and aggressive pusher with more than enough killer instincts. Although they lost, Bong’s Tinker was definitely the star of the game. And most definitely, Davao’s number one angas boy Yuki Perez showed Mineski that his Sven ain’t a noob anymore.

For the third game, Caloy sat out, and Mineski’s Memel Olete stepped in. Memel’s Akasha partnered with Sand King in the top lane to fight it out with Ch¡LL’s Sven-Chen combo. In the middle lane, Cocoy’s Nevermore once again battled with Bong’s Tinker. And in the bottom lane, Ch¡LL’s Warlock and Silencer tried to outfarm Mineski’s Leoric and Nerubian Assassin. Barely ten minutes into the game, the Sand King transferred to the middle lane to bully Nevermore. As in the second game, Mineski relentlessly ganked and harassed the Ch¡LL heroes. Beyond the 30 minute mark, Mineski way way ahead in terms of kills, but Ch¡LL proved to be more tougher during clashes and was also slowly catching up to Mineski. The game could also be defined as a sort of battle of wards as the Nerubian Assasin and the Warlock constantly planted and destroyed each other’s wards. However, the game was cut short by an interruption in BoyzTrek’s internet connection.

In three games full of memories, here are some worth mentioning…

Ding’s human shield — “I will die so my end gamer/farmer will survive” moves…
Subang’s imba support, instant back-up skills…
Bong’s dagger rearm dagger moves and other rearm acts…
Memel’s spartan act in which he went inside the Scourge’s base eventhough the second tower was not yet destroyed only to wave and kill off one hero…
Yuki’s “Puck is only worth 3 hits”…
Cocoy’s “May silence ka?” polite question leading to his heroe’s untimely death…
Subang’s “nakaka-challenge tong Nerub ha!”
Burnz’s QP being banned for two games, then picked by Memel for the third game, and his Magnus banned for games 2 and 3… “Silencer nanaman?” coupled with a frown and followed by a tantrum… “I WANT MY MAGNUS!”

Congrats Team Ch¡LL!!! Mineski, thanks for the memories!

For complete banning, picking and laning lists, refer to these:
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3

Replays will be released after a month.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 7th, 2007 at 2:35 am and is filed under DotA Allstars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.