Natus Vincere emerge victorious over GamerLegion, wins Dota 2 EPL Masters III

In a score of three games to one, Natus Vincere reigned supreme over GamerLegion as they quickly shut down the hopes of the top North American Dota 2 team of getting a trophy at EPL Masters III, a Tier 3 tournament.

GamerLegion reached the grand finals fresh from surviving a close series against Yellow Submarine. Still, Natus Vincere, who also defeated Yellow Submarine earlier, took advantage of their momentum in the upper bracket to seal their victory.

Natus Vincere: A young team with a high hero pool takes over EPL Masters III

NAVI was one of the four teams that received an automatic spot for the EPL Masters III playoffs. The players, who recently delivered strong performances at several Tier 1 events, proved that their playoff advantage was well deserved.

They continued their winning run through the upper bracket, notably sending GamerLegion down to the lower bracket along the way. The two teams met again in the grand final, but GamerLegion failed to avenge their earlier defeat as NAVI secured another series victory, giving the North American team only one victory in the best-of-five (Bo5) grand final series. The winning team went 3-1.

One of Natus Vincere’s biggest strengths is their players’ deep hero pools. Throughout their upper-bracket run, they rarely picked the same heroes twice, instead focusing on countering their opponents through smart drafting. Some of their most successful picks in the tournament include Brewmaster, Kez, and Dazzle.

During the grand final against GamerLegion, NAVI’s offlaner Yurii “pma” Prots stole the show with his Brewmaster and Timbersaw, playing a key role in their wins across Games 1, 2, and 3. He also kept his net worth close to that of his other cores while recording no more than four deaths, an impressive feat for an offlane role that often requires taking risky initiations and absorbing pressure.

What’s next for NAVI?

Despite their impressive run at EPL Masters III, NAVI’s Dota 2 roster appears set to take a short break by skipping 1win Essence III. Instead, the young squad will shift its focus to another Tier 1 event, BLAST SLAM 9, which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 20.

Their performance at BLAST SLAM 9 will be a major test of their ability to compete against stronger opponents and bounce back from their disappointing run at the previous BLAST event.

EPL Masters III final standings

With the conclusion of EPL Masters III, here are the final standings of all the teams that participated in the tournament.

The next big Dota 2 tournament will be 1win Essence III slated for Nov. 12. The competition will host a number of high-caliber teams, namely PARIVISION, Team Spirit, 1w Team, and Aurora Gaming.