With ESL One Frankfurt finished and TI6 ahead, who will prove themselves up for the kill tonight?
Following the success of Betway’s first Fight Night, it’s time to do it all again. In association with Aftonbladet, we bring you two of the finest DOTA 2 teams in the world.
Please welcome Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) and Alliance!
Let’s have a look at the two teams facing off in our arena this week.
Natus Vincere
If there’s one sure-fire way to warm up for the splendour of Fight Night, then it has to be ESL One Frankfurt.
Last weekend, Na’Vi put in a strong team performance to advance all the way to the Frankfurt Final, only to fall at the last hurdle to a stellar OG.
It may have been a 3-0 defeat, thanks to the terrifying power of Miracle for OG, but Natus Vincere have a lot of play to be proud of across the whole tournament.
They are strong favourites for tonight’s match-up at 1.65.
Na’Vi have finished in the top four of four LAN tournaments since the Shanghai Major (better than Fnatic, Vega and Team Empire), so their form is good.
After the trials and tribulations of last year, leading to the team disbanding and then re-forming, triumph at Fight Night could be just what they need to add to their ESL One runner-up place.
Na’Vi tend to start fast, so our best bet looks like Vincere to score First Blood in Maps one and two at 3.00. If you prefer a high mortality rate, you can also get total kills over 118.5 kills at 1.90.
Alliance
It’s been a rough couple of months for Alliance (2.25).
After winning the World Cyber Arena in December 2015, and then triumphing at StarSeries Season to kick off the New Year, they topped Group B at the Shanghai Major, only to fall at the very next hurdle in the main event.
After that, they missed out on ESL One Manila before falling at the group stages of EPICENTER and the Manila Major.
They showed signs of their former selves at ESL One Frankfurt last weekend though, despite not emerging from the group, in the final game against Team Liquid.
They have also just been invited to The International 6 qualifiers. A brand new shot at redemption after their recent struggles, which should put some wind in their sails for Fight Night.
Despite Na’Vi’s status as favourites, there are reasons for them to be wary of Alliance, not least their unpredictability.
They don’t pick meta heroes in the same way as many other teams, throwing out fan favourites like Loda on Terrorblade.
Their biggest flaw is racing into a lead and then becoming passive and getting caught late on.
If they can keep their fire throughout, they could give Natus a good game, which is why we think over 2.5 maps is a good bet at 1.95. If you think Alliance will win at least one map, it’s 1.35.
Two teams, two very different motives. Na’Vi have been on a powerful run, and will be looking to hone their skills before The Summit 5 and especially TI6.
Alliance, meanwhile, have had a confidence knock, but know that a good performance here could be just the thing to get the blood flowing.
Who are you backing for victory? Let us know who and why @BetwayeSports today!
