Leipzig Major playoffs: Nigma falls to the lower bracket again as EG complete turnaround

Despite a strong start, the Minor champions were reverse-swept by Evil Geniuses in the first game on the Leipzig Major's playoffs stage. KuroKy's men swept the floor with EG in the opening match but Arteezy and co. deservedly completed the turnaround with much improved performances in games 2 and 3.

Déjà vu

Another lower bracket run beckons for Nigma, and the only solace for their fans is that they're getting quite good at it. The same squad made it to the grand finals of TI9 the hard way, completing a flawless lower bracket run at the event, and they had to do the same at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor too after a loss to Fighting PandaS in the opening match. This time, they did secure the upper bracket seed during the groups but failed to convert a one-game advantage against Evil Geniuses in what was a highly anticipated clash between the sides.

From stompee to stomper

Nigma's plethora of early kills in game 1 enabled a complete snowball by Nigma who closed things out with only 26 minutes on the clock and more than a 20k net worth lead to show for their effort in a game where Fly finished without a single kill on Crystal Maiden. In fact, no one on Evil Geniuses managed to get more than two.

It was a rough start for the Group D runners-up but they ultimately managed to turn it all around over the course of over an hour and a half of Dota, first with an almost 47-minute grind with 34 kills to 19 followed by a long-winded but one-sided affair to close things out. Mind_Control's poor game 3 was the most notable individual part of the decider match, a 52-minute affair where the outcome was never really in doubt, a crippling teamfight pretty much ending it all on the 50-minute mark.

This result means that Nigma will have to fight with either beastcoast or paiN Gaming for their tournament lives tomorrow while EG will face the winner of the Invictus Gaming-Vici Gaming matchup on the 23rd.

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