ESL One Malaysia – Day 4 Recap

Following yesterday’s two matches from the Playoffs, ESL One Malaysia 2022 is slowly coming to an end. We have a few more days left before we see which team wins this event, which means there are a few epic series ahead of us.

---

Day 4 of the ESL One Malaysia 2022 was enjoyable, to say the least because we had the chance to watch the Lower Bracket matches. Entity, TSM, Nigma, Thunder Awaken, and Fnatic had to decide which of them would head home. Unsurprisingly, every series was epic, so let’s see what happened in each one.

Entity vs TSM

[embedded content]

The first series in the Lower Bracket was between Entity and TSM, two evenly-matched teams. The European powerhouse achieved good results in Group A, but failed to secure a top 2 finish. As for the North Americans, TSM got 5 draws and secured the 4th sport in Group B.

Game 1

We thought that game one would be way more interesting to watch because TSM and Entity had an amazing start. Sadly, the North American squad made a crucial mistake just 14 minutes after the start. Entity killed all 5 heroes from TSM, which allowed them to gain a massive 5k net worth lead.

To make matters worse, Entity had Alchemist, which means the hero had more than double the net worth of his opponents. Needless to say, the European squad continued to dominate in the next few minutes. After failing to utilize their 5-man smoke, TSM used the GG call and focused on the second game.

Game 2

The match’s second game was definitely more intriguing because TSM had real chances of winning. In fact, the team even counter-picked Entity’s Sven and Pudge by picking the Grimstroke-Doom combo.

TSM tried to keep up with Entity as much as possible, despite having a lot fewer kills. However, everything changed once the 15th minute arrived and Entity secured a couple of crucial kills. The team used the momentum, and their Pudge and Lina suddenly became much stronger.

TSM tried to delay the game as much as possible, but their efforts were futile. Entity kept dominating, and the team delivered its knock-out punch in the end.

Nigma Galaxy vs Thunder Awaken

[embedded content]

The next series in the Lower Bracket was between one of the strongest South American teams and Nigma Galaxy. Although the European squad was the favorite, Thunder Awaken was certainly the better team and deserved the victory.

Game 1

The match’s first game allowed us to watch Mircale’s Morphling, but the hero had a rough early game. Speaking of the devil, Nigma.Galaxy’s laning stage was okay, but the early stages of the mid-game were terrible. Thunder Awaken used their Timbersaw’s strength and won several fights to gain an advantage.

Nigma did the best they could to stop their opponents, but the South American team looked more motivated than ever. It continued to win every fight, and secure kills left and right. With more than 28k net worth after the start, Nigma had no option but to use GG.

Game 2

We expected SumaiL and the rest of his team to perform better in the second game, but this was not really the case.  The Void and QoP combo seemed interesting, but Thunder Awaken’s Sven had a fantastic game and quickly became the strongest hero in the game. Patch 7.32 gave the hero four buffs, and it seems like he will be the new meta carry.

Sven and the rest continued to dominate and increased their lead even more. Although Nigma Galaxy forced a couple of buybacks 36 minutes after the game, Thunder Awaken secured the Aegis and secured Mega Creeps. After that, Sven even got a double rampage and eliminated their opponents from the event.

Fnatic vs Entity

[embedded content]

The last series of the day was between the only remaining team from SEA and the European powerhouse. Unsurprisingly, it was the most intriguing event match yet because the two teams were evenly matched.

Game 1

The first game of the series was very intense from the get-go as both tried to win the early and mid-matchups. Although Fnatic’s draft was better for pickoffs, Entity’s Lycan and Void combo managed to outfarm the enemy cores.

Fnatic did everything they could to survive, but Entity’s cores we way too strong. In the end, they won the first map.

Game 2

After losing the first game, Fnatic looked better than ever in game two. The mid-lane was probably one of the most interesting ones to watch because Armel secured a solo kill on Entity’s Invoker.

After winning the laning stage, Fnatic continued to dominate and used their Alchemist, who had a fantastic game. Unsurprisingly, the hero needed just a couple of minutes until he became too strong to deal with.

The victory allowed Fnatic to bounce back in the series and focus on the third game.

Game 3

After equalizing the match, Fnatic decided to get the same draft for the third game of the match. Strangely, Entity didn’t ban any of the heroes they used and tried to counter them by getting the infamous LC and Skywrath combo.

Despite the fact that the laning stage was better for Entity, the team failed to use their draft. In fact, game 2 repeated all over again because Fnatic’s Alchemist had the chance to free form for a while. Batrider and Razor ensured that their strongest hero had a good game, and in the end, Alch carried Fnatic.

This victory means that Fnatic eliminated Entity and remains the only team from SEA in the event. It will be interesting to see if Armel and the rest can continue to win because they have the home-ground advantage.