Aurora sweep 1win 2-0 to send Ari into BLAST Slam Season 8 lower bracket

Aurora beat 1win 2-0 on Thursday 8 October in the second upper bracket quarter-final of BLAST Slam Season 8. The result sends the 1win roster, and British player Ari, into the lower bracket of the Dota 2 playoffs.

For UK fans, Ari was the main reason to watch this best-of-three. He plays for the Russia-based 1win alongside 33, Whitemon, bzm and Pure, and the side came into the quarter-final after surviving a Last Chance Match earlier in the event.

The first game was a marathon. Aurora closed it out after 77 minutes, which suggests neither side could break the other quickly. 1win got the long game they might have wanted against a higher-rated opponent but could not turn it into a map win.

Game two was shorter. Aurora wrapped it up in 54 minutes to finish the series without dropping a map, and the clean sweep was a sharp turnaround for a team that had started the event badly.

On paper, Aurora were favourites. They sit 5th in the Elo power rankings with a rating of 1972 and a 183-116 record across 299 rated matches. 1win are 13th on 1853, with a 184-123 record from 307 rated matches.

Aurora’s form going into the game was less convincing than their rating. In the first Seeding Match, PARIVISION beat them 2-0, and before that they had lost 0-2 to Natus Vincere and 1-2 to Team Yandex. Wins over Team Liquid (2-1) and GamerLegion (2-0) came in between, so this sweep is their second 2-0 in their last six series.

1win, meanwhile, had won two series in a row. They beat Team Nemesis 2-0 and then edged OG 2-1 in Last Chance Match 2 to reach this stage. That run is now over. Their recent record also includes a 2-1 win over Natus Vincere, a 0-2 loss to Team Spirit and a 1-2 defeat by GamerLegion, which fits a team that can beat good opponents but has not been consistent.

Aurora move on to the upper bracket semi-finals, where the competition has been tight. Team Yandex beat LGD Gaming 2-1 in the first quarter-final and then knocked PARIVISION, the team that had swept Aurora in seeding, down into the lower bracket with another 2-1 win in Upper Bracket Semifinal 1.

Team Yandex also beat Aurora 2-1 in their recent meeting, so the upper half of the bracket now has a familiar threat in it. Team Spirit, who beat Team Yandex 2-1 in Seeding Match 2, are another side to watch.

1win are not out. Losing an upper bracket quarter-final only drops them into the lower bracket, and this roster has already shown it can win a must-win series. LGD Gaming, who beat GamerLegion 2-1 in Last Chance Match 1 before falling to Team Yandex, are in the same position.

Ari and his teammates now have to win from the lower bracket before BLAST Slam Season 8 finishes on 11 October.