Nigma completes comeback to win WePlay! Bukovel Minor
The masters of the lower bracket run showed once again how it's done by completing a seemingly impossible run through the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. Marathon series, late-night sessions and a dominant upper bracket run by RNG: none of these could stop KuroKy's men in the end as they punched their ticket to DreamLeague Season 13 after a grand final series that went late into the night.
After a shaky group stage performance and a loss to RNG in the upper bracket final, Nigma stayed alive in the competition after a series win over Gambit which lasted long into the night. Yesterday's exertions didn't have a meaningful impact on them though as they ended up beating Geek Fam 2-0 in a series where the SEA side will be left wondering whether they could have clinched the opening series.
As such, the stage was set for a rematch between the best-performing team at the event and the one with the biggest names around, and it initially seemed like RNG would keep up their relentless streak at the Minor. Their opening game victory against Nigma was pure dominance, but it was merely the beginning and the Chinese side would never come back to these heady heights.
In fact, losses in marathon matches from large gold leads in games 2 and 4 would seal their fate in an exciting series, as an 80-minute monster follow-up allowed Nigma to even up the series. A game 3 stomp followed, and though RNG dug deep to fight back with their backs against the wall, explosiveness was no match for experience as the TI9 runners-up once again overturned a huge lead of 40k gold to clinch the series, securing their spot at the first Major of 2020.
Next up is the Major in Leipzig, staring in just five day's time.
