A Dota 2 combat arena computer game tournament kicked off at the Phygital Games 9 in Kazan. 8 teams from 5 countries, among them former participants of The International, joined the fight for the Phygital Flame. The One Move team, which won the Phygital Games 3 in February, is representing Russia at the tournament in Kazan.
On Monday, July 24, the teams played their first games of the group stage at the Kazan Expo. The matches were held in the Bo3 format (up to two wins in matches).
UALEIKUMNIHAO (Kazakhstan) – Neon Esports (Philippines) – 1:2
In the opening match of the day, the Neon Esports team from the Philippines, which is coached by one of the best Asian players in the history of Dota 2, Wong Hock "ChuaN" Chuan, defeated the guys from UALEIKUMNIHAO. The rivals exchanged defeats in two opening matches, but Neon Esports held the decisive segment of the game better with a 40:6 and a guaranteed place in the playoffs.
"After the first match, we became too excited and lost. We did not expect that our opponents would take such unusual heroes to the decisive match – that was their mistake. Our coach Chuan helps us a lot in the draft, does a lot of work in analyzing matches. He also supports us very much, advises us on many issues," remarked Neon Esports player Travis John "Castaway" Waters.
One Move (Russia) – Polaris Esports (Philippines) – 2:1
One Move kicked off their title defence with a tough win against the powerful Philippine team Polaris Esports. Having lost in the first match with a score of 21:27, the Russian athletes pulled themselves together and brought the match to victory with a 42:27 and a 41:19. Ahead of One Move is the game for the first place in the group with another team from the Philippines, Neon Esports.
"We underestimated Polaris Esports a bit. They seemed to be playing normally, but they made a little mistake in the first match. You could have taken it. We prepared quite seriously for the Phygital Games. We sorted drafts, watched the teams. There is that little pressure before the tournament. We need to defend our championship, while the number of teams has grown there. But it's great to play on LAN," explained the One Move player Nikita "Pantomem" Balaganin.
Infamous Gaming (Peru) – Hydra (Kyrgyzstan) – 0:2
Participants of The International 2017 Infamous Gaming lost to the Hydra team, which approached the Phygital Games in excellent shape. After the defeat in the first match, Infamous Gaming led 34:30 and were close to equalizing the score in the match, but they made mistakes in the battles, lost their advantage in a few seconds and lost.
"In the second match, we had everything more or less under control, but at one point we made a mistake and lost our advantage. But we were lucky in the end," said Vitaly "Worik" Brezgin from the Hydra team.
Infinity (Peru) – Thunder Awaken –1:2 (Peru)
The final game of the day between two teams from Peru lasted more than 2 hours and ended with a heavy victory for the favorites from Thunder Awaken. The participants of The International 2022 almost lost the first match, with a big score of 10:35 lost in the second and only then played the game that fans expected from them, having scored a 35:16 in the decisive round.
Already on Tuesday, viewers of the Phygital Games are waiting for the decisive matches for reaching the playoffs of the tournament.
The Phygital Games are a series of test competitions in phygital disciplines ahead of the Games of the Future, which comprise competitions in 16 hybrid disciplines. Each discipline combines the concept of “phygital”(physical + digital), uniting traditional sports and eSports or VR/AR technology and testing both the physical fitness of athletes and their digital dexterity. The Games of the Future tournament will be held in Kazan from February 23 to March 2, 2024.
“Games of the Future” official channels:
Website
Telegram channel
VKontakte
On Monday, July 24, the teams played their first games of the group stage at the Kazan Expo. The matches were held in the Bo3 format (up to two wins in matches).
UALEIKUMNIHAO (Kazakhstan) – Neon Esports (Philippines) – 1:2
In the opening match of the day, the Neon Esports team from the Philippines, which is coached by one of the best Asian players in the history of Dota 2, Wong Hock "ChuaN" Chuan, defeated the guys from UALEIKUMNIHAO. The rivals exchanged defeats in two opening matches, but Neon Esports held the decisive segment of the game better with a 40:6 and a guaranteed place in the playoffs.
"After the first match, we became too excited and lost. We did not expect that our opponents would take such unusual heroes to the decisive match – that was their mistake. Our coach Chuan helps us a lot in the draft, does a lot of work in analyzing matches. He also supports us very much, advises us on many issues," remarked Neon Esports player Travis John "Castaway" Waters.
One Move (Russia) – Polaris Esports (Philippines) – 2:1
One Move kicked off their title defence with a tough win against the powerful Philippine team Polaris Esports. Having lost in the first match with a score of 21:27, the Russian athletes pulled themselves together and brought the match to victory with a 42:27 and a 41:19. Ahead of One Move is the game for the first place in the group with another team from the Philippines, Neon Esports.
"We underestimated Polaris Esports a bit. They seemed to be playing normally, but they made a little mistake in the first match. You could have taken it. We prepared quite seriously for the Phygital Games. We sorted drafts, watched the teams. There is that little pressure before the tournament. We need to defend our championship, while the number of teams has grown there. But it's great to play on LAN," explained the One Move player Nikita "Pantomem" Balaganin.
Infamous Gaming (Peru) – Hydra (Kyrgyzstan) – 0:2
Participants of The International 2017 Infamous Gaming lost to the Hydra team, which approached the Phygital Games in excellent shape. After the defeat in the first match, Infamous Gaming led 34:30 and were close to equalizing the score in the match, but they made mistakes in the battles, lost their advantage in a few seconds and lost.
"In the second match, we had everything more or less under control, but at one point we made a mistake and lost our advantage. But we were lucky in the end," said Vitaly "Worik" Brezgin from the Hydra team.
Infinity (Peru) – Thunder Awaken –1:2 (Peru)
The final game of the day between two teams from Peru lasted more than 2 hours and ended with a heavy victory for the favorites from Thunder Awaken. The participants of The International 2022 almost lost the first match, with a big score of 10:35 lost in the second and only then played the game that fans expected from them, having scored a 35:16 in the decisive round.
Already on Tuesday, viewers of the Phygital Games are waiting for the decisive matches for reaching the playoffs of the tournament.
The Phygital Games are a series of test competitions in phygital disciplines ahead of the Games of the Future, which comprise competitions in 16 hybrid disciplines. Each discipline combines the concept of “phygital”(physical + digital), uniting traditional sports and eSports or VR/AR technology and testing both the physical fitness of athletes and their digital dexterity. The Games of the Future tournament will be held in Kazan from February 23 to March 2, 2024.
“Games of the Future” official channels:
Website
Telegram channel
VKontakte