It was a day of heartbreak at day two or the Mythic Dungeon Internation (MDI) Spring Finals. As teams in the lower bracket fought tooth and nail to remain in the competition a few upsets and surprises, as well as close matches, played out.
Day two meant four of the eight teams would be going home and the pack was thinned out heading into the third and final day of the tournament. There were some hotly anticipated matches, in particular, the Upper bracket finals.
Both Method Squads went head-to-head, the winner securing a spot in the Grand Final and an invite to Blizzcon. The loser would need to fight their way through the lower bracket on day three for a chance at the title.
MDI Spring Finals
Match 1: Team D vs Black Mamba
The opening map was one of the most exciting games of the day. The MOTHERLODE! is always unpredictable, with so many paths for teams to choose.
Team D took an early lead despite suffering 12 deaths, incurring a 60-second penalty to their final time. A rather sloppy finish saw them finish first, but penalty time meant Black Mamba still had a chance to snag the win. Some miscommunication combined with a slow and steady approach on Black Mamba’s end saw them get the final boss to a little more than half health before their time ran out.
Unable to rally from their slight defeat, Black Mamba struggled to get any momentum on the second map; Waycrest Manor. Setting a season record of 22 deaths, Black Mamba got inside their own heads.
Meanwhile, Team D executed a steady and confident run. Setting a pattern of behaviour that would serve them well for the games ahead. Team D’s Waycrest Manor run wasn’t the fastest of the tournament, but with only one death, it was certainly a clean run.
Match 2: BUFF WAR NERF ROGUE (BWNR) vs Fullscreened
It was another tough day for the Aussie squad Fullscreened. BWNR certainly put their practice in and did their homework after day one’s defeat. Map one was The Underrot and Fullscreened just never got started.
Fullscreened barely made it to the third boss, Sporecaller Zancha, before BWNR had completed the dungeon. BWNR’s run was two minutes slower than the slowest Underrot run from day one.
Despite getting the win, they need to pick up their speed against the stronger teams if they are to stand a chance.
Map two of the showdown was much the same story. Fullscreened barely reaching the third boss before BWNR finish the run. With this defeat, the Aussies are relegated to spectators.
Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of Fullscreened. I must stress that despite not getting a map win all tournament, even running +19 mythic keys is a monumental achievement. They should be proud of making it to the main stage, go back to practice and refine those skills.
BWNR would need to sharpen their timings and communication for a chance against their next opponents, Abrakeydabra.
Match 3: Fourty K vs Team D
I was surprised to see Team D beat Black Mamba so confidently, and thought this is where their reign would end. Team D had different ideas. The first map was Shrine of the Storms, a notoriously difficult dungeon with lots of mobs who heal their allies.
Communication and timings are critical as well as positioning. Some monsters love nothing more than to knock players off the edge of the map, spelling doom for the unwary adventuring party. Not Team D however, a flawless 0 death run saw them secure map one in a showdown I was convinced they would lose.
Fourty K lost a lot of time trying to creatively bypass some monsters, which ended up biting them in the butt after they wiped deeper in the dungeon.
Map two was much closer. Fourty K took the lead early. A creative new strategy that allows them to maximise clearing enemies whilst simultaneously fighting bosses. By boss three it looked as if Team D would never catch up. That was until Fourty K bit off more than they could chew.
A reaping spawn, as well as Raging monsters during a boss fight, caused a team wipe. From there Fourty K wasted time trying to recover, similar to map one. Meanwhile, Team D never broke their stride.
Leaving their opponents behind and climbing the stairs to the final boss, Yazma. From there it was a quick boss fight for Team D to see them through to the day three Semi-finals. Instead of playing on, Fourty K head back to their hotel room and pack their bags.
Match 4: Abrakeydabra vs BUFF WAR NERF ROGUE (BWNR)
Abrakeydabra has been the bridesmaid and never the bride all season. Only just behind Method EU in their day one match, the panel picked Abrakeydabra to win this matchup.
BWNR came out hard on The MOTHERLODE!, only just trailing behind Abrakeydabra. That was until a few bad pulls got Lota, BWNR’s healer, killed which led to a party wipe. Then another wipe shortly after. BWNR seemed to be robbed of all their enthusiasm at that point, making rapid small pulls with little effort to catch up.
It seems that those 12 deaths really sunk into BWNR, deciding to focus their efforts and energy into the next map, Freehold.
It looked like BWNR came ready to fight on Freehold, again only just behind Abrakeydabra. Even catching right up to them between the first and second boss.
They maintained their speed during the third boss and raced up to Harlan Sweete, the fourth and final boss of Freehold. Despite all this, they just couldn’t match the precision and positioning of Abrakeydabra. As BWNR move to watch day three from the sidelines, Abrakeydabra prepares to face Team D on day three.
Match 5: Method EU vs Method NA
This is the big match everyone was talking about. There was lots of speculation that this game is a glimpse of the Grand Final as both teams looked to be in fantastic form during day one.
Map one was Shrine of Storms, something that Method NA has stumbled on in the past. Perhaps Method NA needed a bit more time to warm up, because they looked frozen stiff on Shrine. Repeated healer deaths, leading to tank deaths and team wipes left Method NA out in the rain.
Method EU executed an almost flawless run, with only a single death and a scary fast time. Again the EU squad sent a very clear message that they are the dominant force at this tournament.
The MOTHERLODE! had a bit better showing from Method NA. That being said Method EU was too fast with a flawless, record-setting run. With the number of trash mobs in The MOTHERLODE! it’s insane to complete the dungeon under 20 minutes.
The 19 minutes 28 second run from Method EU stands as a testament to their ability. It wasn’t that Method NA performed badly, it was that EU was on fire all match. Method EU now enjoys a guaranteed ticket to Blizzcon, as well as a day of rest before the Grand Final.
Losing this match now calls Method NA’s Blizzcon invite into question. Sizing up the competition, they will need to fight their way through to the final. Will the matches warm them up or drain their energy for the epic finale?
The Final Day Approaches
Final Standings at the end of Day Two.
Only three matches remain to be played. We move towards day three of the Mythic Dungeon International Spring Final, some teams left watching on the sidelines.
Others prepare for a long day of games, who will face Method EU in the final? And can the favourites be overthrown?
Personally, I’d love to see Abrakeydabra go all the way to the final. But whoever is playing, I’m just keen to see the best in the world play the game I love so much.
