Aurora Gaming support player Miroslav `Mira` Kolpakov shared his thoughts on the match against Xtreme Gaming in the BLAST Slam III Dota 2 tournament playoffs. He discussed the decisive third map in a post-match interview.
Speaking about the third game, Mira described it as “a typical game against Naga Siren, Nature`s Prophet, Sand King and Mirana with invisibility.” He noted that the opponent`s strategy of “just pushing lines” while Aurora “chilled” led to a lengthy match lasting “almost 70 minutes,” which he said “often happens” in such matchups. Despite the duration, he felt confident: “We knew we would win, but we needed to show maximum patience, just wait for our timings.” He added that their path to victory involved exploiting opponent errors: “One mistake, one important pick-off, and we go high ground,” highlighting Monkey King`s late-game power and his ultimate (“large arena”) as key to enabling their final push.
When asked if he ever doubted the victory during the third map, Mira responded, “I think we understood everything from the very beginning. <…> We just took Roshan and went to push. It seems to me it was simple for us.”
The match between Aurora Gaming and Xtreme Gaming concluded on the night of May 8th/early May 9th with a 2-1 victory for Aurora. The decisive third map of the series lasted over 64 minutes. In the next playoff round, Aurora Gaming will face Gaimin Gladiators for a spot in the semifinals.
The BLAST Slam III tournament is taking place in Denmark from May 6 to 11. Ten teams are competing for a prize pool of one million dollars.