Mouz comes back from 2-0 deficit to win the TI4 European Qualifiers

Mousesports is the big winner of the TI4 European Qualifiers, after a thrilling 3-2 Grand Final against Virtus.Pro. Through their victory, they have secured a spot in the main event of The International 4, while Virtus.Pro will participate in the Play-In Series in Seattle.

This was the last day of the online phase of The International 4, with the European Grand Final taking place between Mousesports and Virtus.Pro. Both teams reached the best-of-five match through their respective victories against RoX.KIS, the team that remained undefeated in the groupstage but could not perform as well in the playoffs. Virtus.Pro had the chance to finish the Grand Final early, after two convincing victories in the first two games of the series. However, the unnerving defeat in the third game combined with the weariness after their consecutive had a significant impact on the Russians, who seemed to crumble against Mousesports impressively fast game pace and good strategic decisions. Thus, the former team DOG staged the astonishing comeback and earned the direct seed to The International 4 with a 3-2 victory.

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Virtus.Pro vs mousesports

Game One

For the first match of the series, Virtus.Pro selected an unconventional solo Venomancer for God and a supporting Brewmaster for NS, aiming to overwhelm Mousesports through early teamfights and prevent Pajkatt's Doom and FATA's Outworld Devourer from becoming a threat. The things did not go as planned for the Russians as Mouz managed to dominate the laning phase and secure a very early advantage, despite having a generally weaker early game compared to their opposition. However, the tides turned when Virtus.Pro decided to five-man and start applying pressure all around the map. Mouz seemed unprepared for the massive amounts of crowd control provided by the solid line-up of the Dire. The first set of barracks fell by minute 26, and the 'GG' was called by Mousesports a few seconds later.

Game Two

Unlike the first match, it was time for Mousesports to turn aggressive, selecting a gank-oriented line-up with numerous nukes and early control. Their choice seemed to pay off, as yet again they were able to take the lead quite early in the match, crippling both Virtus.Pro's supports. Nonetheless, a few sloppy engagements combined with the power of the early Aghanim's Scepter of IllidanSTR's Silencer prolonged the match more than Mouz planned. Both AA's Nature's Prophet and God's Dragon Knight eventually started being threatening, building Black King Bar to mitigate the incoming spell damage and control. With every minute, Mouz seemed more desperate to finish the match, but they were unable to do so - a situation worsened by their lack of solid split-push potential. With 53 minutes on the clock, the two sides traded one set of barracks (middle for VP, bottom for Mouz) but the Russians managed to pick-off Pajkatt's retreating Mirana, forcing a buyback. By minute 61, Virtus.Pro attempted to destroy the Dire's middle barracks, but they lost four heroes to Pajkatt's physical damage. Mousesports rushed to finish the game, but they were stopped and slain outside VP's base. With MSS's Puck on the sidelines, Virtus.Pro marched inside their enemies' base and destroyed their second set of barracks, winning yet another teamfight as well. As the Dire Ancient was being demolished, MiSeRy called the 'GG'.

Game Three

Virtus.Pro decided to take the risk and resurrect the forgotten Queen of Pain, basing their mid game on the Qop-Lifestealer Infest bomb. Mousesports answered with Slark and Troll Warlord as their core heroes, deploying a line-up that combines both high physical and magical damage. Yet again, the laning stage went horribly for the Russians, with Pajkatt and MiSeRy purchasing very early Blink Daggers. Pajkatt's well-timed rotations helped him get an unusually big amount of kills, snowballing out of control before Virtus.Pro could do react. With Illidan's Lifestealer being the only hero with a normal inventory, Slark was able to hero hunt continuously, eventually forcing the 'GG' by minute 34.

Game Four

The Russians decided to be unconventional yet again, selecting Drow Ranger for Illidan against Mousesports Slark - Invoker selections. Once again, the pressure applied to God's Outworld Devourer was immense, forcing the ex-LGD.int player to make baby steps in terms of actual item progression. Utilising the early Blink Dagger once again, Pajkatt hunted the squishiest of targets to the end of the world, turning into an unstoppable force during the mid game. Illidan's unusual Eye of Skadi purchase did not provide much help to the Russians, who forfeited the game before the 30th minute mark.

Game Five

It was now or never for the two squads, as this was the final game of the European Qualifiers. Mousesports played their cards quite well, snatching the Nature's Prophet from Ars-Art, eventually baiting a four-protect-one line-up out of Virtus.Pro. Illidan's Faceless Void was the sole pure physical damage dealer of VP, a solid but very vulnerable selection. Mousesports knew that very well, and decided to abuse it. The aggression against Illidan was huge, almost cruel. JotM's Treant Protector managed to prevent his demise several times, but FATA's Batrider was always there to Lasso Illidan to his death. The things got out of hand when paS's Disruptor purchased a Blink Dagger. From that point, solid Chronospheres and good setup were out of the question, forcing VP to use Void's precious ultimate for solo kills on the supports. Illidan's late Black King Bar could do nothing to revert the situation - Mouz's heroes were just too strong. With three Blink Daggers and two BKBs on their side, they were able to roll over the Russians, earning a convincing victory in the final battle of the series.