Evgeny Ignatenko, better known by his handle Noticed, the offlaner for Team Yandex’s Dota 2 roster, commented on his teammate Ilya “Chira JUNIOR” Hirtsov’s performance in the mid lane when matched up against Razor. The remarks came after Team Yandex’s defeat to Heroic.
Noticed acknowledged that Chira JUNIOR struggled in that particular matchup but insisted that the player remains an experienced mid laner. According to Noticed, Chira JUNIOR has faced Razor and similar matchups many times and is versed in playing against ranged lane dominators on heroes such as Storm Spirit and Void Spirit. Still, Noticed conceded that in the most recent game Chira JUNIOR could not hold the lane against Razor.
“Let’s put it this way: last time Chira JUNIOR had a really poor outing, but overall he’s an expert, I think he can stand up to Razor,” Noticed said. “He’s been in that situation a million times on different heroes like Storm Spirit and Void Spirit. But in the previous game on Void Spirit he also couldn’t withstand Razor.”
Team Yandex fell to Heroic in the first round of the group stage at PGL Wallachia Season 7; the series ended 0:2 in favor of Heroic. In the two maps played, Heroic secured decisive victories, finishing the first game in 40 minutes and 48 seconds with a final kill score of roughly 39–6, and closing the second game in 36 minutes and 28 seconds with a final kill score near 33–8.
PGL Wallachia Season 7 is being held in Bucharest, Romania, from March 7 to March 15. Sixteen teams are competing for a one million dollar prize pool. The event continues through the group stage and into playoffs, with teams fighting for seeding and a share of the prize fund.
Following the loss, Team Yandex will need to regroup and address mid-lane matchups and draft considerations if they hope to advance from the group. Noticed’s comments underline the idea that a single poor matchup or an off day from a usually reliable core player can significantly impact a best-of series at this level of competition.