PlayTime secure Esports World Cup invite with crucial victory over BetBoom Team

DreamLeague Season 29 represents the last chance for a team to secure a direct invite to the $2,000,000 Esports World Cup via ESL Pro Tour points. Some have already done just that earlier in the tournament.

But two teams were still in contention for the very last invite as the second round in the lower bracket began. Natus Vincere and the South American line-up of PlayTime were in 12th and 13th place, respectively.

PlayTime had already eliminated NAVI from DreamLeague Season 29, but NAVI’s overall results through the ESL Pro Tour competitions this year have them sitting on 1775 EPT points, 313 points ahead of PlayTime. For that difference to evaporate, PlayTime needed to win one more series at DreamLeague Season 29.

However, their adversaries for the said series were BetBoom Team, the recent champions of PGL Wallachia Season 8.

BetBoom Team vs PlayTime

BetBoom started the best-of-three series with a tempo Alchemist game and a menacing mid lane Snapfire from Danil "gpk" Skutin. The game itself was pretty much a stomp and a gpk show, as PlayTime struggled to keep the pace from laning stage to the end.

Game two started in the same dominant fashion, with gpk zip-zapping everyone down on his signature Storm Spirit. However, PlayTime had a clear plan in mind and itemised for a late game scenario. The big items started to pour in at around the 30-minute mark for each of their heroes. The SA representative patiently waited for BetBoom to become overaggressive to punish them and counter initiate.

“We noticed that they tend to split up [in late game] so we waited for those specific moments,” said Elvis "Scofield" Peña when asked how they managed to turn around game two.

Scofield’s initiation with a Scythe of Vyse on Hoodwink, Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera’s spot on spell usage on Kunkka and in the very late game, Book of the Dead demonic warriors made the difference for PlayTime. A sudden death to demonic warriors on gpk 54 minutes into the game felt like a sealed deal for the SA team, who, from there on, made a full comeback.

As the series headed into its final game, frustration, tilt, exhaustion, or a combination of all three might have affected the BetBoom Team. Regardless of what it was, BetBoom Team seemed really off. From the drafting stage where they completely ignored Máximo "Wits" Orozco Alza’s Necrophos, to choosing to run a mid lane Huskar into Windrunner, Batrider, and a potential Necro pick (which happened) BetBoom made numerous mistakes that led to a disastrous game.

PlayTime maintained momentum and were cohesive in every engagement to secure a quick victory, and with it, a place at the upcoming Esports World Cup.

They have now also secured a top 6 finish at DreamLeague Season 29 and will play for a spot in the top four against Falcons on Saturday, at noon CEST.