Nigma fans, rise!
The legendary powerhouse is finally back to kick off its first competitive match since failing to qualify for the International 11 (TI11). We are all looking forward to seeing Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf as their power forward coupled with the TI7 Champs.
ATF in Nigma Galaxy
Besides his infamous reputation for his in-game toxicity, ATF is also renowned for his prodigious skills as a carry player. Formerly known for his role as offlane player in Team OG, ATF decided to venture into a different role in Nigma, which is hard carry player.
On paper, we have seen how ATF handles his offlanes, aka the hard lane, like a champ. In most instances, he would strive in the tough lane to often come out on top of the opponent’s lane combo. Even so, that fame finally catches onto ATF when opponents are respect-banning his heroes to completely shut down the player.
Hence, it hasn’t been a great run for Ammar at TI11 despite this being his first TI Championship debut.
HellRaisers, a promising Eastern European team emerges
Fast forward to the BetBoom Xmas Show, Nigma’s first match is against HellRaisers. The latter has put on an incredible showcase, highlighting the roster’s seasoned stack of players. Several notable players from HR include Gleb “depressed kid” Zyryanov and Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin. However, perhaps the most anticipated player to feature in HR is Alexey “Solo” Berezin himself.
With this solid roster, HR proved its strength in the group stage, where they pull off versatile hero drafts. This is, of course, supported by these players’ experience, which makes HR a formidable opponent to qualify for the playoffs.
Nigma Galaxy vs HellRaisers
While the historical matches of HR in the group stage looked phenomenal, it isn’t much to call home about. They did not play against the other Eastern European staples from the other group, Team Spirit or PuckChamp. So, for all we know, HR’s performance thus far might be underwhelming in higher tiers.
On the other hand, Nigma’s lack of matches since their TI11 qualifier blunder also puts them at a disadvantage. Since Nigma hasn’t been consistent, to begin with. It’s also important to note that Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi is not playing, so Syed “SumaiL” Hassan will sub instead.
HR certainly looks like the stronger team going into this match despite Nigma being an all-time favorite. With almost triple the odds against HR, it’s a tempting offer to side the Russian stack due to their seasoned demeanor.
Well, don’t just take our word for it because HR truly has been very versatile in their playstyle and hero choice. Sure, they lost the series to Nemiga Gaming earlier, but a deeper look into that match tells that Nemiga successfully prolonged the match till the late game. Whereby, they have stronger late-game heroes, such as Anti-Mage with Magnus or Ursa.
Speaking of drafts, the mastermind behind Nigma’s hero picks, Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi is notoriously known for classic picks. As Nigma fails to keep up with the latest meta, we doubt that Nigma could compete against HR’s explosive execution.
The BetBoom Xmas Show spans across the week, with many notable teams finally playing their rounds. For instance, Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators are in the upper bracket, while Virtus.pro and Nemiga are down in lower bracket after the loss.
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