Game 2 really outshined the first game, so it deserves the in-depth analysis.

SK  XcN Banned heroes:   Warlock   Omniknight   Terrorblade   Beastmaster   Shadow Priest   Nerubian Assassin   Puck   Chen

Picks:  SK  XcN First pick: Earthshaker - - Zeus / Dragon Knight Mirana / Lich - - Leoric / Tidehunter  Shadow Fiend / Slardar - Last pick: - Lina

Sentinel -	SK		XcN	- Scourge
mid	SK.Minitito	-	XcN-Lakuci	mid
top	SK.Tompa	-	XcN-Ritter	top
top	SK.Hailo	-	XcN-Mutz	top
bot	SK.Bogdan	-	XcN-StamX	bot
bot	SK.Loda	-	XcN-Melen	bot

Replay: HERE

Pregame:

Except for Slardar, the lineups fall pretty much within normal expectations. Both teams load up on lategame. XcN takes a blunt approach with the dual tank DPS combo of DK/Leo. SK opts for a little more finesse, supplementing Shadow Fiend's damage with Slardar's massive armor reduction technique. In terms of AOE, Lich/Shaker speak for themselves, but so does Zeus, and Tide should not be underestimated.

What makes these lineups truly fun is the interplay between the heroes. For example, Shaker is a capable initiator. As we will see here, though, he has a lot of trouble beating Tide to the punch because of Ravage's sheer range. Or, consider DK and Leoric, two tanks who become exasperatingly difficult to bring down when they activate BKB. Slardar's ult makes them vulnerable to good old base damage (especially Leoric), and forces them to play it safer.

Early game:

XcN immediately sets out establishing a kill lead, but they have to work hard to do so. They fiddle with their lanes early on to ensure that DK farms. DK does indeed farm, which is no small accomplishment given the awful solo matchup against SF.

We aren't too far into the game when XcN wipes SK for the first time. They use the momentum from this and other team fights to take a couple towers, while SK has to bide their time. Still, SK takes advantage of XcN's clustering and claims far more creep kills early on.

SK is stomping XcN in creep kills, but the money margin is closed by several hero kills. The only item that looks imminent for either team is SF's BKB. And why does DK have a Quarterstaff...?

Mid-game:

After SF completes his BKB, SK is able to win a 4-for-2 exchange in their own forest. Chain Frost decimates the majority of XcN and a well-placed arrow nixes Skelly's hope for escape. With this opportunity SK can finally take a tower. However, they overstay their welcome (a recurring theme for both sides this game) and lose a couple more heroes when XcN respawns.

SF's BKB is instrumental in the first decisive victory for Sent.

DK bypasses the common options of Armlet and SnY to build an Orchid. Orchid is a respectable damage item, but does not synergies as obviously with DK. Hopefully there will be opportunities to get mileage out of the Soul Burn to make up for this.

PotM farms well, but one wonders if some of that farm could have been “donated” to ES. Shaker, present in all the team battles, has a trying time farming Blink. It quickly becomes a vicious cycle: Shaker can't initiate, SK loses team fight, Shaker dies in a hopeless battle and Blink is delayed.

The team fights continue to swing back and forth. When Tide initiates successfully SK has little hope, but they manage to pick him off a couple times. ES's Fissure creates a tactical advantage in more than one situation, dividing XcN's heroes and leaving them to be conquered by the rest of his team. But Blink/Echo would be really handy...

Dragon Knight is a force to be reckoned with...

But Slardar is still Leoric's worst nightmare.

SF and DK are both pretty well tricked-out. Tide's Blink is nearly overkill, but he will set up some 5-man Ravages with it later. ES will finally finish his Blink in a minute, although it is now far too late for him to farm any follow-up item. Leoric has yet to finish Armlet, a problem that was almost bound to present itself given the two carries on Scourge.

Late-game:

Now that Shaker is ready to contribute, it's time for him to get shut down by Tide. A tenuous standoff mid is broken by Blink/Ravage, preventing Shaker from initiating. As usual, Tide dies for his efforts but XcN takes down 3 heroes and pushes mid. They take the 2nd tower mid and work on the base tower, but it's their turn to overstay their welcome. SK scores critical kills on DK and Leo after the respawns.

Behold the awesome power of Blink/Ravage.

Mirana kindly asks Dragon Knight to leave her base...or as kindly as one can be while shooting bolts of lightning.

DK looks to Roshan but is quickly scared off by the entire Sentinel team. Scourge prepares to respond but there is just no time: Slardar and his allies take down Roshan in literally 5 seconds. In high level play, teams are wary and do not freely give up Roshan, but with Slardar to Amp him there is almost nothing to be done. This is a subtle contribution and it is extremely difficult to quantify when calculating the viability of the hero.

Something that is NOT subtle: the speed at which an Amp'ed Skeleton King falls to 3 DPS'ers. It makes him look like an Int hero with two lives.

SK suffers one more wipe in a mess of a battle mid. Lich can't get Chain off. ES somehow manages to stay out of Ravage's ridiculous AOE, but he's so far away that he can't even Blink to engage. Tide gets personal with ES and stalls him for quite some time, so that when Echo Slam finally comes out, it's too late. XcN cracks base with a barracks.

At this point in the game, however, one middle barracks is not a death sentence. SK continues to fight off XcN's push efforts. With 3 appreciable damage dealers in SF/PotM/Slardar, SK has lots of targets and XcN just can't figure out who they need to focus. SK wins a string of battles leading up to the climax mid. This time, SK finds a way to bypass Ravage initiation, using PotM's ult to stealth in. XcN has a sentry ward placed, so they see it coming, but they break apart in a confused retreat. DK and Zeus are separated from the pack and ravenously devoured. Shaker finally gets to unload a good ult as he demolishes the other three heroes. With this wipe, SK claims 4 barracks, Roshan, and essentially the game.

XcN fights nobly, even fending off a concerted effort on their last set of barracks, but they never quite manage to rally. Gee Gee Double-You Pee.

Highlights:

• 5:30: FB bot on Lich facilitated by Leo w/haste.
• 8:30: Failed gank on DK, Slardar dies on the edge of a Dragon Slave.
• 16:15: Tide's would-be escape is thwarted by a Fissure block.
• 17:55: Another great Fissure block generates a kill on Lina.
• 19:XX: XcN wins a decisive 5-for-1 battle bot.
• 25:45: SK wins a 4-for-2 exchange thanks to Requiem and Chain, finally take a tower.
• 42:00: XcN claims Roshan but their spoils are wasted in the ensuing battle. Tide drops before his team can help. SK chases Leoric but he reaches his team who turns on Slardar. ES splits the battlefield with a Fissure, preventing Lina and DK from saving Zeus or Leoric.
• 46:55: Standoff mid is broken by Blink/Ravage. SF gets off BKB as Skelly's follow-up stun is in the air, but little else goes well for SK. XcN wins 3-for-1 and takes one-and-a-half towers, but they overstay in SK's base and get cleaned up.
• 53:00: DK has aspirations to kill Roshan but SK scares him away, then kills Roshan in a matter of seconds with their -19 armor debuffs.
• 54:50: SK wipes in a messy battle mid. Lich dies before throwing chain and ES is harassed by Tide until it's too late to initiate. When he does Echo there is no one around to finish off the heroes he injures.
• 65:00: The turnaround. SK initiates using PotM's ult, and although XcN has mid lane warded, they are largely unprepared for the rush. Lina tries to stop Lich from chaining but he cuts it loose before he dies. DK and Zeus are exposed and SK's arsenal of DPSer's knock them off quickly. ES punishes the remaining 3 heroes and XcN wipes. SK claims 2 set of barracks and Roshan, and the game is all but over.