Team Nigma secured an impressive group stage win in their EPIC League group stage match against regional rival OG in an exciting rematch between the two TI9 finalists.

Nigma’s captain, Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi also marked his return to the squad, after he had been sidelined by an arm injury. The team’s core trio, made up of Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, Aliwi “w33” Omar, and Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov, came up in their match against OG by contributing key plays for their team.

During the first game of the series, OG’s Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, and Martin “Saksa” Sazdov dominated their lanes, which gave their team the early advantage.

This allowed OG’s carry player, Yeik Nai “MidOne” Zheng to gain a significant gold and experience lead with his Spectre and with Nigma lacking the damage to eliminate the Dire team’s heroes, OG were able to take the 1-0 lead.

Nigma would then answer back with a convincing Game 2 victory, featuring an incredible Timbersaw performance from MinD_ContRoL.

In the next game, both Miracle- and MidOne had an incredible carry versus carry battle that even had the in-game observers baffled, with multiple Phantom Strikes and Haunt-Reality jumps from both players.

But Nigma ultimately got the better of OG with a stellar Timbersaw performance from MinD_ContRoL, who consistently made team fight winning plays.

At the 29-minute mark of Game 2, KuroKy landed a game ending stolen-Reverse Polarity ultimate that demolished OG’s lineup.

The action continued to intensify in Game 3 when OG jumped straight to a 13,000 gold with an Alchemist pick for MidOne. This prompted the TI9 champions to siege the Radiant base. However, both Miracle- and w33 managed to outplay OG, locking down the enemy Alchemist to regain map control.

Nigma midlaner w33 also landed an incredible Aether Remnant, which caused MidOne to stun himself with his own Unstable Concoction. This gave Nigma all the momentum they needed moving forward.

With Miracle-’s Spectre having nearly the same network as MidOne’s Alchemist, Nigma would then dominate the remainder of the game and defeat their TI9 rivals 2-1.

Nigma’s 2-1 series win moved them into fifth place right in front of Team Secret. Meanwhile, OG fell to eighth place with a 1-2 match record. All teams are still in the running to make it into the playoffs, since the group stage of EPIC League will continue until December 5.

Team Nigma’s next EPIC League group stage match will be against Alliance, and is scheduled to take place on November 19.

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