Comrade José
The Deadlock Night Shift NA started with the return of Melee Creeps after seeing their roster breakup last week. They brought Goober, oses, Snakes and birdee for tonight's games, and it worked well.
MLC started strong by stomping Bird with Clock and showing some of the potential of their new roster.
Poppers Pupils vs Melee Creeps
Game 1: Goober shreds Poppers Pupils
In the first game, MLC brought the momentum from the challengers match. They entered hot in the series and were very active all the time. Poppers Pupils didn’t have time to catch a breath, with MLC hunting them around the map.
Goober played very confidently with his 
Silver, which paid off. He ended 16/0/23, giving nightmares to AVG’s 
Infernus and LOMEIN’s 
Drifter. With the hunting season open for MLC, they built a huge advantage, putting them out of sight of Poppers Pupils in the first game.
Game 2: Poppers Pupils survives
The second game started very grim for Poppers Pupils, and it seemed to be repeating game 1. MLC started very hot, getting some early kills and seeming to be on the hunt again. However, Poppers Pupils held strong against the early pressure and managed to keep JonJon’s 
Warden under control.
If in the first game Goober’s confidence paid off, in this one it backfired badly. He tried to stay aggressive, making aggressive plays, but was punished by Lefaa’s Infernus and Zeno’s 
Apollo.
The mid boss was the decisive factor for Poppers Pupils' victory. They managed to snatch a good win in a boxing fight at the 20-minute mark. But the big one came at the 28-minute mark, where Poppers Pupils put all their ults together in a wonderful combo to sweep MLC from the pit and tie the series.
Game 3: Poppers Pupils take control
For the final game, Poppers Pupils decided on a non-conventional draft without a proper gun carry. Instead, they went with a very high-tempo control draft with Lefaa's 
Pocket, Poppers' Apollo, and AVG’s Silver.
The game was in a stalemate with little advantage for PP. Around the 22-minute mark, MLC came for another boxing fight. But PP was ready for them, and this time Average’s Silver went on the hunt and shredded MLC. Now with the big advantage, they just kept the game under control to end the night.
In both games two and three, Poppers Pupils managed to keep a key player under control, even while bleeding kills around the map. In the second game, it was JonJon’s Warden, and in the last game, it was Saiah’s 
Yamato. Not letting these two fall behind in souls was an important factor for the win, since both heroes struggle a lot when playing from behind.