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Beating XG and BOOM is alright, but Tundra and PARIVISION? And convincingly on a BO3 format? Nigma is back!

It’s been a weird year for Nigma Galaxy, but there’s a glimpse of light after their direct jump to the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi upper bracket semis. The team ended the group stage with a 0-4 record, but this feat is bigger than it appears.

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Nigma’s group could be seen as the group of death. They were paired against some of the strongest and most consistent teams of the season:

All you need to know about the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi

With $700,000 on the line and a LAN stage, here’s what you need to know about one of the most anticipated tournaments in Asia.

Marco Espinoza Oliveros

Still, it’s too soon to call Nigma Galaxy the strongest team at the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi. They must now advance through the double-elimination upper bracket.

The team, coached by Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi, first faced BOOM Esports. One could argue the SEA squad underestimated Nigma, letting them run their signature Morphling. Ghost closed Game 1 with a 10-0-8 score, a mistake BOOM tried to fix in Game 2. But it was SumaiL’s Puck who shone next, bouncing back after a rough SF performance.

On day two, Nigma Galaxy had a tougher time beating XG. Many thought shutting down Ame would do the trick, but the Chinese squad excelled elsewhere: Xm’s offlane. Nigma adjusted by picking an unusual Lone Druid — a hero no other team had played so far, and one that’s largely forgotten. Ghost’s knowledge of the region may have helped here, exposing XG’s unpreparedness.

Nigma Galaxy looks like a new team at the Clavision Masters 2025 cover image

By day three, it was do or die. Nigma had to beat two of the world’s top teams: PARIVISION and Tundra. Against PARI, Nigma looked shaky in Game 1, but after a 60+ minute comeback in Game 2, they crushed Satanic’s squad in Game 3, a 38-6 stomp that lasted just 23 minutes, the fastest game of the tournament so far.

And, surprisingly, Tundra wasn’t even a match. Both games ended in under 30 minutes. From a draft perspective, Tundra’s approach seemed like an underestimation: they let Nigma pick all their comfort heroes. It was a hard-to-analyze series where Morphling and Puck proved to be Nigma’s strongest weapons.

All you need to know about the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi preview image

Can Nigma beat Tundra again in the playoffs?

We checked three of ourtop-rated betting sites for Dota 2, and all of them still favor Tundra by a short margin.

Meanwhile, on Reddit, fans are riding the hype train. Nobody’s entirely sure if Nigma can do it again in the playoffs, but everyone seems thrilled with the group stage run. For context, Tundra beat BB Team 2-1 to reach the upper bracket semifinals — another squad stacked with EEU talent.

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Are you following Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi or rooting for Nigma Galaxy? Either way, stay tuned withour live coverageor explore more Dota 2 newshere!

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