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After five months of on and off competition with 10 of the best teams in China, PSG.LGD closed out the grand finals of the China Dota2 Professional League season one with a 3-2 victory over Vici Gaming.
This is a major win for LGD. The team had struggled since coming back from the extended break after The International 2019, but it looks like the last month has sparked something in the players that have pushed them back to the top of Chinese Dota.
Just to make it into the grand finals, LGD had to beat Royal Never Give Up and Invictus Gaming, two of the other top teams in the region, before facing off against Vici in the final clash. Vici had previously beaten LGD in the final round of the group stage 2-0, but history wouldn’t repeat itself in the playoffs.
Game one was a close race between the two teams. Chalice and Paparazi battled it out, trying to carry their teams to victory, and while LGD held the kill advantage for most of the first game, Vici were more consistent with their rotations and overall performance.
Down 1-0 after a 50-minute brawl, LGD put together two quick wins that gave them a decisive lead over their opponents. Somnus absolutely crushed Vici in game two with a masterful Queen of Pain performance that led to a 12/3/9 statline and nearly 30,000 hero damage in 26 minutes.
Game three only lasted a little longer, with Vici staying afloat through the opening minutes, only to get blasted by Somnus’ Dragon Knight and Chalice’s Lifestealer. They had no answer for the pair and eLeVeN, the team’s newest player, complimented them perfectly with his Centaur Warrunner to help seal the deal.
Vici didn’t back down in game four after having lost two straight games, instead opting to put their faith in Paparazi’s Faceless Void and Ori’s Huskar. The unconventional draft, which featured an Ogre Magi showing up, threw LGD off and led to another quick match, this time in Vici’s favor.
Tied at 2-2, Vici made a key mistake in the draft, letting Chalice pick up Slark and giving Somnus his Dragon Knight back to pair with a strong backline of Ogre Magi and Windranger. Those four combined with eLeVeN’s Mars meshed well together, pushing Vici to the brink of defeat just 17 minutes in after racking up almost 20 kills in less than 10 minutes.
Vici prolonged the match, trying to build up Paparazi’s Lifestealer or get Ori going on Puck, but nothing was working and eventually GGs were called as the five-man push from LGD became too much for the other team to handle.
With this win, LGD walk away with another good showing under their belt and $112,738. Now they, along with Vici, can focus on ESL One Los Angeles Online and trying to make up for some shaky performances early in that competition.
