posted by Morantyx,
Despite cn Invictus Gaming being undefeated in Starladder thus far, cn Team DK took them down after only 2 games in yesterday's double elimination match that decided the Winner's Final of the Chinese playoffs. With Mushi making the plays and using two couriers in the second game, DK takes revenge after losing against IG during the group stage. They will be given a second chance tomorrow in the lower bracket final.

Winner’s Final China : Team DK (2) - Invictus Gaming (0)



Game 1 – Counter attempt from IG punished with a massacre





In Game 1 cn iG went for what appeared to be a pocket strategy. The solo offlane got occupied by Luo´s Alchemist who fared up against iceiceice´s Centaur Warrunner. For the midlane, cn iG picked up an uncommon Huskar for Ferrari_430, which was only the third time somebody picked him so far in 6.80! On the offlane cn iG gathered an aggressive trilane, consisting of YYF´s Slardar, Chuan´s Rubick as well as Faith´s Ancient Apparition.

cn DK went a bit more standard with Burning safelaning a Mirana, supported by LaNm´s Nyx Assassin. To counter the Huskar in the midlane, cn DK made the decision to lane both Mushi´s Outworld Devourer as well as MMY´s Shadow Shaman there.

The dual lane in mid soon proved to be successful, as Ferrarri´s Huskar got picked off by the Shadow Shaman+OD combination after he overstayed his welcome just a bit due to a well played bait by MMY´s Shadow Shaman.

Huskar got baited, MMY laid it out perfectly.


cn DK were off to a head start, claiming five kills, before cn iG managed to even grab one. This allowed both Mushi´s Outworld Devourer as well as Burning´s Mirana to pick up an early Hand of Midas, securing them the leveladvantage in the upcoming midgame.

16 minutes into the game, iceiceice´s Centaur Warrunner got caught out at the bottom lane by cn iG. What looked like a quick, ruthless kill going their way, got turned around on them by iceiceice himself. Being hit by the Ice Blast of Faith´s Ancient Apparition, iceiceice knew immediately that he had no chance of surviving. However, with a cleverly timed Double Edge he managed to deny himself, normally not possible with this skill, as he brought himself under the killing treshold.

How did he do this ? The Centaur isn’t supposed to slaughter himself with that ability.


The shatter effect of Ice Blast caused him to be killed by the unit that brought him below the threshold. Nicely done !


Some smart pickoffs later, cn DK decided to extend their lead further
by claiming the first Roshan of the game. YYF´s Slardar was close to a spectacular play, as he blinked into the pit just at the right moment to deal the killing blow to Roshan. However, Mushi´s fast reactions on the Outworld Devourer prevented the snipe of the Aegis.

cn iG fell further and further behind, and as cn DK literally desintegrated the second Roshan, they knew their time was up. cn DK rushed down the middle lane and headed towards iG´s ancient, with Burning picking up an Ultra Kill on the way.

cn iG had no other choice but to call the "GG", leading to a 1-0 advantage for cn DK with a convincing 27-8 lead in only 33 minutes.


Invictus Gaming suffers a painful blow


Game 2 - Triple ultimates and double couriers





Although game 2 didn´t feature as unconventional picks as a Huskar again, both teams made sure to present some of their new strategies.
The bottom lane of cn iG looked rather standard, with YYF farming up a Weaver and getting supported by Chuan´s Sand King as well as Faith´s Rubick. For the midlane they picked up a Brewmaster for Ferrarri_430, a role the hero hasn´t often occupied since his glorious TI2 days. The solo offlane was taken by Luo´s Nature´s Prophet who had to face alone against cn DK´s trilane.

cn DK decided to try an unconventional Faceless Void, Witch doctor combination by Burning and MMY, together with LaNm as a secondary support on the Ancient Apparition. Mushi fared up against Ferrarri´s Brewmaster in the midlane with a Queen of Pain, while iceiceice took the Batrider to the offlane.

cn iG commited a lot to shutting down iceiceice´s Batrider early, as they placed no less than four sentries in the enemies jungle to force him into the lane. As he showed up, YYF and crew were prepared to claim an early first blood.

Both teams kept trading back and forth, with no one getting a considerable advantageat any point of the game. Only slowly cn DK managed to get ahead a little bit, as the combination of Burning´s Chronospheres and MMY´s Death Ward went to work, allowing the Faceless Void to grab an Aghanim's Scepter right after his hand of Midas. cn iG weren´t far behind, but had to watch their positioning carefully from then on.

Rubick caught in the act of murder


A well executed courier bait by iceiceice lead to be the turnaround of the game. cn DK sent their courier towards the bottom lane, straight over an Observer Ward from cn iG, leading them to belief that the entire squad of cn DK lurked in the Radinat jungle. However, Burning and crew were lurking at the Radinat´s ancients, smoked up and ready to go. As Ferrarri´s Brewmaster walked onto the highground it was too late for him to turn and run. cn DK sniped two important kills, putting them into a considerable lead for the first time of the game.



cn DK continued to establish their lead over the game, as they picked off cn iG numerous times, with amazing coordination, especially from Burning and MMY. After getting teamwiped from the map, cn iG didn´t saw any chance anymore, facing both a Void and a Batrider with extremly low cooldown on their hard disables and called out the "GG" after 45 minutes.

cn DK manage to beat cn iG in a clean 2-0 and are the first chinese team that will advance to the LAN finals in Kiev!


With a definite spot at the offline finals in Kiev, DK can start preparing for international clashes.


Today at 8:00 CET, IG engages Newbee in an attempt to get qualified for the finals in Kiev through the lower bracket's final. 4 hours after, DK will face off the winner of that game in the Grand Final of the Chinese playoffs.

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