posted by woodshrew,
The LAN Final between cn PSG.LGD and cn Vici Gaming which concludes the VPGame Pro League will begin tomorrow at 07:00CEST, April 19th. With a 1st place prize of 80,000 RMB (~13,000 USD) on the line, VG and LGD will collide in a best-of-five series. The VPGame Pro League Finals will showcase the two top teams in all of China as they continue their heated rivalry, with coverage by joinDOTA.


Vici Gaming steady, cruising



VG won many podium positions with de Dominik 'Black^' Reitmeier, but since his replacement with cn Chen 'Hao' Zhihao, have they kept up their level of play? They are still one of the highest ranked teams in Dota 2 this year, but they still have a lot of practice ahead to iron out inconsistencies in their gameplay.

With Hao as their newest carry player they've managed to secure their position at the D2CL LAN Finals, taking a swift 3-0 win against cn Invictus Gaming. They've proved themselves enough to garner direct invites to many major upcoming tournaments: ESL One and The Summit 3. However iG left VG empty-handed when it came to the chance of going to the LAN Finals of StarSeries 12.

Vici's way through the VPGame Pro League seemed effortless until they faced LGD. Being invited straight into the Play-off stage they matched against cn EHOME in Round 1, iG in the upperbracket Semi-Finals. Both of the teams were sent into the Lower Bracket with a score of 2-0 to VG. The story changed when the Vici players went against LGD in the tournament.


LGD absolutely on fire



LGD had battled Vici Gaming across numerous online qualifiers. In the month of March they played each other four times, with a total match record of (4-6) favoring VG. VG was able to edge out LGD in many crucial matches in these qualifiers, further fueling their rivalry.

While Vici has been on cruise control, LGD has kicked themselves into top gear. After being handed a bitter 0-3 loss againt VG in the D2CL China Qualifiers, LGD has completely turned it around, and has won 11 series in a row. They are the hottest team in all of China, and if you watch them play, the record doesn't even tell half the story.

The supports of LGD, cn Zhang 'xiao8' Ning and cn Zeng Rong 'MMY' Lei, are two of the most experienced and accomplished players in the history of Dota. Their cerebral play is the backbone of the team--xiao8's "director" nickname tells it all. LGD plays a fiercely co-ordinated style, with the team constantly focusing on the next objective to take. Most games feel scripted-- director8 is on another level, anticipating enemy smokes, hiding. Their drafts feel comprehensive, often taking into consideration teamfighting, ganking, split pushing, and Roshan all at once.

The two teams met at the Upper Bracket Finals, with LGD sweeping the series 2-0. LGD took control of Game 1 from the start, striking first before the creeps even spawned. Bolsted by the First Blood bounty, cn Yao 'Somnus' Lu has unleashed, crushing cn Xie 'Super!' Junhao's Storm and finished 14-0 on his Shadow Fiend. In Game 2, VG looked to break LGD's composure, drafting heavy ganking with Lifestealer's "Infest-bomb" strategy. LGD didn't flinch, farming safely and demolishing VG's base with their Lycan after an incredible ambush set in the treelines.

At 07:00CEST tomorrow the BO5 series will begin, with joinDOTA providing coverage of the Offline Finals. Tune in to witness Chinese Dota played at its highest level, and the next great rivalry in the East. Vici will surely look to bounce back and take another tournament, win at the expense of LGD. We will see if LGD's hot streak burns through VG and brings them to the top.




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For VODS and quick recaps of the previous series between LGD and VG, click here![/align]"]

Previous Matchup



VG and LGD have already met in the upper-bracket of the VPGame Pro League play-offs. But to the surprise of many VG lost 0:2, in the best-of-three match, and was knocked down into the lower-bracket.



Game 1




The first game started explosively for LGD. They donned an aggressive trilane and went for a gank in the radiant jungle before the first wave of creeps spawned. cn Yao 'Somnus' Lu :d2_sf: getting the last hit on cn Xu 'Fy' Linsen :d2_skywrath: secured his dominance in midlane, having 12 stacks in Necromastery. The game was set from there on out with graphs only going towards LGD's favour.



Game 2




Game 2 started off with VG showing their ability to compose themselves between games. But it just wasn't enough, as cn Liu 'Sylar' Jiajun :d2_lycan: was able to find the farm, and break the highground.




  • woodshrew
    woodshrew

    woodshrew

    Ying Sun
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  • kitkat
    kitkat

    kitkat

    Eliise
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