posted by Blue_Knight,
The Winner Bracket final of The International sees the thus-far undefeated, invincble, rampaging Chinese juggernaut cn LGD go up against the comeback kings and defending champions, ua Natus Vincere. If ever there was a must-watch match, this is it.


[B]cn LGD vs. ua Natus Vincere

Commentators: au TobiWan & dk syndereN
[/B]

Preview

Na'Vi have battled against the odds to rediscover their form at the right time, and make stunning comebacks to advance past the Chinese powerhouses DK and Invictus Gaming, to claim their place in the Winner Bracket final. However, in LGD, they face an opponent like none they have ever encountered before, and while the odds are stacked in favour of the Chinese, the stage is set for what could be the greatest match in Dota 2 history thus far.

No one can really predict what will be the key aspects in this game; neither team is predictable enough to say that they follow trends, and both are prepared to innovate when needs be. One thing is for sure though: it's going to be interesting.

Summary

cn LGD 1 ua Natus Vincere 2

Game 1
Game 2
Game 3


The first game got underway with both teams setting out in search of blood to draw; things were back and forth, ruthless and brutal in the early game. However, as the game moved into the middle phase, LGD began to pull away, gaining a significant kill and farm advantage; showing exactly why they are undefeated and favourites for the whole tournament. Na'Vi were by no means down for the count though, and as a team they managed to defend and counter-attack valiantly, cut down LGD's kill and gold lead, and importantly, take an advantaged in experience. A series of successful ganks saw Na'Vi edge into the ascendency, with XBOCT's Antimage crucially move ahead of Sylar's Naga Siren in gold gained.

Sadly for them however, all that good work was undone when LGD executed a perfect team fight when assaulting Na'Vi bottom tier 2 tower; Sylar getting a much needed triple kill to readdress the balance of the game. But, in the 34th minute, Na'Vi bravely took Roshan and the Aegis from under LGD's noses, which set things up for a brave, but ultimately brutal finale; LGD wiping the whole of the Na'Vi team at their own base to take the game.

In the second game, LGD opted for the same key heroes again – Naga Siren and Dragon Knight – whereas Na'Vi went for an early-pushing line-up, which included Lycanthrope and Juggernaut. With LightOfHeaven taking Enigma to the off-lane once again, Lycanthrope fell into Puppey's hands, and he unconventionally began the game by setting up camp in the opponent jungle.

Unlike the all-out aggression from both sides that opened the first game, this time Na'Vi stuck to pushing towers, but LGD picked up a few more counter-kills, and moved into an 8-2 lead on kills. The game went on though and Na'Vi didn't falter, and managed to take a few kills back to edge just ahead on experience and gold gained. A succession of tight team-fights saw Na'Vi take Roshan and move into the lead - even if Sylar stole the Aegis - and from there Na'Vi move on into the LGD base and take the first set of barracks, to the delight of the crowd who chanted their name. Another fifteen minutes followed, in which Na'Vi played things cautiously, but were in full control, and after decimating one more team-fight, they forced their way into the LGD base via the middle lane, and forced the Chinese to concede their first defeat of the tournament.

A tense drafting phase in the deciding third game saw LGD pay Na'Vi the fullest respect for their skill with the final ban being used on Juggernaut. With LGD taking Dark Seer, Naga Siren and Tidehunter in their draft – and banning Enigma too – Na'Vi opted for a Void as their final pick, setting the scene for a battle of initiation.

It was the defending champions who drew first blood and took the majority of the early kills, but LGD snapped right back at them, and by the 20th minute, things were more or less even. But, as things went on, XBOCT started pulling away in terms of his farm, as Na'Vi played more defensively and patiently; prepared to lure LGD in and beat them in counter-attacks. Na'Vi had the power as the game moved into a lull, but when Na'Vi finally tried to push, disaster struck as XBOCT lost his Aegis as it's 10 minute duration expired and Roshan respawned, right before LGD initiated. Most of the Na'Vi squad bought back though, and they made an immediate dash to Roshan to take another Aegis. Another calculated push followed, but Na'Vi expertly played the team-fights, to take the middle barracks and condemn LGD to the Consolation Final. Na'Vi progress to the best-of-five Grand Final in sensational style.

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