posted by Abelle,
This incarnation of Invictus Gaming and OG have met only once before, in the quarterfinal round of the Dota Pit League Season 5 LAN Finals. In that match, OG beat iG 2-1, but iG took the first game and were the only team to win a game against OG outside of the Grand Final, which Evil Geniuses won 3-2.
If anyone can stop the OG train in its tracks, it should be iG.
OG’s Green Dream seems unstoppable
Stopping OG is no simple matter however. The team has been on fire all event long, taking just one game loss in the group stage and handling Newbee in style in their latest match. Their secret weapon (not so secret any more really) is Tal 'Fly' Aizik’s Visage. He’s played it in 7 of 12 DAC main event matches, and Visage was banned in three of the five non-Visage games.
Obviously, banning Visage could be helpful but taking away one hero from a player like Fly doesn’t really slow him down. There’s plenty of other options at OG’s disposal, and with a ban used on Visage, it leaves other options open like Centaur Warrunner, Monkey King, or Lina.
It’s not like Visage is the only trick up OG’s sleeve either. In their match against Newbee, they gave Gustav 's4' Magnusson Enigma in both games and we ended up with plays like this in the highlight reel:
There’s really nothing like a great Black Hole. OG are the only team to pick Enigma at the DAC main event. They’ve played it three times so far and hold a 100% winrate.
Of course, it’s not just "unique" hero picks that are winning OG these games, the team itself has also just played extremely well all event, and no one seems to be able to take them out of their comfort zone so far.
iG: more than just a B-God
Invictus Gaming aren’t slouches. While Newbee seemed to be the better Chinese team on paper, it was iG that were grinding their way through qualifier after qualifier, gathering their strength for the LANs ahead.
Most of their players haven’t been part of the top tier Dota 2 scene for very long, but iG have obviously landed on an excellent mix of talent. While “rising star midlaner” may have become something of an overused theme in Dota 2, Ou 'Op' Peng certainly deserves that title. His Lina in particular is very strong, and he’s won six of seven DAC games in which he’s played her.
Monkey King was the most picked hero in the DAC group stage and Ye 'BoBoKa' Zhibiao was one of the most successful people to play him. He had an 83% winrate on the hero over six games and is always a big factor team fights for iG. He’s not just a Monkey King picker either, Boboka is also a very skilled Earth Spirit and Rubick player, an essential asset when it comes to team fight heavy games.
What iG will have to be careful about (and use to their advantage, as well) is the amount of time they both have to prepare for their match. The winners’ final will not be the time for the same old ward spots, or predictable gank timings. It’s going to take a top notch performance to take down three time Major winners but one thing’s for sure - the crowd will be behind their beloved BurNIng 100%.
Image credit: PGL via Twitter
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