LGD Gaming Dominates Invictus Gaming to Secure Top Four Spot
The lower bracket matches at The International 7 reached an exciting climax as LGD Gaming defeated fellow Chinese team Invictus Gaming with ease, securing a spot in the top four.
Lu “Maybe” Yao and his team outperformed their opponents at every turn, displaying a level of play that could potentially lead them to victory against Team Liquid in the next round.
Game 1: LGD’s Coordinated Strategy Thwarts Invictus
LGD entered the first game with a clear plan. Their lineup focused on late game damage, with Troll Warlord benefiting from Magnus’ Empower. In contrast, Invictus opted for a teamfight-oriented draft, relying on initiators like Earthshaker and Faceless Void.
Unfortunately for Invictus, their early game strategy fell flat. Despite waiting for their Blink Daggers to come online, their smoke ganks and plays failed to make an impact.
Even Lin “Xxs” Jing, known for his consistent play, made costly mistakes that cost his team important teamfights.
LGD’s Capitalization on Mistakes Leads to Quick Victory
Invictus never recovered from their early setbacks as LGD took advantage of their errors and secured a victory in under 20 minutes.
Game 2: LGD Holds Firm Against Invictus’ Alchemist
In the second game, LGD’s support duo of Ancient Apparition and Bounty Hunter shut down Invictus’ Alchemist play early on. Additionally, Maybe’s Ursa in the mid lane prevented Alchemist from gaining any traction.
LGD continued to dominate, securing kill after kill and steadily increasing their net worth lead. The game ended in just over 28 minutes, with LGD holding an advantage of nearly 20,000 gold.
Invictus’ BurNIng Falls Short Once Again
For Invictus’ legendary carry Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei, this marks his fourth unsuccessful attempt at winning an International championship. Given his age and skill level compared to younger players, this may spell the end of his career. However, the Chinese old guard are known for sticking around even after “retiring.”
With Invictus eliminated, LGD will face off against Team Liquid later today. The winner of that match will go on to compete against the loser of LFY versus Newbee for a guaranteed top 3 finish.
The International 7, LGD Gaming, Invictus Gaming, Team Liquid, lower bracket, Chinese teams, victory, top four, eSports, BurNIng, Dota 2