We are approaching the final stages of this year’s International tournament. The Aegis of Champions has been won by both eastern and western teams in the past, creating a fascinating battle between China and the rest of the Dota 2 world.
However, this year, the pattern may be broken. At least one Chinese team is guaranteed a spot in the grand finals, with three others competing for the challenger slot.
LGD Gaming, LGD.Forever Young, Invictus Gaming, and Newbee have all performed exceptionally well in the playoff bracket, defeating foreign teams one after another. Only LGD lost to Virtus Pro 2-0 in the first round, sending them to the lower bracket.
In the lower bracket, Team Liquid fought valiantly to keep western hopes alive. Their real carry, Maroun “GH” Merhej, played an exceptional game as Keeper of the Light against Team Empire, keeping his teammates alive and turning the tides of teamfights. Even Roman “Resolut1on” Fominok’s outstanding performance with Weaver in game one couldn’t overcome GH’s healing abilities.
In game two, Liquid outplayed Empire by countering their Anti-Mage pick with a Huskar-Oracle combo, along with Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen’s Lifestealer. Liquid secured a victory in just over 30 minutes, thanks to a significant net worth advantage.
After defeating Team Empire, Liquid faced Virtus Pro. The first game lasted a grueling 100 minutes and was saved by GH’s KotL. Virtus Pro fought back in the second game with No[o]ne’s outstanding performance on Viper and RAMZES666’s Necrophos.
Sadly, Virtus Pro was eliminated in the third game. Liquid emerged victorious after 46 minutes, despite No[o]ne’s impressive 16-6 score as Queen of Pain. Virtus Pro couldn’t establish a significant gold lead.
Liquid is now in the top four and awaits the winner of LGD versus iG, which will begin at 1pm ET today. You can watch the action on the official TI7 Twitch channel.
Dota 2 International, Chinese teams, LGD Gaming, Invictus Gaming, Newbee, Team Liquid, Keeper of the Light, Dota 2 playoffs, Virtus Pro, TI7 Twitch channel.