Western Europe Dominates Dota 2 as Team Liquid Secures Top Three Spot for The International 2022
Western Europe (WEU) has established itself as the strongest region in Dota 2 this season. Team Liquid’s victory over Team Aster ensures that all of the top three spots for The International 2022 will be taken by teams from WEU.
Team Liquid faced a tough challenge, but their ability to control the game’s pace and take calculated risks allowed them to secure a top-three finish.
Both teams showed mutual respect in the early stages of the game, trying to find weaknesses in each other’s lineups. However, Team Liquid quickly reverted to their own play style and defeated Team Aster with miCKe’s Lina and Boxi’s Marci, winning with a score of 29-27.
In game two, Team Aster turned the tables on Team Liquid by giving Xxs the Marci, allowing him to initiate actively against the enemy team. Despite Team Liquid’s efforts to keep the game close, Aster capitalized on the timings of Monet’s Sniper and Ori’s Pudge to secure a victory and tie the series. Monet achieved the eighth-ever Rampage on the TI main stage.
In game three, Team Liquid had the perfect draft with heroes like zai’s Pangolier, miCKe’s Lina, and Boxi’s Tusk. However, the star of the game was MATUMBAMAN’s Night Stalker, who went 11-0-13, leading to a one-sided victory for Team Liquid.
Prior to this match, MATUMBAMAN had only played Night Stalker four times in his professional career spanning over 1,600 games.
Furthermore, Marci’s hero, Marci, has become the most picked hero in TI11, being chosen 93 times in Aster’s victory. She also ranks third in the list of most banned heroes, with 121 games, following Enigma and Primal Beast with 140 and 125 games, respectively.
For Team Aster, this is their best finish at any iteration of The International, marking a significant improvement from their tie for 13th place at TI10. However, this is the worst overall finish for China since TI3.
Prior to this event, TI3 was the only occasion where at least one Chinese team did not secure a top-three finish at The International. Usually, multiple teams from China reach the top four, but only Aster managed to accomplish that at TI11, following their elimination of PSG.LGD in the bracket.
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