PSG.LGD eliminates OG to advance to the Grand Finals of Riyadh Masters

The semi-finals at the Gamers8 Riyadh Masters are explosive today with OG taking on PSG.LGD - a sight very familiar to fans. We have seen these two organizations clash in the grand finals of TI8 which showcased one of the best finales in Dota 2 history. Although both are now fielding different rosters, the rivalry remains hot.

This matchup was the first time the new generation of OG came head-to-head against PSG.LGD. The Chinese teams were not able to participate in international LAN events for a long time due to travel restrictions. Finally today, fans around the world can spectate a storied matchup between OG and PSG.LGD as clash for a spot in the Grand Finals of Riyadh Masters.

Here is a full match recap of the hot series.

We were not ready to see the brutal match from PSG.LGD, who delivered a near-perfect game. They had a flawless draft with sustain, damage, farming speed, and pushing power all in one lineup. From the very beginning, LGD was all over the map - not allowing even the smallest space for the greedy heroes on OG. They secured continuous kills every minute and built the net worth lead over time. When the Ame Naga Siren finally joined in teamfights, it was over for OG and they tapped out in only 21 minutes - the shortest game in the tournament so far.

Any normal being would crumble under such a heavy loss, but it wasn't the case for OG. The young players knew exactly what they needed to challenge LGD and it was the notorious ATF Huskar. PSG.LGD opted for a global lineup with Zeus, Spectre, and the Dawnbreaker for the cores. It started pretty mildly with both teams taking their time but as soon as OG hit their timings, PSG.LGD fell down a slope they couldn't recover.

Both ATF Huskar and Yuragi Faceless Void led the net worth chart and these heroes are especially great to catch an immobile Zeus in the backlines. It didn't really help that Ame Spectre went for an unconventional Spirit Vessel which saw Amed end up with very little farm which is an unusual case for him.

One huge teamfight broke near the gates of LGD's base, and OG spent a lot of their ultimates and spells to secure the fight. However, a Spectre buyback caught the team off guard and Faith_bian Dawnbreaker was able to secure a lucrative triple kill.

Nonetheless, OG kept their control over the map. Even when taking Roshan, they made sure to block all contests from LGD, countering their initiations well. Yuragi's FV accumulated a Beyond Godlike streak and by that time, there were no answers to their domination. OG evens out the series 1-1.

The third and final game unfolded passively with different drafts for both. LGD commanded almost all lanes and picked off valuable kills. From then on, they commanded the map and it became harder and harder for OG to farm. With the limited space, the entire game was slow for OG and they spent most time dodging fights and not sticking as five. In the meantime, LGD constantly applied pressure with Death Prophet's Exorcism and Beastmaster's pushing power. There was no way out for OG and ATF called GG in style, dropping several Mantles of Intelligence around him.

The renowned position 4 for PSG.LGD, Zhao "XinQ" Zixing came on stage for the winner's interview right after the series. The host, Darren "KillerPigeon" Elmy asked the 24-year-old about the team's preparations before clashing with OG. XinQ didn't reveal much but he highlighted the strength of ATF's Timbersaw. The hero has been a first phase ban for not only PSG.LGD but also most other teams when they come against OG - and there's a big reason why.

"[We] are always banning Timbersaw for the first phase ban because [OG] has the best Timbersaw around the world," XinQ said, according to the translator. He also answered a question regarding their performance in the 2nd game, where they had a tough lost. XinQ revealed that the offlane Huskar caught them off guard and they didn't know how to handle the odd draft.

"It's such a surprising draft because [we] have never seen a Huskar on position 3 and [we] are unfamiliar with this kind of lane and [we] are not able to deal with all the details against Huskar. So that's the reason why [we] lost game 2," XinQ stated.

With this loss, OG exits the tournament in 3rd-4th place, bringing home $425K USD in prize money. PSG.LGD advances to the Grand Finals and there, they will wait for either Team Secret or Team Spirit to challenge them in a final battle.

The Gamers8 Riyadh Masters goes on with the next series. It is currently ongoing and you can watch the game here.

Check out the full schedule and results of this event on our website.