The tournament favorites inch closer to the Grand Finals with a 2-0 victory over Virtus.pro.
The upper bracket semifinals have been a bloodbath. With Secret putting the beatdown on IG, this match was sure to be another stellar series. On one side we have the behemoths from China, PSG.LGD, the favorites to win the tournament. One the other, the crusaders from the North, Virtus.Pro, looking to make their mark for EEU. With how both teams have been playing, it was sure to be a great match. Here's what went down.
Game 1: Virtus Pro Have Na-NA-NothingtoSay
The draft started with some tried and true picks from VP. On the carry role, Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko was on his signature Bristleback. Meanwhile the VP offlane went for a 100% winnrate combo, Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin on Earthshaker and Vitalie "Save-" Melnic on Bane. Meanwhile, LGD continued their tradition of being one of the most versatile teams in Dota. Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang was on Kunkka while Zhao "XinQ" Zixing took a spin on the newly added hero, Dawnbreaker.
From the start, it looked as if LGD was in compete control. While traditionally a lane dominator, Danil "gpk" Skutin seemed to be outclassed in this match against NTS. In fact NTS was able to get a solo kill on gpk very early into the game, while a brawl was happening in bottom. Despite going for a lane swap to put Nightfall up against the Wang "Ame" Chunyu Luna, there was no chance for VP to get the ball rolling.
With a high tempo line-up, Virtus.Pro needed to get a good early start in the lanes, but LGD had their number. With the Zhang "y`" Yiping Visage blowing up and picking off supports, it was hard to find their footing. Despite this, Virtus. Pro were able to take some decent fights and get some key kills, trying to keep them in the game. One fight in particular cost them so many buybacks in the river, but they manages to hold the line.
In a desperate attempt to mount a comeback, VP charged into the Radiant Triangle to try to find a kill. But they would find that Ame was more powerful than they could possible imagine. In the end, VP fell on the battlefield.
Game 2: LGD Put the Bears in Hibernation
With this draft, LGD again switched up their style a bit, bringing in the Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida Necrophos, and keeping NTS on his Kunkka. Virtus Pro this time tried to go with some tournament meta picks, putting Nightfall on the often banned Tiny to try to secure the late game. This would be support with the class Io pairing from Illias "Kingslayer" Ganeev.
If you thought game one was tough for VP, this game was worse. LGD again systematically dismantled every single move that Virtus.Pro tried to make. Ame's Monkey King dance around fights and Necrophos and Kukka ripped through DM's Dark Seer like he was a support. As pointed out by caster Trent Mackenzie, LGD knew what it would take Virtus.Pro to get back in the game, and stopped them from doing that at every turn.
Most of them game then was just the delay of the inevitable. After a very quiet first few minutes, the game ramped up and LGD started to get kill after kill, striking down VP's heroes. In this game LGD showed why are they are the top contenders for the Aegis at the end of this tournament.
In a post game interview, XinQ said that "it's great" to be back at TI after previously getting their with his team, Serenity. When asked about the teams plans when going up against Secret, all he had to say was, "We'll do our best."
In a post-match interview, Faith_Bian said the biggest reason for their victory was the draft. With a veteran player such as Xiao8 at the helm, PSG.LGD has put forth exceptionally strong drafts so far at TI10.
For coverage of LGD in the upper bracket finals, and VP in the lower bracket quarter-finals, stick with us at esports.gg!