PSG.LGD XinQ: “Our team has been waiting for the new patch for a long time. I want to play Marci.”

The Chinese DPC regional Finals kicked off with the best team in China PSG.LGD taking on EHOME. These regional finals are the last set of matches on the current patch for Dota 2 teams so its always interesting to see what the players bring out in the matches. In the post-match interview Zhao "XinQ" Zixing had some interesting things to say about the EHOME match.

As the best Dota 2 team in China, there’s a lot of hope for PSG.LGD to dominate the China DPC Regionals. But consistently being at the top means you always have a target on your back. And as competitive as the Chinese Dota 2 scene is, it's not out of the question for others to upset PSG.LGD.

The first game saw NothingToSay on his trademark Storm Spirit. But EHOME had counters, although they weren’t always able to catch him off-guard. With a Bane Elemental and a Legion Commander, the focus was always going to be on the Storm Spirit in Game 1. They also picked the Templar Assasin, who, despite not having the perfect game, managed to deal a large amount of damage in teamfights. 

Unfortunately for EHOME, PSG.LGD was able to extend its early and mid-game lead into the late game and close it out. It was a match where PSG.LGD were visibly respecting EHOME’s potential, and not giving their opponents any way into the game. The Beastmaster pick surprised the analysts, but it worked out for the TI9 finalists, giving them vision as well as various auras in the teamfights.

After the comfortable win in Game 1, PSG.LGD’s draft in Game 2 raised a few eyebrows. The likes of Naga Siren and Mars are not commonly picked recently. In the post-match interview, when asked what was the thought process behind that draft, XinQ said the team legitimately felt those heroes are good counter picks to the EHOME draft. 

"We think those heroes are good counter-picks to them." said XinQ. "That's why we picked those two heroes."

EHOME won Game 2 with a 23,000 networth lead in a game that lasted just over an hour. An Ursa-IO combo coupled with an extremely mobile and high-damage Ember spirit was too much for PSG.LGD to handle. 

The third game was very similar to the first as PSG.LGD read EHOME like a book and dominated the final game. Despite amassing a huge lead, Xinq and co. did not force a teamfight. Instead they allowed EHOME to come to them near the Rosh pit, using their positioning advantage to secure the win.

PSG.LGD is a team that does not shy away from bringing new heroes into the draft. In fact, XinQ is notorious for playing Techies and playing him well in professional matches. When Benjamin "Bkop" Kopilow asked him when he would bring back the Techies, the 23-year-old player replied with a smirk.

"I've been playing pubs recently and I haven't had a chance to practice my techies. If I have a chance to play techies, I'll play in my pubs first and if it's good, i'll bring it to the game."

PSG.LGD are already in the upper bracket finals and are very close to getting the first place in the China DPC Regional Finals. This is the last tournament before the new patch, 7.31. Dota 2 fans expect some big changes to heroes, gameplay and possibly the map as well. 

It’s fair to say that Dota 2 will see significant changes and teams will take some time to acclimatize themselves to the new patch.

The support player wants more changes to the hero toolkits so that he can play some other heroes in pro plays. He is particularly interested in playing Marci, which was released late last year but is not yet available in professional matches. With the new patch, hopefully, Valve adds Marci to competitive play, allowing players to experiment with different strategies and playstyles. The new hero, the 122nd in Dota 2, has a very flexible playstyle that could see her rise to prominence in the pro circuit.

Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest Dota 2 news and updates.