Dota 2
Here is a quick look at the teams attending The Lima Major 2022 from China.
Even though all Dota 2 regions during the 2023 DPC Division I Tour 1 were supposed to finish around the same time, the Chinese New Year delayed some of the matches in this part of the world. Consequently, we had to wait another week to find the 4 teams from China that qualified for the Major.
Although we have a recap for Week 2, we didn’t make one for Week 3 because there were just 2 matches to keep an eye on. Xtreme Gaming defeated Dawn Gaming, whereas Knights dealt with Aster. Aeris.
Fortunately, the situation during Week 4 was different because the best teams in China gave us a chance to watch many epic series. As expected, we even had access to a Tiebreaker for the 4th slot for The Lima Major and first place in Division I.
With that said, let’s look at some of the week’s highlights and the thing that made it so interesting to watch.
Knights defeated Dawn and lost to EHOME, but the team qualified for the Major
Every 2023 DPC Division I region has its surprises, and China isn’t an exception because one team shocked everyone. We’re talking about Knights, a Dota 2 squad that consists of several promising players. Even though we didn’t expect them to reach the top 4, eGo and co. finished second with 5 victories and 2 losses.
Speaking of winnings, Knight’s first and only victory so far was against Dawn Gaming. We didn’t believe the latter would win because Dawn Gaming hasn’t won a single map in the DPC.
Game 1 was more interesting than we thought because DG surprised Knights by getting Necrophos. This is a hero we don’t see that often, but even he wasn’t strong enough to help his team win. After 41 minutes, eGo and co. won the map and started preparing for Game 2.
Speaking of the devil, the team needed just 30 minutes to win after getting Batrider and Ursa. Knights have been using those heroes several times, and they’re proven they know how to take full advantage of them.
The loss vs. EHOME
After winning another series, people didn’t expect Knights to lose against EHOME. Nevertheless, it seems like Night and co. wanted to win really badly to save their chances of a Top 4 finish. Consequently, the team gave everything it got and won both maps.
Game 1 was fairly easy for EHOME because the team’s annoying draft stomped Knights during the laning stage. Unsurprisingly, a snowballed Primal Beast and Broodmother are too strong to deal with, so EHOME took the win.
However, the second game between the two powerhouses was way intense. To be fair, we thought that Knights would win because their Drow strat looked good. However, they’ve made a lot of crucial mistakes that cost them the match. In the end, EHOME won after 48 minutes, which meant it secured itself the chance to go up against Xtreme Gaming in the Tiebreaker.
Xtreme Gaming lost against PSG.LGD, but defeated iG
Following EHOME’s success, Paparazi’s squad had to win both matches to secure a Top 4 finish at the Dota 2 2023 DPC China Division I. Even though the team defeated iG, it lost its first series against PSG.LGD.
The loss
The clash between LGD and XG was incredibly fun because it featured two of China’s greatest teams. Naturally, there were tons of epic moments in the three amazing games, but in the end, LGD was victorious.
The series didn’t start well for shiro and the rest because PSG.LGD lost the first map. Yet, the team bounced back in the second game after picking Lone Druid and Enchantress, 2 heroes we don’t see that often.
The victory in Game 2 meant that both teams had to focus really hard on Game 3. It turned out to be an almost one-hour-long epic battle where we saw tons of action. Xtreme Gaming’s draft definitely looked better on paper because of Magnus, Invoker, and Drow Ranger, but it wasn’t enough to win. LGD’s secret Tinker pick had the game of his life and carried his team to victory.
Winning against iG
After the loss versus LGD, Xtreme Gaming had to win against iG because this would allow the team to play against EHOME in the Tiebreaker. Needless to say, Paparazzi and the rest didn’t want to take any chances and picked some of their most comfortable heroes in this match.
Ig also wanted to win because the team was close to the 7th spot in the Dota 2 2023 DPC China Division I, which meant it could be relegated to Div II. Sadly, its efforts weren’t enough because iG lost both maps.
Despite having a better draft in both games, it was clear that Invictus Gaming didn’t have the needed experience to defeat their opponents. Players like Dy and Ghost have been around long enough to know what to do in games like this one. As a result, XG won the series.
Tiebreakers
When it comes down to the Tiebreakers in the China 2023 DPC Division I, we had 2 series to keep an eye on. The first one was between PSG.LGD and Team Aster were for first place in Division I, whereas the second match put together EHOME and Xtreme Gaming.
In the first series, PSG.LGD was better than their opponents and won both maps after around 35 minutes. It seems like NothingToSay, and the rest were more motivated to win because they didn’t give their opponents any chances of winning.
The second series in the Tiebreaker was way more intriguing because EHOME and Xtreme Gaming were fighting for the 4th palace in Division I. The winner would receive the last slot for the Lima Major, whereas the loser would stay home.
Although we expected XG gaming to win game one following the draft stage, EHOME’s Techies was the team’s MVP and carried them to victory. EHOME was better during the laning stage, and the team continued its dominance after that. In the end, this was enough for the team to win the first map.
Xtreme Gaming was in the driving seat throughout most of the match's second game. In fact, Paparazzi and the rest started pushing EHOME’s T3 tower, but this was when they lost a crucial fight. Unsurprisingly, Salad and the rest took full control of the game and won the match, securing themselves the last slot for The Lima Major 2023.
