Dota 2
The 2023 DPC in China kicked off a couple of days ago. Even though most other regions were supposed to start on January 9, the teams in China started playing several days before that. In just 3 days, we had the chance to watch several interesting matches in Division I that we’d like to share with you.
Keep in mind that Week 2 of the Division I DPC in China starts just 2 days from now. We will have another series of epic matches, so make sure to follow us for more information if you don’t want to miss out on them.
With that said, let’s go through some of the most intriguing matches and learn more about all of the things you’ve missed out on.
EHOME defeated iG
The first series of the week in China’s Tour 1 was between EHOME and iG. Even though this match didn’t look that interesting on paper, it was essential for both teams because both had equal chances of securing one of the first 4 slots. Since they will have to go up against the favorites later on, a victory here would allow them to feel more comfortable.
Even though iG had a more interesting draft in both games, EHOME were victorious and ripped through their competitors. The first game between the two was completely one-sided, even though iG’s draft looked really strong. Tusk helped EHOME win the laning stage, and the team used the momentum to gain full control.
With around a 7k net worth advantage just 28 minutes after the start, EHOME was clearly better and didn’t allow iG to use their Doom. The team won the first map several minutes later.
Game 2
After winning the first game fairly quickly, the second one was more interesting to watch. IG and EHOME had a solid laning stage and exchanged a couple of kills in the first 10 minutes. In fact, Zhou "Dust" Shiyuan and the rest even gained a temporary lead after getting several vital kills.
Invictus Gaming kept its lead mid-game and even secured an Aegis for Monkey King. Using this item, iG got a couple of kills and started pushing their opponent’s mid-rax. Sadly, this is where everything went downhill because the team lost this fight.
EHOME got multiple important kills and took full control of the game. In the next couple of minutes, the Chinese powerhouse got 2 lanes of rax and won the series.
PSG.LGD vs Aster. Aries
There were several other interesting series that were worth watching, and one of them was between PSG.LGD and Aster.Aries. The mighty Chinese powerhouse defeated Dawn in its first series of the week, whereas Aries lost against Xtreme Gaming. In other words, the latter had to do everything in their power to win if they wanted to keep their chances of a top 4 finish.
Sadly, defeating LGD was easier said than done because one of China’s strongest teams ripped through them in both games. That said, Aries had a pretty good start in the first one and even got a temporary lead early on. Heroes like Tusk allowed them to gank, but this wasn’t enough to stop the multiple TI finalists from winning.
Aries lost control of the game after around 10 minutes of play. LGD’s cores were already almost 1.5k net worth ahead, and they just kept getting stronger and stronger. Once Ursa secured the Aegis, the game became even more difficult for Aries because they had no way of countering the hero.
Despite having CK, the hero was not enough to stop LGD from winning the first map.
Game 2
After winning the first game, PSG.LGD decided to pick an interesting draft with Alchemist. Unsurprisingly, their supports spent a lot of time stacking camps and helping the hero snowball.
Even though LGD had Alchemist, Aries was close in terms of net worth because of Tidehunter and Leshrac. The two heroes had a fairly good game, but LGD was on the driving train and didn’t make any mistakes. Slowly but steadily, Alchemist became too strong, even for Aster’s pick, which was pretty good against him.
The last big team fight took place around 26 minutes after the start, and LGD had no problems winning it. This was enough for them to put the final nail in the coffin and secure a second victory.
Xtreme Gaming vs Team Aster
The last and definitely the most interesting series of Week 1 in the 2023 DPC in China was between Xtreme Gaming and Team Aster. These two powerhouses were among the big favorites for the top 4 and among the biggest rivals. Interestingly, both had one victory already because Aster defeated Knights, whereas XG won against Aster.Aries.
As expected, the series between the two was a joy to watch, and we even had access to 3 games. The first one started reasonably well for Paparazzi and the rest, but Aster’s Broodmother and Naga pick was too strong even for one of the best Dota 2 players. As a result, Aster got the lead in the series.
Game 2
After losing the first game in the match, Xtreme Gaming had to bounce back in the second series. Aster decided to rely on their Naga once again, but XG didn’t take any chances and picked Timbersaw, Lina, and Lone Druid.
Even though this setup looked greedy, both teams focused on farming, which gave XG enough time to start dominating. With more than 8k net worth 33 minutes after the start, Aster didn’t have any chances of bouncing back because LD was too strong.
Game 3
After both teams exchanged one game, it was time for the decider. Xtreme Gaming decided to bet on their Enigma and Slark combo, whereas Aster was all in with a classic Sniper and Drow combo.
Even though XG’s pick looked stronger on paper, Aster didn’t allow it to take the lead. The two teams were neck and neck, but this favored Monet and the rest because they needed one team fight to push fast.
The crucial team fights took palace around 30 minutes after the start. Aster already had a slight lead, but after killing 3 heroes, the team took complete control and eventually won the series.
Be sure to follow BLIX.GG to stay up to date with everything 2023 DPC! We have tons of exciting matches ahead of us and the rest of the matches in Division I begin this week, so expect more recaps.