Image Credits: Starladder
The much-awaited clash between the two titans of the current Dota 2 scene, PSG.LGD and Virtus.Pro was unfortunately marred by a sickness affecting Alexei "Solo" Berezin which lead the CIS giants to replace him with their coach Arseniy “ArsZeeqq” Usov for this matchup.
While many expected a drop in performance, the reigning KL Major Champions proved all of em wrong with a performance befitting the Number 1 team on the DPC table.
Game 1 was a very close affair, with teamfight engagements and clutch plays throughout the map. While PSG.LGD had a 10k lead initially with their farmed IO-Gyrocopter combo, VP fought back. They wiped LGD in the 50th minute, and sealed their comeback and eventually the first game.
Game 2 started in a similar fashion. The teams picked up a few kills in the early stages, with Virtus.Pro coming out with a slight edge as the game transitioned into the mid-game. However, PSG.LGD showed great tenacity fight back into the game and were looking to seize control of the game.
But Virtus.Pro wiped PSG.LGD in two consecutive teamfights, to gain back the advantage and secured a relatively easy game 2 victory. Ramzes put up a whopping combined 34/5/22 KDA on Juggernaut and Phantom Assassin to cement his place as the MVP of this series.
It's a great tradition - winning against PSG.LGD in China! GG WP @LGDGaming#GOGOVP #ChongqingMajor pic.twitter.com/Dhnun4w0Tk
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) January 22, 2019
In the other Upper Bracket matchup, Team Secret beat down EHOME 2-0 to comfortably make their way to the Upper Bracket Finals. Although EHOME showed glimpses of promise, Team Secret quite simply outclassed and outplayed them throughout the series to win the games.