Cover-Credits:
With the South American & Eastern European qualifiers concluded, the viewers will get to see a second set of qualifiers, with North America and China regional qualifiers beginning today. In the China Qualifiers, Aster.Aries faced off against Vici Gaming in the first match of the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, with the community heavily favoring Vici Gaming. However, Aster.Aries caused an upset by stomping Vici Gaming 2-0 in the opening series.
Aster.Aries will face Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in the Upper Bracket Semi Finals for a chance to earn a trip to Singapore, while Vici Gaming will have to make a deep run in the Lower Bracket to earn its place at TI11.
Vici Gaming vs Aster.Aries: Match recap
Going into the match, both teams had roster changes before the regional qualifiers. However, people were looking at Vici Gaming as the favorites to win the series.
Game One
In Game One , Vici Gaming drafted Wraith King, Lina, Mars, Winter Wyvern and Hoodwink while Aster.Aries decided to draft Phantom Assassin (PA), Ember Spirit and Pangolier supported by Chen and Clockwerk.
Although the game went in the way of Aster.Aries in the first 40 minutes, the late game was slowly shifting towards Vici Gaming’s favor as they regained the advantage, taking Roshan as well as winning several team fights. However, it all ended in vain as Remus "ponlo" Goh’s Chen committed a backdoor play, selling off his Aghanim’s Scepter for Desolator and picking up “The Book of The Dead” tier five item to finish off Vici Gaming’s Ancient, winning the game for his team at 63 minutes.
Game Two
Game Two saw Aster.Aries drafting Morphling, Ember Spirit and Doom while retaining the Chen. On the other hand, Vici Gaming went with a more stable draft, picking Lifestealer, Pangolier and Timbersaw.
During the early game, Aster.Aries were under pressure as Vici Gaming’s Timbersaw managed to stall the Morphling’s farm. However, once again Aster.Aries just outplayed Vici Gaming in every lane as Xiao "生死" Yihu’s Doom Aghanim's Scepter build allowed him to turn the tide in his team’s favor, giving Morphling the farm he needed to have an impact in the late game. The game ended in 35 minutes as Aster.Aries stomped Vici Gaming 2-0.
Following the win, Aster.Aries will play against Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in the Upper Bracket Semi Finals. On the other hand, Vici Gaming will have one last chance to qualify for TI11 by making a deep run in the Lower Bracket and finishing in the top three in the regional qualifiers.
