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Dota 2: Team Aster think PSG.LGD 'the best team', says Monet

Team Aster's Monet believes his team can take on PSG.LGD in the grand finals of the Dota 2 PGL Arlington Major. (Photo: Stefan Petrescu via PGL)
Team Aster's Monet believes his team can take on PSG.LGD in the grand finals of the Dota 2 PGL Arlington Major. (Photo: Stefan Petrescu via PGL)

The lower bracket semi-finals of the PGL Arlington Major on Saturday (13 August) saw OG Esports, the winners of the Stockholm Major, take on Team Aster, one of the strongest teams in China.

The series went the full three games with Aster winning the series and securing at least a top three finish, sending OG home.

After the series concluded, Du "Monet" Peng, the carry player for Aster, had a winner's interview with James "BanKs" Banks, where he discussed how it felt playing in a LAN again, how they defeated OG, and their thoughts on the last day of the tournament.

Team Aster is focusing on defeating Team Spirit next

The last time Team Aster competed on the International stage was at The International 10 (TI10).

Team Aster have always been a team that dominates the Chinese region but falters against foreign teams. Combined with the fact that Aster played with a substitute on their first day, all led to the team placing last in the TI10 playoffs.

Since TI10, China hasn't competed Internationally due to the first Major being cancelled and the lockdown that occurred during the Stockholm Major.

The Arlington Major would be the first time Chinese teams could showcase the strength of their region. Two of the top three teams in Arlington are from China and Monet believes that the crowd has been a factor in their success.

I feel great. It's been a while since I've played on LAN. The atmosphere is awesome. That made our performance even better.Monet

Taking down the winners of the Stockholm Major is no easy feat, and Monet credited the drafting by their coach, Zhang "LaNm" Zhicheng, for their victory.

"I feel like our coach did a good job with bans and picks. And we just played a bit better today," he said.

Aster's next opponent will be none other than the winners of TI10, Team Spirit. Aster have already played against Team Spirit twice at Arlington, once during the group stage and again at the playoffs.

The two teams went 1-1 at the Group Stage but Team Spirit secured a clean sweep against Aster in the upper bracket semi-finals.

When asked how they will adjust in their rematch, Monet said it's all about being excited about the match, " I feel like in the upper bracket, we weren't hyped enough. But if we played like we did today, We can definitely take them down."

As mentioned previously, Aster isn't the only Chinese team dominating the tournament in Arlington, as PSG.LGD is the first team to secure a spot in the Grand Finals.

PSG.LGD stated that they wish to face Aster in the finals, and Monet reciprocated the respect, saying, "We think that LGD is the best team. But we need to beat Spirit first."

The PGL Arlington Major will take place from 4 to 14 August and features 17 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world fighting for their slice of the US$500,000 prize pool and 4,570 DPC point pool.

For everything you need to know about the Arlington Major, check here.

Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.

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