PSG.LGD sweep RNG to book finals spot at DPC China Regionals
The showdown between PSG.LGD and Royal Never Give Up (RNG) in the upper bracket finals of the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Winter Tour Regional Finals for China has arguably been the region's most hyped matchup thus far.
Both teams went 2-1 in the first round of the tournament and expectations were high as the two Chinese juggernauts face off against each other yet again.
The upper bracket finals featured four members of PSG.LGD’s 2018’s roster that achieved second place at The International 8.
It was Wang "Ame" Chunyu facing off against his former teammates Lu "Somnus丶M" Yao, Yang "Chalice" Shenyi, and Yap "xNova" Jian Wei in a thrilling 2-0 series that saw PSG.LGD come out on top.
RNG’s team fight heavy draft was no match for Ame’s Phantom Assassin
RNG’s draft in game one was simple — pick multiple heroes with strong ultimates in the hopes that they could outfight PSG.LGD when the two teams clashed.
Zhong "圣子华炼" (called "God King" by English casters) Liushuai’s Monkey King, Somnus’ Queen of Pain, Chalice on the Tidehunter and finally xNova on Snapfire made it impossible for PSG.LGD to take a fight head-on.
PSG.LGD must have realized that there was simply no way to outfight RNG, and instead drafted elusive heroes with multiple mobility abilities.
Ame took Phantom Assassin to weave in and out of battles, Zhao "XinQ" Zixing did the same on the Position 4 Weaver and Malaysian star Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang took Kunkka to reposition enemies and allies during fights.
The laning stage went well for RNG. As a teamfight-focused draft, having an even net worth would have been a win for them at the end of the laning stage, yet RNG managed to take the lead early on thanks to several kills.
Unfortunately for them, a bad teamfight at the 10-minute mark allowed PSG.LGD to trade four kills and only lose two heroes in return, giving them the chance they needed to get back in the game.
This disadvantage turned into a disaster as PSG.LGD took a fight less than two minutes later with the same result, losing Ame but getting everyone on RNG except for God King.
After winning two big team fights in a row, PSG.LGD took the net worth lead and used their heroes' innate elusiveness to avoid RNG for the entire mid-game.
RNG’s strength came from sticking together as a five-man unit and taking big fights. However, this meant less overall gold and experience for them.
Meanwhile, PSG.LGD kept split pushing the map and getting as many resources for the team as possible.
By the time the two teams clashed again at the 39-minute mark, Ame was ready to take on his old friends.
With an Aegis in his inventory and a newly bought Eye of Skadi, Ame was able to jump from kill to kill to secure the victory for his team and signal the close of the match.
RNG’s draft simply could not overcome a 20,000 gold deficit, and the game ended eight minutes later.
It was close overall but PSG.LGD reminded everyone why they were the best team in China, with Ame leading the way for his team with 11 kills and 12 assists against four deaths.
PSG.LGD mounts the biggest comeback in the China Regional Finals
Game two saw a similar draft for RNG with multiple teamfight heroes. The big difference was the addition of the mid lane Death Prophet for additional tower push, something RNG lacked in game one.
While RNG made small adjustments to their draft, PSG.LGD went for a completely different strategy in game two and focused heavily on teamfight.
Realizing that RNG’s draft wasn’t as scary as it was in the first game, PSG.LGD took the Position 5 Tidehunter for Zhang "y`" Yiping and an offlane Brewmaster for Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida.
The laning stage went in favor of RNG, as it did in game one. RNG were able to get three kills on the side lanes in the four-minute mark with no losses.
RNG continued to take over the map thanks to their superior teamfight and tower pressure. The team grew their net worth advantage to a 12,000 gold lead, which no team had managed to comeback from in the China Regional Finals so far.
But again, this is PSG.LGD.
Despite RNG’s massive lead, PSG.LGD always took fights away from their base, forcing Somnus to use his Death Prophet Exorcism far from the enemy buildings.
This nullified RNG’s strong pushing power and delayed the game long enough for PSG.LGD’s superior scaling to set in.
At the 35 minute mark, PSG.LGD decided to push the top lane, and that’s when disaster struck for RNG.
Both the supports got picked off while out of position and a bad blink by Somnus put him in a dangerous spot, allowing PSG.LGD to take three kills and the top lane of barracks.
Once PSG.LGD evened out the net worth advantage, it was their game to win.
God King could scale well into the late game with Chaos Knight, but Somnus struggled against Ame’s Templar Assassin and NothingToSay’s Razor.
This was typical of the hero he was using, as Death Prophet is popular in China and was picked 35 times during the Winter regional league but only won 13 games — the worst performance among all heroes picked at least 20 times.
In the end PSG.LGD dragged the game out long enough to make an amazing comeback and took the series 2-0.
The team secured their spot in the Grand Finals and will face either Team Aster or a rematch against RNG tomorrow.
The Winter Tour Regional Finals will take place across the weekends of 11 to 13 February and 18 to 20 February, with three regions competing in each weekend. It will feature the Top 4 teams of the DPC's six regions competing for their cut of a US$100,000 prize pool and all-important DPC points.
For everything you need to know about the Winter Tour Regional Finals, check here.
PSG.LGD roster:
Wang "Ame" Chunyu
Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang
Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida
Zhao "XinQ" Zixing
Zhang "y`" Yiping
Royal Never Give Up roster:
Zhong "圣子华炼" Liushuai
Lu "Somnus丶M" Yao
Yang "Chalice" Shenyi
Chong “FelixCiaoBa” Wei Lun
Yap "xNova" Jian Wei
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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