PSG.LGD trounce Evil Geniuses 3-0 to claim WePlay AniMajor title
Chinese powerhouse PSG.LGD have been crowned as the newest Major champions of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) after they capped off a dominant run through the WePlay AniMajor with a resounding 3-0 sweep over top North American team Evil Geniuses (EG) in the grand finals.
PSG.LGD had a blazing start to the AniMajor after they topped the Group Stage with a stellar 11-3 record, which earned them an upper bracket berth in the Playoffs.
The Chinese squad then cemented themselves as the heavy favourites to win the tournament after they defeated Alliance, Team Nigma, and T1 to be the first team to reach the grand finals.
Meanwhile, EG had to take the hardest road to the grand finals. They barely managed to survive the Group Stage with a middling 7-7 record and had to start the Playoffs from the lower bracket. However, the North American squad were able to find their groove and tear through the lower bracket — besting the likes of NoPing Esports, TNC Predator, Team Nigma, and Vici Gaming — to survive to the last day of the AniMajor.
PSG.LGD kicked off the grand finals with a bang as they absolutely dominated EG in a 33-minute game oen behind Wang "Ame" Chunyu's carry Axe and Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang's mid Razor. Ame and NothingToSay combined for 23 kills and 22 assists against zero deaths between the two of them to pace PSG.LGD's 30-6 kill lead by the time their opponents called GG.
EG put up a better fight in game two, as they dominated the early game behind an excellent showing from Abed Azel "Abed" Yusop on Storm Spirit. However, PSG.LGD were able to repel their opponents' pushes and delay the game long enough for Ame's Terrorblade to become the strongest hero in the map.
Even Abed's series-high 14 kills against just two deaths on his Storm Spirit was not enough to stop PSG.LGD from taking a commanding 2-0 series lead after 47 minutes of action.
PSG.LGD sensed blood in the water in game three, as they looked to overwhelm EG with relentless aggression behind their dominant team fight tri-core of Naga Siren for Ame, Death Prophet for NothingToSay, and an offlane Axe for Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida.
Despite EG's best efforts to hold on, PSG.LGD could not be denied from forcing the GG call at the 36-minute mark to secure their victory in the grand finals with a clean 3-0 series sweep.
With their victory, PSG.LGD claim the championship of the WePlay AniMajor as well as the grand prize of US$200,000 and 500 DPC points.
This is now the third DPC Major championship for Ame and the PSG.LGD organisation, who won their first two Major championships back-to-back at EPICENTER XL and the MDL Changsha Major in April and May 2018.
Meanwhile, EG bow out of the WePlay AniMajor in second place and with US$100,000 and 450 DPC points in consolation.
It is the second time that the North American team have fallen short of a Major championship in the 2021 DPC at the hands of Chinese opponents. Back in April, EG were defeated by Chinese team Invictus Gaming in the grand finals of the ONE Esports Singapore Major in a dramatic 3-2 reverse sweep.
With the conclusion of the WePlay AniMajor, the 2021 DPC will soon be reaching its climax with The International 10 (TI10) in Stockholm, Sweden this August. PSG.LGD and EG will be among the 18 teams competing in the latest iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, where the Aegis of Champions and the lion's share of a massive US$40 million prize pool will be at stake.
Line-ups:
PSG.LGD:
Wang "Ame" Chunyu
Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang
Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida
Zhao "XinQ" Zixing
Zhang "y`" Yiping
Evil Geniuses:
Artour "Arteezy" Babaev
Abed Azel "Abed" Yusop
Daryl "iceiceice" Koh
Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen
Tal "Fly" Aizik
Read also:
WePlay AniMajor Playoff Preview: The race for TI10 direct invites
WePlay AniMajor: Everything you need to know
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