China Dota 2 Pro Cup Finals Report

The first Dota 2 LAN since the pandemic has officially ended! Congratulations to all of us on it — even though it happened in China, we can assume that the worst might be over and we'll see more LANs in the nearest future. All in all, DPC Season will mostly start at the beginning of 2021.

Dota 2 China Pro Cup lasted for three weeks, Sept 17 - Oct 3. The teams clashed for $80,000.

Anyway, here's what happened during the China Dota 2 Pro Cup Grand Finals on Saturday, October 3. PSG.LGD, the favorites of the tournament and presumably the strongest team in the region, met EHOME, who had a tough path to the finals but felt confident all the way. PSG.LGD finished second in Group, and since never had any troubles with getting to the climax. While EHOME placed fourth in the Group Stage, had to play 3 matches in the Play-In Stage, then went through the lower bracket and beat the monstrous Vici Gaming who were considered as second-favorites.

The main match of the tournament started earlier than expected because EHOME rolled over VG too fast. So, fully-prepared, both teams were ready to clash.

PSG.LGD vs EHOME Grand Finals

Map 1: The Class

Riki (yep), Zeus, Timbersaw, Tiny, Oracle from LGD vs Sven, Puck, Phoenix, Clockwerk, Io from EHOME.

Regarding the picks, both teams' hero combos looked alike with 4-1, where pos1 was a farming but early fight-joining carry. Of course, Riki was an interesting idea and aroused suspicion. At first glance, the tactics were almost identical: such pick allowed (which was planned) for early aggression, both core heroes were chosen for early engagement, and that happened: in the 10th minute the score was 7-7, and Riki fought in five-on-five skirmishes against Sven. However, by the 15th minute, PSG were winning by 4 thousand gold while still playing practically equal in fights. Zeus, Timber, and Riki joined Sven in the top-networth list. And after the 17th minute, the full domination of PSG.LGD began. Separately, it is worth noting the excellent play of y` on Oracle - he was always in the right place and saved the teammates, not allowing enemies to trade at least equally. 20th minute, 10k advantage, 19-11. Still, Sven remained the richest on the map almost until the end, but unfortunately, his teammates were behind the opponents' first three positions by gold. Timber didn't care about Sven's BKB at all, and the fight at the 27th minute was decisive. EHOME lost four heroes and midlane racks, then another fight at botlane five minutes later... and wrote 'GG'.

• Map MVP: y`.

Map 2: The Seesaw

PSG.LDG had Magnus, Faceless Void, Snapfire, Visage (!!!), Phantom Assassin vs EHOME's Alchemist, Rubick, Zeus, Clockwerk, Beastmaster. Moreover, PA from PSG was the closing one, and this turned the whole idea of ​​laning upside down. Before her appearance, the tactics were more or less clear and similar to the previous match: 4 + 1, where the carry would enter the game early (especially considering that Void needed only to place the Chrono because the main damage would have been done by the other three heroes). But it was pos4 Void from XinQ, Magnus in mid, the rarest Visage pos5, and PA in pos1. At EHOME, everything was calmer and more balanced (Alchemist could, in theory, give Aghanims to everyone and it suited well), but they didn't have heavy late. But PA is Alch's counter, right? So PSG got strong heroes, while EHOME had chemistry.

Snapfire quickly got Aghanim, but Magnus flying around the map still couldn't inflict damage: EHOME just beat enemies with their spells and PSG fell apart fight after fight. Alchemist was farming, at the 18th minute overtaking the closest pursuer on the networth (Zeus) almost twice: 14k versus 8k. On the 19th minute, the first serious fight took place and ... EHOME lost it, and Alchemist died twice thanks to Aegis. Magnus and Void flew cannonballs from enemy to enemy, first giving Chrono and then Reverse Polarity. A very interesting thing to watch, but the gameplay difficult to execute. After the fight, the three cores of PSG broke into the top-4 networth, lagging only behind Alchemist by a couple of thousands. Then, as the opponents respawned, PSG lost four on different parts of the map. Sccc did his best not to lose and did it perfectly. But then, EHOME lost four. The action did not stop, but there was a feeling that PSG just after playing a moment badly had a fantastic combination that made EHOME sick. And when PA and Magnus caught up with Alchemist on gold, it became clear that EHOME was not doing well. A couple of fights, the barracks fell and the attempt to comeback failed. GG.

• Map MVP: Faith Bian

Map 3: The Loss

Bloodseeker, Magnus, Ogre Magi, Pugna, Monkey King for PSG.LGD vs Doom, Ember Spirit, Faceless Void, Lich, Skywrath Mage for EHOME. An even pick for both teams, as it seemed. 9th minute, PSG lead 9-3 and dominate the map. At the beginning of the game, it felt that EHOME have already lost mentally and the 'gg' was only a matter of time. Sccc wasn't farming, PSG were pushing everywhere, but at some point near the 20th minute, PSG just stopped killing and started playing slowly. EHOME understood that and tried to do a comeback. But they couldn't. 

Trivia

1. y` was killed by neutral creeps two times, which helped PSG to get the first blood and then create space in mid+top lanes and get two kills. 
2. Can't tell for sure if EHOME knew that Doom is not disabling Bloodseeker's passive ability.
3. XinQ's Pugna had 2 Tranquil Boots to heal himself faster so he can ult his teammates effectively. He healed 10641 HP. 

• Match MVP: Ame 

Congratulations to PSG.LGD on a dry win!

Summary

Praise xaio8 the Great: PSG.LGD won all the matches at the hero selection stage. Their strategy at the ban/pick stage was very interesting: they cleaned up the EHOME hero roster from signature carries with their bans, and then left game-changing character for the last picks. First Oracle, then Mortred, who turned the idea of the pick upside down on Map 2, and Pugna in the end, healing as hell and breaking the opponents' mages, which helped to win teamfights. And when the risky pick put a question on the map, he played a personal skill and class of players: EHOME made mistakes too often, and Sccc could not carry four teammates on his back.

China Dota 2 Pro Cup Winners and Prize Pool distribution:

1st — PSG.LGD, $40,000

2nd — EHOME, $15,000

3rd — Vici Gaming, $8,000