PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming went back and forth in an exciting grand final in season three of the OGA Dota PIT tournament earlier today. VG left it to the last game to clinch the championship 3-2, exacting revenge on their opponents.
This is the fourth time both teams have lined up against each other since their respective roster changes. LGD won all three of their previous meetings, but VG triumphed this time around in an important grand final.
VG’s new carry recruit, Yang “Erica” Shaohan, had a phenomenal series. While he played just two heroes—Faceless Void and Phantom Assassin—he was an instrumental part of all three of his team’s wins. His penchant for Phantom Assassin paid off with two deathless performances in the final two games to overturn a 2-1 series deficit. With Southeast Asian wunderkind 23savage incoming, the organization now has the best kind of headache: Which talented carry player do they roll with for the upcoming season?
The first game was a slugfest between the two Chinese powerhouses. Erica led the way with a splendid Faceless Void performance. He helped secure several skirmishes with their incredible teamfight lineup consisting of Phoenix, Earthshaker, and Snapfire, eventually taking down the first two lanes of barracks of the game.
LGD refused to give up, however, with Ame’s Anti-Mage proving an entrenched thorn in VG’s side with his constant splitpushing. His efforts to delay the game paid off when VG, seeking a knockout punch, made too aggressive of a move into enemy territory and were swiftly punished.
Erica died back afterward in the base defense, leaving LGD free to take down all of VG’s structures. Mega creeps didn’t deter VG, who continued to defend valiantly. But LGD pulled off the unlikely comeback thanks to Io’s frustrating Relocates and a few misdirection techniques that saw VG’s unprotected throne fall.
VG quickly reset the series to a best-of-three with a game two stomp. This time, it was Ori’s Queen of Pain and Xiong “Pyw”‘ Jiahan’s Earth Spirit that terrorized the map with their constant rotations and kill threats. LGD’s Ame tried to keep up with his Terrorblade, but it was all for naught in a 30-minute loss.
The two squads traded the next two maps again, with both teams’ carries playing a massive role in their respective victories. Game three saw Ame’s Drow Ranger farm up a storm despite being under immense pressure—and his team backed him up at every turn with Void Spirit and Slardar’s frontline presence. Erica repaid the favor in the fourth game with a free-farming Phantom Assassin, in which an early Battlefury rapidly snowballed into an unstoppable killing machine that felled LGD’s heroes like twigs.
With the championship on the line, VG entrusted their new carry with his dominating Phantom Assassin again, supplementing him with Slardar’s minus armor capability and an Omniknight for protection. LGD hoped to keep up with a Magnus and Troll Warlord, including Pugna for a physical save.
Game five was a tenuous affair, with LGD coming out of the laning stage with a small lead. Troll and Pugna did the structural damage for LGD, while VG kept up with Leshrac. All eyes were on Erica, however, who escaped the early game unscathed and farmed away quietly.
The game was blown apart once Erica decided to join the party. Once again, LGD’s heroes couldn’t cope with Phantom Assassin’s overwhelming damage and found themselves at wits’ end as their lead slipped away. The concession soon followed and VG were crowned the champions of OGA Dota PIT season three.
VG ended up with $37,521 for their first-place finish, while runners-up LGD earned $19,494.
