After a total of six matches being played in a single day, two teams are now only one victory away from advancing to the grand finals of The International 8.
Team Liquid, the champions of The International 2017, are not one of those teams. Despite winning their group and proceeding to demolish OpTic Gaming in the first round of the upper bracket, the European champions were crushed by rivals PSG.LGD in a quick two-game series.
The support duo of PSG.LGD, consisting of Yap “xNova” Jian Wei and former Vici Gaming superstar Xu “fy” Linsen, proved to be the driving force behind the team’s dominant victory over Liquid. Showcasing an advanced understanding of warding across the map, Liquid were rarely afforded the ability to set up any team fights on their own terms. Instead, PSG.LGD were able to safely assess any engagement before committing, and dismantled Liquid without any trouble.
The second team to advance into the winner bracket finals were OG, after settling a grudge match against Evil Geniuses by a score of 2-1. Just three months ago, OG were a team in ruin, losing three players in total throughout the first Dota 2 Pro Circuit season. Two of those players were Tal “Fly” Aizik and Gustav “s4” Magnusson, who left OG on May. 28 mere hours before departing for the Dota 2 Super Major in China.
Despite qualifying for The International 8, expectations for OG were low. But since arriving in Vancouver, OG have suddenly accomplished their best result yet at the tournament series, and are now only one match away from reaching the grand finals on Aug. 25.
With Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, and Virtus Pro all residing in the main event’s lower bracket, at least one of the tournament’s absolute favorites will be sent home in the next two days. Things are about to get crazy for Dota 2 fans across the world.
