LGD claimed the victory for a slot in The International with a 3-1 win against CIS in the Chinese Qualifiers grand finals. CIS will also be travelling in Seattle for another shot in playing in the main event if they win against the other runner-ups in the other regional division.
CIS will be playing against Team Liquid, MVP.Phoenix, and the runner up in the European Qualifiers for the wild card division which will be held in early June.
Game 1:
LGD went for a smoke gank in mid lane which drew first blood by killing Outworld Devour. Their two supports then went back to their aggressive trilane with Weaver against CIS's defensive trilane with Lifestealer, Sand King, and Windranger. LGD managed to put pressure on top lane even though there were a couple of missed opportunities to get a killl.
Midlane was also doing well in favor of LGD while bottom lane was on equal standing with both Nature's Prophet and Doom getting a decent amount of farm. Both teams got exchange kills from one another but LGD was far ahead in pushing towers. They were able to destroy all of CIS's tier 1 tower in 12 minutes of the game.
Afterwards, LGD was able to split push and they destroyed CIS's tier 2 towers. They also claimed their first Roshan. CIS was only able to get one exchange of tower during the whole match even with Nature's Prophet and Windranger in their lineup. LGD claimed Roshan for the second time and went mid to finish CIS's barracks. CIS called 'gg' on the 25-minute mark.
Game 2:
Both teams were aggressive with their team play especially on top lane. LGD drew first blood by killing Treant Protector but CIS got a kill in exchange. The team fight during the first few minutes of the game lead to more exchange kills in favor of LGD. CIS then switched lanes with Clockwerk.
CIS lost again to another team fight on bottom lane and they also lost their top tier 1 tower during the 12-minute mark. There was a failed gank attempt by LGD when they tried to kill Wraith King who was in middle lane but CIS responded for backup. However they weren't able to push the tier 1 tower. Wraith King continued farming and bit by bit, CIS was beginning to retaliate. They even destroyed LGD's bottom tier 1 tower and got an equal exchange of kills during a team fight.
But LGD was still at an advantage with their team getting more kills with no or few exchange kills for CIS. LGD destroyed the mid tier towers and barracks. After killing Roshan, LGD proceed on the bottom lane and destroyed the barracks as well. CIS called 'gg' on the 52-mminute mark after they lost a team fight on top lane.
Game 3:
CIS went for an aggressive trilane this time with Axe, Crystal Maiden, and Dazzle. This was a well thought out combination with a call-type Axe, Dazzle for healing and Crystal Maiden with her Frost Bite. CIS was able to get first blood with this combination. Crystal Maiden was also a good choice especially for disabling Enchantress' neutrals. Meanwhile, on top lane, Nature Prophet was having a difficult time in handling Tidehunter. LGD was able to destroy the top and mid tier 1 tower of CIS--they were at the advantage.
On the bottom lane, CIS's trilane remained pushing and they destroyed the tier 1 tower. LGD, then, engaged in a team fight but they lost with Axe achieving an Ultra Kill. Afterwards, there was a failed gank attempt against Lycan but CIS got to kill two of LGD's heroes and destroyed their towers on top lane. CIS went mid and there was another team fight which LGD lost, once again. CIS continued to push mid and they went for Roshan afterwards. LGD went for another team fight but Axe used call and three of LGD's heroes went down. LGD called 'gg' on the 18-minute mark.
Game 4:
LGD used the same trilane hero that they picked in game 1 which has a very effective combination to shut down Centaur. CIS, on the other hand took advantage of Skywrath's Ancient Seal and Ancient Apparition's Ice Vortex for Puck to have a higher magic damage. Unfortunately, it wasn't as effective as it should have been. LGD had a better lineup when in comes to team fights compared to CIS's lineup which was more of a one-hero-kill combo.
LGD had a few attempts to kill and shut down Morphling in midlane but they were unable to do so. But LGD continued to overpower CIS and having Dragon Knight in LGD's lineup was also helpful in pushing towers. They were able to destroy CIS's top tier 1 during during the 7-minute mark. CIS, in return, was able to destroy LGD's top and mid tier 1 tower but it wasn't enough for a turn around. Roshan was claimed by LGD and they continued to push for barracks. CIS called 'gg' before the 30-minute mark.
LGD and CIS will now play in MarsTV Dota 2 League scheduled to begin tomorrow alongside Team DK, Vici Gaming, NewBee and Invictus Gaming.
Headline image taken from LGD's Facebook.
