Day 4 of the Sina Cup sees Chinese dream team DK defeating Invictus Gaming 2-1 in an epic three match clash between the two Chinese titans. They will advance straight to the upper bracket final where they will meet Vici Gaming.

Game 1: DK vs IG

 

In game one of the clash between the Chinese titans, IG opted to pick a strong team fighting lineup with Quas/Exort Invoker, Shadow Shaman and Elder Titan while DK secured the Ancient Apparition and Doom to try and lockdown IG's heroes before they can unleash their spells. First blood came to DK at the 1 minute mark as the combination of damage coming from Luna's aura and the chilling touch was enough to secure the kill on the Invoker on the bottom lane. IG then rotated the Invoker to the top lane against the Doom and tried to switch their lanes but DK countered by rotating their supports to keep up the pressure. 

In the mid lane, Mushi's Templar Assassin was having a hard time trying to deal with the constant harassment coming from the Ember Spirit who used his flame guard and searing chains to burning away Templar Assassin's health. Despite picking up a Black King Bar for Luna and a Blink Dagger for Templar Assassin, the power of the Elder Titan's abilities as well as the damage coming from the Quas/Exort Invoker and Ember Spirit rendered these items useless as IG wrecked havoc on DK's lineup with Invoker blasting away opponents with Cold Snaps, Sunstrikes and auto attacks. 

IG then pushed down the middle tower and barracks before securing two vital kills on the Luna and Doom and laying siege to the top barracks where gg was finally called by DK.  

Game 2: DK vs IG

Game two begins with a surprise pick up of Lycan by IG hoping to draw the same result by Vici Gaming with his ability to push, chase and bite down enemy heroes while DK secured both Venomancer and Wisp along with a Gyrocopter to counter the Lycan. First blood came to DK as the early phase boots and the tether speed boost from Wisp allowed BurNing to catch up to the Alchemist to get the kill. Lycan attempted to enter the Roshan pit 6 minutes and get an early aegis but Lamn's Doom Bringer scouted at the right time and prevented Lycan from taking down the big man. The second time round also failed forcing him to retreat to the dire ancient camp to farm up. 

Lycan was then ambushed by the Doom before being denied with both teams trading kills as Wisp popped and Alchemist falling once again. Multiple team fights occurred around the Roshan pit with neither team wanting the other to give away a free aegis. Item progression became an important factor in future team fights with DK picking up a Black King Bar, Monkey King Bar and Heart for Gyrocopter, a shadow blade and Black King Bar for Doom as well as a pipe for Venomancer while IG picked up the Aghanims Scepter for Ancient Apparition and Scythe of Vyse for Puck. 

IG then became scared to leave the base as the potential threat of a Wisp relocate gank and the sudden appearance of the Doom forced them to play defensive. At the 38 minute mark, DK pushed for the tier 3 mid tower but this turned around for IG as Lycan ran in to secure a triple kill with DK losing 4 heroes in the siege. However this was merely a short-lived victory for IG as Puck got caught out by the Doom allowing DK to ram the front door of IG and take down the barracks. Gg was called shortly after the 46 minute mark as DK team wiped IG from the map with Gyrocopter flakking down any opposition.  

Game 3: Dk vs IG

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Game three featured some unusual laning choices by IG who decided to send both Spectre and Disruptor against the Puck while giving solo experience to the Clockwerk in the safe lane up against the Lifestealer. IG constantly rotated their lanes with Invoker heading to the bottom lane where BurNing's Lifestealer took advantage of the exort build and took down the Invoker to secure first blood despite the attempted stun by ChauN's Vengeful Spirit who teleported in to help. Invoker nearly gave another kill away as the combo power of chilling touch, cold feet and open wounds made life in the bottom lane a living pain.

The power of DK's lineup and lane control was apparent as they dominated all lanes and had a 3500 xp and 2500 gold lead by the 7 minute mark. The level different between the supports of IG and DK was quite significant as all of DK's supports all had their ultimates available while IG's supports struggled to reach level 5. The first tower fell at the 8 minute mark as the pushing power from DK quickly melted down the tower. With a blink dagger secured just before the 10 minute mark on the Puck, DK decided to roam around and take out the Invoker once again to secure yet another tower on the bottom lane. 

At the radiant tier one middle tower, Clockwerk found himself in no mans land as he managed to get a good hook without any follow ups from IG. This resulted in a 4 man dream coil as Invoker, Disruptor and Clockwerk melted under the Juggernaut ultimate with Mushi's Puck scoring a double kill and opening up the Roshan Pit for DK. IG the smoked up to contest Roshan but the attempted gank failed trading 3 heroes to DK for the Ancient Apparition. 

With a 12-3 kill lead at the 15 minute mark. DK ripped apart IG's lineup as MMY's Shadow Shaman picked up an ultra kill before Puck finished off the lone Spectre where the gg was called 16 minutes in. With this win DK takes down Ig 2-1 and advances to face Vici Gaming in the winner bracket final while IG will get one more chance for redemption in the loser bracket. 

Headline picture from SCNTV