Despite starting the semi-finals with 2 straight defeats, it was still clear that LGD will not let iG dominate them as they did on the first 2 games.
LGD arguably had their best start of the series, making iG pay for their decision of running an offensive trilane. Instead of going to their relatively less familiar carry of PL as they did yesterday, they went off to use Luna on the third game of the series.
LGD vs iG - match recap
VODs available here!
Game 1:
Top lane
iG - Batrider (bot jungle)
LGD - Phantom Lancer, Lina, Nyx Assassin
Mid lane
iG - Brewmaster
LGD - Beastmaster
Bot lane
iG - Luna, Sand King, Disruptor
LGD - Nature's Prophet
YYF abandoned the lane early to farm up in the jungle. To make up for the loss of map control, iG placed a ward at the top river. This ward got counterwarded quickly by LGD though. Xiao8 rotated top and LGD pushed down the top tower, but shortly after iG killed off Yao for the first blood. YYF managed to have Tranquil + Dagger at 9 minutes. Rotations from all over the map resulted in a good clash at mid for LGD, where Sylar got double kill, Zhou got killed and LGD got the tower. Faith's Disruptor set up a clutch clash at bot where iG came out on top 4-1 - setting up a kill on xiao8 even before he can be of any use to his team. And just a bit later, basically the same fight happened again. iG gained a huge experience advantage after these two fights. After some pressure, iG decided to attempt pushing into base where they just walked in and instantly exploded three heroes and took down barracks top. The gg was called after next push.
LGD went for a late game strategy: Prophet keep pressuring lanes, Nyx and Beastmaster created vision and map control while Phantom Lancer farmed. And it's been proven before that it's hard to push base vs a Lancer. The plan was to was to split push rather than to team fight, but iG forced them into taking fights they didn't want to take as well as placed themselves on a bigger advantage by picking up two to three heroes using efficient smoke ganks. It was mostly a matter of outplay throughout the game.
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Game 2:
Top lane
LGD - Dark Seer
iG - Luna
Mid lane
LGD - Sven
iG - Magnus
Bot lane
LGD - Phantom Lancer, Keeper of the Light, Leshrac
iG - Juggernaut, Rubick, Shadow Demon
A strange trade happened mid when Ferrari decided to give up the first blood to the enemy team for a trade on Sven instead of walking away delaying the first blood altogether. LGD got some early kills with good map rotations. iG baited out not one but two clashes at the first Roshan, winning both and taking Roshan - the second clash they even had all ultis on cooldowns but baited LGD into taking on the last HPs of Roshan themselves and then IG nuked them from the high ground. Sylar farmed throughout the baits though, recovering from his shaky start. Ferrari got a somewhat poor initiate on the top lane at minute 25, resulting in only RP on Sven causing iG to commit too much for one kill whereas LGD could pick off most of their team. The pushes went on - iG struggled to push against LGD and LGD struggled to push against iG. Both teams tried to pick their fights well. ChuaN stole a Vacuum top lane which he used to set up a perfect Ulti for Magnus, but the Wall was up and Phantom Lancer started getting his army going. The fights were hard to win even with a Reverse Polarity. But with Luna picking up a Double Damage and getting Empower from Magnus, she reached over 600 damage, killing Keeper in two hits in the coming fight before getting purged of all that juicy damage. Suddenly the game was over, after been pressured for that long, not being able to kill a tier 2 tower - iG instantly kills Dark Seer and KotL before they get their abilities off outside LGD's base. They starting whacking on the buildings and Sylar got caught by a Blink + Skewer while his gold was too low for buyback. iG takes it 2-0.
Looked like LGD had a plan here, they picked their heroes without delay (but going into extra time for their first hero pick-up, the Dark Seer). They have a solid turtle line-up once again, even better this time with Dark Seer and Keeper of the Light. This game was tighter, iG struggled on fights even when they had 2x Reverse Polarity at their disposal. On the other hand, 2x Reverse gives you more space for smaller failures and you will always find yourself picking off some heroes. If those heroes are key heroes (such as the Dark Seer in the last fight), LGD can't fight. The Juggernaut was there mostly to help out with healing and dealing additional damage into the RP, as well as being magic immune on the lane.
Watch the VOD
Game 3:
Top lane
iG - Tormented Soul, Nyx Assassin, Rubick
LGD - Luna, Lion, Sandking
Mid lane
iG - Brewmaster
LGD - Beastmaster
Bot lane
iG - Anti-Mage
LGD - Magnataur
Yao was able to get one of his signature hero, and he had one of his better starts on the series. A missed Impale by Nyx cost iG the First blood, but they had a quick counter kill in return. Xiao8 ganked bot but Yao unfortunately doesn't have enough mana, and Zhou was able to blink out at 8 HP. After returning mid, Xiao8 died to Rubick and the Panda Ultimate. LGD was winning the trilane battle at top, but a successful smoke gank by Panda gave them two kills (Luna and Sandking) and a tower. 4-2 lead for iG 10 minutes into the game. LGD got a 4-1 trade after blowing the Eclipse and Roar, because Ferrari over-committed and died before casting his ult. Sylar got a triple-kill on a big team fight near the rosh pit, primarily because of the absence of AM. Zhou completed his BF at the 19-minute mark. The game was looking to be going for LGD's favor, but iG was able to pick off Sylar and 3 other of his teammates as well as the bottom rax from a good engagement by Faith. iG up on hero kills 14-10 22 minutes in. Another big teamfight ensued at the 24-minute mark, where iG got a 4-1 trade and the Aegis. iG was actually able to force another good skirmish at top, but they over-committed again and LGD was able to successfully defend their top on top of another triple-kill by Sylar. It can be noted though that Zhou was able to get 4 kills on that fight. iG got another big teamfight at the 34 minute mark, forcing 3 buybacks from LGD. They played it safe this time, backing into an attempt for Roshan. LGD tried one last go at it, but iG won the fight convincingly yet again. GG was called.
Watch the VOD
Top lane
iG - Batrider (bot jungle)
LGD - Phantom Lancer, Lina, Nyx Assassin
Mid lane
iG - Brewmaster
LGD - Beastmaster
Bot lane
iG - Luna, Sand King, Disruptor
LGD - Nature's Prophet
YYF abandoned the lane early to farm up in the jungle. To make up for the loss of map control, iG placed a ward at the top river. This ward got counterwarded quickly by LGD though. Xiao8 rotated top and LGD pushed down the top tower, but shortly after iG killed off Yao for the first blood. YYF managed to have Tranquil + Dagger at 9 minutes. Rotations from all over the map resulted in a good clash at mid for LGD, where Sylar got double kill, Zhou got killed and LGD got the tower. Faith's Disruptor set up a clutch clash at bot where iG came out on top 4-1 - setting up a kill on xiao8 even before he can be of any use to his team. And just a bit later, basically the same fight happened again. iG gained a huge experience advantage after these two fights. After some pressure, iG decided to attempt pushing into base where they just walked in and instantly exploded three heroes and took down barracks top. The gg was called after next push.
LGD went for a late game strategy: Prophet keep pressuring lanes, Nyx and Beastmaster created vision and map control while Phantom Lancer farmed. And it's been proven before that it's hard to push base vs a Lancer. The plan was to was to split push rather than to team fight, but iG forced them into taking fights they didn't want to take as well as placed themselves on a bigger advantage by picking up two to three heroes using efficient smoke ganks. It was mostly a matter of outplay throughout the game.
Watch the VOD
Game 2:
Top lane
LGD - Dark Seer
iG - Luna
Mid lane
LGD - Sven
iG - Magnus
Bot lane
LGD - Phantom Lancer, Keeper of the Light, Leshrac
iG - Juggernaut, Rubick, Shadow Demon
A strange trade happened mid when Ferrari decided to give up the first blood to the enemy team for a trade on Sven instead of walking away delaying the first blood altogether. LGD got some early kills with good map rotations. iG baited out not one but two clashes at the first Roshan, winning both and taking Roshan - the second clash they even had all ultis on cooldowns but baited LGD into taking on the last HPs of Roshan themselves and then IG nuked them from the high ground. Sylar farmed throughout the baits though, recovering from his shaky start. Ferrari got a somewhat poor initiate on the top lane at minute 25, resulting in only RP on Sven causing iG to commit too much for one kill whereas LGD could pick off most of their team. The pushes went on - iG struggled to push against LGD and LGD struggled to push against iG. Both teams tried to pick their fights well. ChuaN stole a Vacuum top lane which he used to set up a perfect Ulti for Magnus, but the Wall was up and Phantom Lancer started getting his army going. The fights were hard to win even with a Reverse Polarity. But with Luna picking up a Double Damage and getting Empower from Magnus, she reached over 600 damage, killing Keeper in two hits in the coming fight before getting purged of all that juicy damage. Suddenly the game was over, after been pressured for that long, not being able to kill a tier 2 tower - iG instantly kills Dark Seer and KotL before they get their abilities off outside LGD's base. They starting whacking on the buildings and Sylar got caught by a Blink + Skewer while his gold was too low for buyback. iG takes it 2-0.
Looked like LGD had a plan here, they picked their heroes without delay (but going into extra time for their first hero pick-up, the Dark Seer). They have a solid turtle line-up once again, even better this time with Dark Seer and Keeper of the Light. This game was tighter, iG struggled on fights even when they had 2x Reverse Polarity at their disposal. On the other hand, 2x Reverse gives you more space for smaller failures and you will always find yourself picking off some heroes. If those heroes are key heroes (such as the Dark Seer in the last fight), LGD can't fight. The Juggernaut was there mostly to help out with healing and dealing additional damage into the RP, as well as being magic immune on the lane.
Watch the VOD
Game 3:
Top lane
iG - Tormented Soul, Nyx Assassin, Rubick
LGD - Luna, Lion, Sandking
Mid lane
iG - Brewmaster
LGD - Beastmaster
Bot lane
iG - Anti-Mage
LGD - Magnataur
Yao was able to get one of his signature hero, and he had one of his better starts on the series. A missed Impale by Nyx cost iG the First blood, but they had a quick counter kill in return. Xiao8 ganked bot but Yao unfortunately doesn't have enough mana, and Zhou was able to blink out at 8 HP. After returning mid, Xiao8 died to Rubick and the Panda Ultimate. LGD was winning the trilane battle at top, but a successful smoke gank by Panda gave them two kills (Luna and Sandking) and a tower. 4-2 lead for iG 10 minutes into the game. LGD got a 4-1 trade after blowing the Eclipse and Roar, because Ferrari over-committed and died before casting his ult. Sylar got a triple-kill on a big team fight near the rosh pit, primarily because of the absence of AM. Zhou completed his BF at the 19-minute mark. The game was looking to be going for LGD's favor, but iG was able to pick off Sylar and 3 other of his teammates as well as the bottom rax from a good engagement by Faith. iG up on hero kills 14-10 22 minutes in. Another big teamfight ensued at the 24-minute mark, where iG got a 4-1 trade and the Aegis. iG was actually able to force another good skirmish at top, but they over-committed again and LGD was able to successfully defend their top on top of another triple-kill by Sylar. It can be noted though that Zhou was able to get 4 kills on that fight. iG got another big teamfight at the 34 minute mark, forcing 3 buybacks from LGD. They played it safe this time, backing into an attempt for Roshan. LGD tried one last go at it, but iG won the fight convincingly yet again. GG was called.
Watch the VOD
Read what WinteR (LD's co-caster for most of the G-League games) has to say about playing and casting Dota 2.
WinteR: 'I might still cast or I might still play'
Playoff bracket
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