The last series of the day for Mars Dota 2 League 2017 bid farewell to ViCi Gaming as iG staved off defeat to see another day with a tidy 2:0 sweep.
Two of China's iconic organizations through the years, Vici Gaming and Invictus Gaming found themselves going head to head in the early elimination series of the first round of the Lower Brackets.
Adding Chen "Hao" Zhihao to their lineup in early May, Vici Gaming had hoped to find themselves enroute to TI7 this summer as they had been struggling to find a foothold on the regional and international scene this year. A disappointing fifth place finish in the TI7 Chinese qualifiers left them stranded in China to fight for reward and prestige in one last hurrah to round out the Dota 2 year.
Their fourth LAN since appearing at Kiev Major, Invictus Gaming continue the grind as they still have yet to head into TI7 next month. The team has consistently been performing with commendable - mid level results.
Mars Dota 2 League 2017 Lower Brackets Round 1
Game One
Winning the game before they even got their items, Invictus Gaming had taken the lead with just their farming efficiency alone. A menacing lineup, Invictus Gaming's draft shredded ViCi Gaming, leaving Hao and company in pieces. VG weren't going to make things easy for iG to close out the game though, with what seemed like an impermeable defenseline, it took Invictus Gaming almost 70 minutes to grab that first victory and one game lead.
Game Two
The second game ViCi Gaming hit back to stay in the game. Taking down towers and objectives, they attempted to apply pressure and force iG into a deciding third game. Their strategy wouldn't pan out as they hoped however, as iG continued to pull ahead in stride. Once again on the back's of the spectacular performances by Ou "Op" Peng and Xu "BurNIng" Zhilei Invictus Gaming seized the game and series to advance further in the lower brackets.
The action resumes tomorrow with the lower bracket round 2 elimination series; a re-match of titans - Evil Geniuses vs OG at 04:00 CEST.
