The current iteration of CDEC Gaming has claimed a spot in ROG Masters 2017 LAN finals to represent China after edging out Team Max 3:2.
An abbreviated version for the ROG Masters 2017 qualifiers was given to four selected teams from China. Their journey included only one set of qualifiers as opposed to the three phases for other participating regions - APAC (Asia-Pacific), EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), and Americas.
CDEC Gaming, Team Max, ViCi Gaming Potential and VDuoBao faced off in a single elimination battle for the coveted LAN spot starting only yesterday. CDEC swept through ViCi Gaming Potential to secure their spot in the Grand Finals. On the other side of the brackets, Team Max were running in sync with their own 2:0 tidy victory over VDuaBao. The stage had then been set for the grand finals.
Team Max were expected to do well after coming off an impressive series of runs in the Chinese TI7 qualifiers. The team had taken up second place in the Champions cup qualifier, 3-4th in the first open qualifier, first in the second round and then a rather disappointing 8th place finish in the regional qualifiers. The team was formed from a fusion of the organization's two squads and have been playing together since February 2017.
This version of CDEC Gaming are not the TI5 cinderella story team, but have maintained a strong presence in the region since forming as a group in September 2016. The team was able to grab the spot to participate in the Dota 7 Summit but were replaced by LGD Gaming when visa issues reared its ugly head once again. Picking up the pieces, they were able to follow it up with a strong performance in the Chinese TI7 qualifiers which left them in 6th place and a flash of the promise the teams has.
It was no surprise that the finals were forced into the full 5 games to declare a winner. The first game was all CDEC without even breaking a sweat but it would be the next two 60 plus minute games that would showcase just how closely matched these two teams were. Back and forth, thrilling games handed CDEC the second victory for a two game lead, only to be prolonged with Team Max taking the third grueling game. On the heels of their win, Team Max then struck back once again in the fourth game to tie up the series and force the deciding game. In an overwhelming show of force, it was CDEC who would exert dominance and stake their claim on the series win and LAN spot.
CDEC is the first team to be seated at ROG Masters 2017. Five more teams will follow suit in the next few months. Six teams will ultimately compete for a slice of the $250,000 prize pool in Shanghai, China during November 2017.
CDEC Gaming's lineup:
Lin 'June' Shiyang'
Xiao 'Demons' Cuoyi
Su 'Flyby' Lei
Xue 'September' Zhichuan
Gao 'Shade' Zhenxiong
