PSG.LGD’s quirky drafts starting from group stage matches to playoffs grand finals brought them this Monday, August 16, the first-ever OGA Dota PIT trophy.
As weird as it might sound, PSG.LGD haven’t actually got their hands on a Dota PIT trophy. They’ve been close at the previous season but lost the grand finals 1:3 to Elephant. The tides have turned in season 5, as PSG.LGD have consolidated their China’s top team status with dazzling plays and completely outside the box pick choices. When they started the group stage run by first drafting Pudge and placing him in the carry position, their fans and most likely their adversaries were questioning if PSG.LGD were taking the event seriously, or just as an opportunity to unwind before TI10.
However, the Pudge experiment worked just fine, but heading into the playoffs from an upper bracket seed, PSG.LGD’s first draft that was more anchored in the meta resulted in a loss at the hands of Royal Never Give Up. From there on, battling for survival in the lower bracket, PSG.LGD reverted to weird picks and strategies and ran over their opponents.
In what looked more of a search of how certain heroes can be utilized for tilting the opposition, PSG.LGD eliminated Vici Gaming with Pudge carry, a Templar Assassin - Invoker combo and the Bristleback - Keeper of the Light old forgotten duo. They forced a 13-minute GG call from Aster with Techies, and in the lower bracket finals, they took down Invictus Gaming 2-0 with a Tinker - Grimstroke combo and another carry Pudge draft.
At the same time, Elephant sailed through the upper bracket and were looking to defend their previous season title with flawless performances up to the grand finals. Unfortunately for them, PSG.LGD used their momentum from the elimination matches and kept the same quirky attitude in the drafting stage to stop Elephant in their tracks.
First game of the grand finals brought a position 5 Mars played by PSG.LGD captain Zhang "y`" Yiping along with the TA carry - Invoker mid combo and an offlane Broodmother, one of Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida’s signature heroes. Given the absolute dominance, Elephant were quick to ban the Brood in game two, but ended up receiving the same treatment as iG.
They had no solution for surviving the Tinker-Grimstroke combo, and headed into the third game of the series, they got tricked by a first phase Faceless Void pick from PSG.LGD, who switched the whole draft dynamic by placing it in the fifth position while their carry choice was a last pick Arc Warden.
Overall, the grand finals lasted a bit over one hour, as PSG.LGD were able to close all three games around the 25 minute mark, making another strong statement heading into TI10. This is their second championship title won with a clean 3-0 sweep in the grand finals and at the end of the month, they will be also competing at ESL One Fall: Bootcamp edition, where they are the only Chinese representative in the 12 team line-up. So, stay tuned for more Wings Gaming madness infusion into the PSG.LGD clinical executions.
headline photo courtesy of Perfect World
