China is one of the regions in Dota 2 that is always interesting to watch because the best teams in the world are based there. Tour 1 was full of action, so it wasn’t surprising that Tour 2 allowed us to watch some of the best teams in the world.
Unsurprisingly, PSG.LGD dominated their opponents and became the first team that secured a slot for the Major. Speaking of Majors, it is essential to know that China has four slots. This means that we had to see three more teams there.
The last week of Tour 2 and the Tiebreakers gave us access to loads of epic fights, so this article will go over the most impressive matches.
EHOME vs Aster
The first very intriguing match to watch was between EHOME and Aster. The latter is one of the best teams in China lately, so it wasn’t surprising it was one of the main contenders for the major. On the other hand, EHOME lost many matches, which meant they had no chance to attend the big event.
After the pick/ban stage, Aster got their hands on Ember and TA, so everyone expected the team to dominate and win. Unsurprisingly, Team Aster had a good early game that allowed their cores to snowball.
Even though EHOME had Tiny, this hero did not have enough power to bring down Aster’s mighty cores. Neither team got a lead over their opponents until the Zeng “Ori” Jiaoyang and co. got the first Aegis in the game. Slowly but steadily, TA and the rest became too strong for EHOME, which is why Nicholas “zeal” Lim Eng Han and his teammates lost game one.
Game 2 & 3
Team Aster decided to try an exciting draft in Game two of the series and picked Alchemist in the carry position. This definitely caught EHOME off guard, but zeal’s team had better heroes and equalized the series.
Although the laning stage was even, EHOME’s cores were doing better than Aster’s. Of course, Alchemist was the hero with the highest net worth, but he could not use it to his advantage because of EHOME’s Medusa.
Once the mid-game arrived, Dusa slowly gained a substantial lead over every other hero. She became too strong for Aster’s lineup and allowed EHOME to bounce back in this series.
The third game of this epic match was as interesting as the first two. Although neither team had a lead over its opponents, EHOME’s Templar Assassin eventually got the items she needed. This is where things went downhill for Aster because their PA and Ember were no match for the deadly mid laner’s right-click power.
This victory was crucial for EHOME, but it was not enough to help the team get one of the slots for the Stockholm Major.
Aster vs RNGU
After losing the first match of the week, Aster had a crucial match ahead of them against one of the favorites in Division I. Even though some people expected Royal Never Give Up to win this match, the team was unable to survive against Ori and the rest.
Game one was more exciting than the second one because the two teams were even throughout most of the game. In fact, RNGU had the lead early on and even secured an early Aegis for their Lina.
Things looked good for Lu “Somnus丶M” Yao and the rest, but a bad team fight gave Aster a massive lead. A couple of minutes later, the Chinese powerhouse also got the Aegis, which was the last nail in EHOME’s coffin.
Game 2
Royal Never Give Up had to win this match to save its chances for the Major, but the team failed to live up to the expectations. Although Somnus had a very good start, Aster eventually bounced back and secured themselves a substantial lead.
The worst thing about the situation was that RNGU did not have an answer to Medusa. Their Tiny, DK, and Ember had a lot of farm, but these heroes had no way of killing the late-game monster.
PSG.LGD vs Team Aster
Since we featured Team Aster in the first two matches, we wanted to focus on another team. However, Du “Monet” Peng and the rest did the impossible and delivered PSG.LGD’s first loss in Tour 2.
No one thought that the mighty Chinese powerhouse will lose their last match in Tour 2, but after winning everything before that, it was time for them to taste their own medicine.
PSG.LGD won the first game with little to no effort because the team won the laning stage. Aster had a draft that would excel in the mid-game, but LGD did not let them take advantage of it.
Game two
Following the victory, LGD wanted to close this series by securing themselves an easy win. However, game two lasted for almost an hour and gave us the chance to watch all sorts of epic fights. In the end, Aster’s cores prevailed, and the Chinese pushed the series into a game three.
Even though PSG.LGD had a lead throughout most of the game. Aster’s Medusa did not let their opponents win. In the end, the hero became an unstoppable force and showed everyone why it is the strongest carry in the current patch.
Game three
We expected to watch a back-and-forth game three, but it seems like the loss in the second map was too much for Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida and the rest. For the first time in months, PSG.LGD was unable to do anything to win this game. Team Aster and their IO and Storm combo ripped through LGD’s draft and only gave them three kills.
LGD’s Morphling was the only reason the Chinese didn’t lose earlier. Sadly, even this late-game monster was no match for Monet and the rest because Aster won their most important series in Tour 2.
Tiebreakers
We were supposed to watch two series in the Chinese tiebreakers. The first was supposed to be an epic match between RNGU and Vici Gaming, which should’ve determined the last team to compete in the Major. Sadly, Vici GFaming decided to forfeit, which gave Somnus and the rest the victory.
Aster vs Xtreme
The second tiebreaker was a match for the third place in Division I and it was between Aster and Xtreme. Following Aster’s dominating performance during week 5, most people expected Monet and the rest to dominate in this match. However, this was not the case because Xtreme played well.
They won the first game of the series after 46 minutes, but it wasn’t easy because Huskar and Ursa had to play against IO and Dusa. Aster decided to focus on the four-protect-one lineup, but Medusa was unable to out carry the enemy’s cores.
Game two
The second game was more interesting than the second one because neither team was dictating the tempo. Both teams were neck and neck in terms of the farm, but Xtreme had a slight advantage because their Tiny had loads of items.
Things started looking bad for Aster because Tiny was getting stronger and stronger. In the end, he became way too powerful to be killed. Needless to say, the hero is known for his fast pushing capabilities, so he was able to rip through Aster’s base quickly.
In the end, Xtreme won this series and secured second place in Division I.
