DPC 2023 Tour 3 China Div I: first results

The Tour 3 battle in China’s Division I has begun and some of the favorites have already won their opening matches. Both Xtreme Gaming and PSG.LGD proved their opponents who’s boss. But not without struggling a bit.

Xtreme Gaming lost the first game against Piggy Killer, while PSG.LGD needed 54 minutes to win their first game against Aster.Aries. On paper, the strength difference between the favorite and the underdog is enormous in both cases. But the matches themselves still tested the winners’ resolve.

Xtreme Gaming vs. Piggy Killers: 2-1

Xtreme played a very bizarre match against Piggy. In all of their three games, they picked Alchemist. The first time they failed, partly because Piggy picked Omniknight and denied some of the advantages provided by Radiance. But they succeeded in games 2 and 3.

The reason why Xtreme continued to play Alchemist had to do with their assessment of Piggy’s response to it. This response was very weak and full of mistakes. This is clearly demonstrated by what happened in game 1. Xtreme had a 12.600 gold advantage at minute 22 and only lost because of a series of ridiculous errors.

In games 2 and 3, the advantage they gained in the first 15-20 minutes was not only preserved but increased. This gold advantage allowed them to do well even against Medusa. To be fair, after the nerfs received by the hero in Dota 2 patch 7.33c, it’s no surprise that Xtreme won against Dusa. But it was still tough to get the victory.

PSG.LGD vs. Aster.Aries: 2-0

Game 1 of this match was a rollercoaster. For the first 15 minutes, Aster.Aries had the advantage. Then it was PSG’s time to take the lead. The two teams did this multiple times during the course of the game and PSG won only because their Naga Siren played incredibly well toward the end.

Game 2 was a stomp. PSG.LGD were allowed to pick not only Medusa but Primal Beast too. These heroes, combined with Bane, Skywrath Mage, and Pangolier, had a very easy time against Faceless Void, Ember Spirit, Magnus, Abaddon, and Keeper of the Light.

On Aster’s side, there was too much reliance on damage-dealing items and too little reliance on the heroes’ natural abilities. PSG clearly noticed their drafting error and just played a high-tempo game. The battle ended after 26 minutes.

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