Huge Defeat for PSG.LGD Against Aster in Dota 2’s i-League 2021

PSG.LGD is the 2^nd best team of Dota Pro Circuit 2021 and the winner of the WePlay AniMajor, a tournament in which they dismantled Evil Geniuses in the Grand Final (3 – 0). Because of these reasons, PSG.LGD is regarded as the number 1 favorite to win The International 10. In 2018 they were 2^nd, in 2019 they were 3^rd, now it seems like they can actually win it. Or at least, that’s how the bookmakers assess the situation.

PSG.LGD in i-League 2021

i-League 2021 is a Chinese competition that features the best 8 teams in the region and has a prize pool of $185,000. Judging by the prize pool, it is completely irrelevant compared to The International 2021. But the competitive level is still high, because China is probably the strongest region right now in Dota 2. After all, both Majors of DPC 2021 were won by Chinese teams, so how could it not be?

Team Aster is not a weak squad. They finished Season 1 of DPC 2021 in 2^nd place (in China’s Upper Division, of course), and then went on to win Season 2. However, when it comes to their international performance, the team displayed many weaknesses this season and only managed to finished 9^th – 12^th both times.

However, despite these inadequacies, we can say that Aster is an opponent worthy of PSG.LGD. But what is not expected is for a team that finished DPC 2021 in 9^th place to beat the competitor that most analysts expect will win TI 10. And unfortunately for PSG.LGD, that’s exactly what happened.

After winning the Group Stage of i-League 2021 with a record of 11 wins – 2 losses, Ame’s team started the Playoffs in the Upper Bracket. Game 1 was hard, in part because of the fact that PSG.LGD decided to experiment and pick Riki, but also because Aster played really well. In games 2 and 3 however, Aster went with perfectly normal drafts and got completely demolished by Aster’s very elegant playstyle.

Is PSG.LGD Still The Favorite To Win The International 10?

As a result of this loss, we need to reassess and ask ourselves: can PSG.LGD win TI 10 in their current form? Luckily for them, we’re still 11 weeks away from the big tournament. But with these kinds of performances, I seriously doubt they’ll stand a chance against the likes of OG, T1, EG, or any of the other top competitors. Their own regional rivals might eliminate them before they even get a chance to play in the Grand Final.

Still, it’s too early to draw conclusions. At the very least, first we’ll have to see what PSG.LGD can do for the remainder of this regional event, which they’re expected to win. i-League 2021 is full of Chinese superstars and nobody likes to lose at this level, even if it doesn’t mean much financially. Although, to be fair, I don’t know how the Chinese fans react when their favorite teams lose. Do they stop buying merchandise or do they rationalize it by saying it was a tactical defeat?

 

Photo credit: Valve