A closer look at the DPC matches for Week 5 in China.
It is nearly the end of the Dota Pro Circuit with the completion of games in the fifth week. The standing of the Upper Division in China shows Team Aster leading with PSG.LGD outperforming others in the second spot and Vici Gaming occupying the third place. The Lower Division has LBZS on top. Followed by Phoenix Gaming and Aster.Aries at second and third place in the standings. Here's the recaps of the complete action from Week 5.
Lower Division
The fifth week kick starter was games between Xtreme Gaming and Aster.Aries. The latter, being extremely dominating, stomped the first match with a score of 32-10. An indifferent second game saw Aster winning 34-14 and ultimately taking the set 2-0 from Xtreme.
The second set of games was between Team MagMa and CDEC Gaming. The first match was a close battle between the two teams, but it was MagMa who came on top and won the match in under 40-minutes. MagMa completely stomped the second match as CDEC looked helpless with their draft and lost with a score of 20-5.
Games between Xtreme Gaming and Demon Slayer tipped in the latter’s favor. The first game was the most challenging from both sides, but it was DS who came on top. Xtreme held their own in the second match, showing an impressive display of skill to comfortably win 27-7. Demon Slayer came right back and won the last match, which went on for just over 31-minutes.
Also Read: DPC Weekly Recap — SEA May 10-May 15
Upper Division
The first set of games in the Upper Division started off with Vici Gaming taking on EHOME. Vici completely dominated the series with some great team play and drafting. The first match ended one-sided with a score of 30-9 in Vici’s favor. They did a fantastic job in drafting with Ursa to counter and play against EHOME’s Clockwerk, Viper and Legion Commander. The second game was like deja vu, as EHOME picked strength heroes like Legion Commander, Phoenix and Morphling. Who although not a strength hero, heavily relies on Attribute Shift. Much to no one’s surprise, Vici picked Ursa again, countering most of EHOME’s lineup.
Team Aster won 2-1 against Royal Never Give Up. However, RNG put up a great fight against an in-form team. Drafting brilliantly against Aster, RNG won the first game with Leshrac who had a score of 16-4. The second game was quick to end as Aster took control. Punishing RNG’s weak draft and winning 15-5 in just under 35-minutes. The third and deciding game was a long one-hour marathon. Both teams were very passive throughout the game and depended on their late-game prowess. It was Aster who took advantage of their draft comprising Anti Mage and Razor. RNG failed to finish the game with Arc Warden and Puck, who struggled against Aster’s draft.
Vici Gaming took a significant lead in the first game of their third set of matches. It was around 26-minutes when Vici were 10k ahead in net worth. The lead kept increasing and RNG could not make their way back into the game. The second game had both teams pick late-game carry heroes. RNG went with Anti Mage while Vici picked Spectre. Although the game looks in favor of RNG around the 30-minute mark, Vici punished them frequently for overextending. Vici won the match after they got the Aegis at around 50-minutes into the game.
The series between Invictus Gaming and Sparking Arrow Gaming went the latter’s way. SAG picked a terrible draft to go into the first game with Weaver, Centaur Warrunner and Tiny. Whereas IG picked a solid pool of cores like Razor, Ursa and Legion Commander. All three heroes dominated in the game with SAG having no answers to turn around the game.
The first match was over in about 44-minutes with a scoreline of 42-16. Game 2 was a lot better for SAG who went with Centaur, Ursa and Pangolier. The match was equal till the mid-game, but it was difficult for SAG to close IG’s Spectre and Death Prophet who had a splendid game with a score of 17-0. After a terrible fight for SAG at around 31 to 32-minutes, the game was over for them. IG clenched a 2-0 victory over SAG.
Also Read: DPC Weekly Recap — Western Europe May 10-15
Highlight Series: PSG.LGD Vs Elephant
The last set of games between LGD and Elephant was very entertaining. Elephant stomped LGD in the first game after their strong start in the early game. Having a 7k gold lead at around 30-minutes, Elephant did not look back and kept increasing the gap between them and LGD. They won the first match 20-7.
The second match was a cracker contest between the two teams as LGD looked to come back in the series. Elephant picked Ursa and Puck as their main cores while LGD picked Death Prophet and Riki. Matched well in the early game, it was LGD who began taking the lead. Elephant could not deal with DP, Riki and Sladar’s ultimate, which was amplifying all the incoming damage. As the game dragged on, LGD kept increasing their lead and comfortably won by sieging each lane one by one.
The final game to decide the winner saw both teams picking powerful heroes against each other. LGD had Faceless Void, Chaos Knight and Magnus while Elephant picked Ember Spirit, Ursa and Mars. LGD had a decent lead in gold through the early game and they did not let the lead slip to the opposition. Elephant struggled to inflict sizable amounts of damage, which could turn the tide of the match. This proved that LGD’s had picked an incredibly strong lineup. LGD beat Elephant 2-1 in the series.
