Dota 2: China Tour 3 Division I – Week 6

Tour 3 of this year’s DPC turned out to be the most interesting one yet. Unlike the previous two times when a couple of teams dominated every region, every big name in Division I has the chance to qualify for the PGL Arlington Major 2022.

Royal Never Give Up became the first team in China that secured a slot for the upcoming Major. This happened during week 5, which means that week 6 was decisive for the other three slots. 

Even though we had the chance to watch three series, each one was epic, so let’s learn more about them.

Aries vs DEC

The first match this week was important for Aster.Aries because they are one of the teams that have a chance to qualify for the Major. Unlike its opponents, who had to face much stronger teams, Aries had to go up against Dandelion Esports Club. The latter already lost its slot in Division I.

Game 1

We expected Ru “RedPanda” Zhihao and the rest to have no problems against their opponents. However, this was not the case because the series had a lot of back and forth moments. With that being said, the first match was in favor of Aster.Aries.

Despite pickling Alchemist, Zeus and Razor, DEC could not deal with AA’s deadly Pudge and MK combo. This is one of the few teams in the region that uses Pudge and it seems like it knows how to make the most of him.

Game 2

AA were one game away from winning this crucial series, so the team decided to use Alchemist for themselves. DEC decided to fight fire with fire, so they picked Anti-Mage, another hero that requires tons of farm.

Even though casters and fans expected Aries to win effortlessly, DEC played one of their best series yet and crushed their opponents. Instead of playing passively, the Chinese used their momentum to allow their cores to snowball. A couple of minutes after the start, DEC already secured a massive lead and equalized the series.

Game 3

After winning the first game with Pudge, Aries decided to double down on this hero and picked him in the third match. To make sure that they wouldn't lose the late game, the team also picked Morphling.

This series was intense because DEC had Spectre and DP and won the early game. In fact, most people expected the team to win the match, but several good plays from Aries and their Pudge allowed them to bounce back.

We saw a few back-and-forth team fights, but once RedPanda and the rest took the lead, they held on to it and won the match.

EHOME vs Vici Gaming

The second crucial series of the week that we had the chance to watch this week was between Vici Gaming and EHOME. Although EHOME did not have real chances of securing a slot for the Major, Vici Gaming had the chance to get there. Sadly, the team was unable to use its advantage and lost.

Game 1

Despite the solid start and a draft that is suitable for the late game, Vici Gaming lost the first match. Everything was going well for Zhou “Yang” Haiyang and the rest, but Alchemist and his incredible farming capabilities stood out.

Spectre’s solid start was a glimmer of hope for Vici, but after the big fight near the Dire’s T2 tower, EHOME took complete control of this series. The next couple of minutes were really painful for Vici because EHOME’s Alchemist became impossible to kill. However, several kills followed by buybacks gave the legendary Chinese team a chance to bounce back.

Sadly, this was short-lived because EHOME and their Alchemist won the fight after that. Following the kill on Rosh, Puck got the Aegis and EHOME used it to push and defeat their opponents.

Game 2

After the loss in game one, Vici decided to roll out their deadly Templar Assassin and Razor combo.  The team was doing fine until the 12th minute when EHOME slowly started dominating. 

Surprisingly, their Enigma had a fantastic game and had more items than Vici’s Cores. The same applies to their Nature’s Prophet, a hero becoming increasingly popular among pro players. 

As expected, EHOME used its pushing capabilities and started pressuring its opponents to prevent them from farming. Vici seemed demoralized and couldn’t do anything to bounce back in this series. 

The painful loss puts an end to Vici Gaming’s ambitions to secure a slot for the PGL Arlington Major. Unfortunately, Yang and the rest failed to live up to the expectations.

Tiebreaker

The Tiebreaker in China was as interesting as in any other region because four teams had to fight for the three remaining slots. After Royal Never Give Up secured the first slot for the Major, Aster.Aries, LGD, Xtreme Gaming, Team Aster, and EHOME had to go face to face for the remaining ones.

Following the bloodbath, Aster, Xtreme Gaming and PSG.LGD successfully secured themselves the three remaining slots for the Major. Aster had an amazing start after winning the match against PSG.LGD. The 42-minute epic battle allowed us to watch loads of exciting heroes. Although many people expected PSG.LGD to win because of their Void and Qop, Aster’s Spectre and Enigma were too powerful.

Following Aster’s success against LGD, the team also defeated Xtreme Gaming. Despite the fact that this was a bo1 series, Zeng “Ori” Jiaoyang and the rest picked Pudge, a hero that caught their opponent by surprise. Xtreme relied on Razor and MK, but the two heroes couldn’t win the match.

Speaking of Xtreme gaming, Paparzi and the rest will also attend the upcoming Major. Despite losing against Aster, the team defeated Aries and PSG.LGD, which means it secured the third spot in Division I.

Last but not least, PSG.LGD is the fourth team that will represent China against some of the best clubs n the world. The team lost against Aster and Xtreme, but the victory against Aster.Aries allowed it to snatch fourth place.

Vici Gaming will play in Division II

Even though Vici was one of the big names in China, the team’s underwhelming performance gave them a slot for Division II. After failing to win many important series, Guo “Xm” Hongcheng and the rest had to fight for their survival against EHOME. 

Even though the team won the first match, it failed to win the series because Vici lost the following two games. As a result, the team finished 7th, which means they will go to Division II alongside Dandelion Esport Club.