Dota 2: The Chongqing Major – Main Event Day 3 Recap

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Dota 2: The Chongqing Major – Main Event Day 3 Recap

During Day 3 of the Main event, the Lower bracket featured a plethora of epic battles. Every team was fighting for their survival, but only four managed to move forward, keeping their eyes on the prize.

Vici Gaming vs. Chaos Esports Club

Vici Gaming vs. Chaos Esports Dota 2

The opening game of the day was between one of the Chinese favorites in the event and Chaos EC (ex. paiN Gaming). As expected, Vici Gaming was outclassing their opponents, despite dropping one game.

In the first game, Chaos EC tried to play along with the current meta by getting  Phantom Assassin and Magnus to go along with her. On the other hand, Vici gaming got a classic Lina for Ori- and a TB for Paparazi. Fortunately for the Chinese, the TB had a fantastic game even in the early stages, managing to snowball out of control. Just 26 minutes in, GG was called.

Realizing their mistakes, Chaos EC went into game two confident enough that they have what it takes to win it, and it happened.
The Chinese were doing good for the first seventeen minutes, but after a messy fight near the Ancient camp of the Dire, things turned around. At one point, Medusa and Timbersaw were just too much to handle, and Vici Gaming had no other choice but to accept their faith and focus on the last decisive game.

The third game of the series was pretty much one-sided. Having that PA and Puck on the side of Vici completely dismantled Chaos EC. The SA team had a moment of hope, when they won a crucial fight around the Rosh pit, forcing the twitch chat to spam the immortal number “322”. In the end, the inevitable happened, as PA sliced through Chaos EC, forcing them to book their tickets home.

Thunder Predator vs. Evil Geniuses

Coming in second, the Peruvian team had a tough challenge ahead of them, because EG is one of the best teams when it comes down to Lower brackets.

In game one of the series, Thunder Predator decided to try a “four protect one” strat, focusing mainly on their Juggernaut. We also saw a Batrider on their side, a hero who lost the spotlight in the pro Dota the past couple of months.

On the other hand, the NA powerhouse took no risks and got TB for Arteezy as well as OD for Sumail. The game was even for the most part, however, after the 25 min mark, EG started to slowly and steadily build up some gold and experience lead. In just a few minutes, Arteezy got out of control, getting an ultra kill in the enemy base and securing the victory for his team.

Game two also started somewhat slow as both teams were trying to get the most farm. As time went on, EG was yet again gaining a significant advantage, mainly due to Sumail and Cr1t. The Danish support was outstanding with his Rubick and had a crucial role in securing the win by stealing various important spells from the enemies.

Despite losing, Thunder Predator have shown a clear sign of improvement, which means that they are on the right path and we will surely be seeing them at the upcoming events.

The next challenge ahead of the #bleedblue is Vici Gaming. Usually, EG do very well against the Chinese teams but we will see if this will be the case now.

FNATIC VS J.STORM

In the first game of the series, Fnatic were able to snatch the victory after nearly 54 minutes of intense Dota. One of the key figures for success was iceiceice and his signature Timbersaw. The veteran player have shown yet again the reason for having his own set for the hero. The Southeast Asians were able to take control of the early game but around the 20 minute mark, the game slowed down a little bit as the both teams were trying to accumulate as much farm as possible. In the end, after a perfect fight for Fnatic, GG was called.

Seeing how close they were to win, J.storm decided to go with a nearly identical lineup but a little bit tankier and improved – swapping Undying for Sven and Veno for DS.

Regardless of that, Fnatic controlled the game since the beginning and eventually snowballed out of control. Having their backs against the wall, J.storm tried to make the most out of their PA but sadly it wasn’t enough.

The loss meant that J.storm is now officially eliminated from the event., while Fnatic will be advancing further, waiting for their next opponent – Team Liquid.

Team Liquid vs. TNC Predator

The final series for the day was very interesting to watch, because both of teams had to play with a standin.

In game one, TNC were looking really strong in the early stages of the game. Not only did they gank across the map, but they also managed to bring down all tier 1 & 2 towers on the map. However, after some unsuccessful attempts to punish Team Liquid, the Europeans began to take control and dictate the tempo of the game. In the end, the team spirit and overall class of Team Liquid led them to victory, securing the first game of the series.

The second game we saw a very strange, yet winning pick from the long-time captain of TL – Kuroky. Spirit Breaker, the mid-lane nightmare, saw his first appearance at the Major. SB, combined with IO and Dark Seer were just too strong for TNC to deal with. The shear brute force was not expected and TNC failed to cope with it, resulting in a second loss and ultimately – elimination from the Chongqing Major.

Day Off

Tomorrow all teams have a day off from the Major in order to refresh a bit. Luckily, it will be just a day, which means that this Friday the show will be back with full force. Be ready!

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Images via: Fox Sports Asia and Starladder

Dota 2: The Chongqing Major – Main Event Day 3 Recap
Zlosterr
Zlosterr has been a fan of esports for many years and mainly focuses on Dota 2. He has more than five years of experience writing Dota 2 content for numerous platforms. Besides being a passionate fan of the game, he's also played for various amateur teams.