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PSG.LGD stay alive at TI11 with 2-1 victory over Beastcoast

Chinese favourites kept their hopes for the Aegis of Champions alive by defeating South America's Beastcoast, 2-1, in their lower bracket clash at the The International 11's Main Event. (Photo: Valve Software)
Chinese favourites kept their hopes for the Aegis of Champions alive by defeating South America's Beastcoast, 2-1, in their lower bracket clash at the The International 11's Main Event. (Photo: Valve Software)

Chinese favourites PSG.LGD kept their hopes for the Aegis of Champions at The International 11 (TI11) alive after they defeated South America's Beastcoast, 2-1, in the third round of the lower bracket in Day 4 of the Main Event.

PSG.LGD and Beastcoast have faced widely different journeys at TI11 before their lower bracket showdown.

PSG.LGD overcame a rough Day 1 in the Group Stage to finish as the third seed of Group A with a 12-6 record. That earned them an upper bracket berth in the Main Event, though they were quickly knocked down to the lower bracket by Team Secret in a 2-0 upset.

The Chinese juggernauts then eliminated Southeast Asia's BOOM Esports to reach the third round of the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, Beastcoast struggled throughout the Group Stage, barely making the Main Event as the seventh seed of Group B with a 8-10 record. However, the South American squad seemingly flipped the switch once they got to the Main Event.

The team started their lower bracket run by knocking out fellow South American team Hokori. Beastcoast then knocked out North American powerhouse Evil Geniuses in a massive 2-0 upset to set up a showdown with PSG.LGD in the next round.

However, the South American had a bit of handicap for the match, as several members of Beastcoast's team tested positive for COVID-19 and they were forced to play without a coach.

Jean "Chris Luck" Gonzales was the only player allowed to go on the stage and stuffed dogs were placed where his teammates were supposed to be sitting.

Only Jean
Only Jean "Chris Luck" Salazar was able to play on stage in Beastcoast's match versus PSG.LGD, though his teammates were still represented by stuffed dogs. (Screenshot courtesy of Valve Software)

Despite being handicapped by COVID-19, Beastcoast still came out swinging to start the series.

Behind some excellent performances from Héctor "K1" Rodríguez on Faceless Void, Jean "Chris Luck" Gonzales on Storm Spirit, and Adrián "Wisper" Dobles on Visage, overwhelmed PSG.LGD with non-stop aggression and took control of the game by the 38-minute mark.

In the decisive teamfight of the game, K1 narrowly avoided death by using Time Walk just in time to negate the damage to his hero and catch three PSG.LGD players in his Chronosphere.

Beastcoast ran rampant all over PSG.LGD's base, destroying all their barracks and getting Mega Creeps before finally getting repelled. The Chinese team then ventured out of their base to look for a pickoff that could spark a comeback.

While PSG.LGD managed to take down K1 without buyback, Beastcoast's Mega Creeps tore through their tier four towers and demolished their ancient, handing the thrilling game one win to Beastcoast.

PSG.LGD quickly shook off their previous loss, routing Beastcoast in 33 minutes behind Wang "Ame" Chunyu's Lifestealer and Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida's Axe.

The Chinese juggernauts led 37-18 in kills by the end of game two, with Faith_bian leading the way with a series-high 20 kills against four deaths while Ame pitched in with 12 kills against just one death.

With their tournament lives on the line in game three, both teams went all-out in the decider. PSG.LGD pinned their hopes on Ame's carry Sven, Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang's Leshrac, and Faith_bian's Brewmaster.

Meanwhile, Beastcoast went with a hard-hitting tri-core of Chaos Knight for K1, Shadow Fiend for Chris Luck, and Batrider for Wisper.

It was the South Americans that struck first, making good use of their high-damage lineup to score multiple early kills on PSG.LGD's cores. The Chinese squad went on the defensive as their opponents took control of the map, though they still kept bleeing kills in ganks and teamfights.

Things looked grim for PSG.LGD around the 23-minute mark, as Beastcoast were tearing through their bottom lane towers with momentum on their side and the Aegis of the Immortal on Chris Luck.

However, PSG.LGD skillfully waited out the Aegis and took care of the rest of Beastcoast's lineup before descending on Chris Luck's second life. Despite the overwhelming damage potential of the South American squad, their Chinese opponents deftly kited them down en route to the game-turning teamwipe.

With PSG.LGD looking to make a comeback, Beastcoast resolved to shut them down by picking off NothingToSay to kick off teamfights. But even if the Leshrac was repeatedly shut down, Ame put PSG.LGD on his back and simply cleaved through Beastcoast in consecutive clashes.

Despite Beastcoast's best efforts to regain control of the game, Ame's Sven had become far too powerful to stop. PSG.LGD's star carry player demolished their opponents in one last clash at the top lane to force the GG call at the 39-minute mark.

Ame finished game three with 13 kills and 12 assists against four deaths. Faith_bian also had an excellent showing, notching eight kills and 18 assists while only dying once.

With their victory, PSG.LGD have guaranteed themselves a 5th-6th place finish and over US$600,000 in winnings. The day is not yet over for them, however, as they will next face fellow Chinese powerhouse Team Aster for the right to be among the final four teams playing in TI11's Finals Weekend.

Meanwhile, Beastcoast bow out in 7th-8th place and with US$430,000 in consolation. While the team falls short of the ultimate goal, their admirable run at TI11 has further legitimized South America as a rising and competitive region in the Dota 2 world.

(Photo: Valve Software)
(Photo: Valve Software)

TI11 will be hosted in Singapore from 15 to 30 October and features a revamped format and a longer schedule.

TI11's Main Event will be a double-elimination bracket and is split into two phases, the first being held from 20 to 23 October while the second will take place from 29 to 30 October.

For everything you need to know about TI11, check here.

PSG.LGD roster:

  1. Wang "Ame" Chunyu

  2. Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang

  3. Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida

  4. Zhao "XinQ" Zixing

  5. Zhang "y`" Yiping

Beastcoast roster:

  1. Héctor "K1" Rodríguez

  2. Jean "Chris Luck" Gonzales

  3. Adrián "Wisper" Dobles

  4. Elvis "Scofield" Peña

  5. Steven "Stinger" Vargas

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