PSG.LGD eliminated from the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 China Open Qualifiers
PSG.LGD has been eliminated from the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 China Open Qualifiers after a shock clean sweep in the final series. Blaze, a stack consisting of no well-established players in the professional scene, sent PSG.LGD back to the showers in an amazing underdog victory.
The games were close and intense. PSG.LGD had the net-worth and experience advantage for most of the first game. But it all went downhill around the 38th minute when Blaze killed Shadow Fiend, Juggernaut, and Lich at the expense of their own Crystal Maiden. After that, they marched down the middle lane and destroyed the barracks. Shortly after, they killed Roshan and Mars picked up the aegis. Then they killed Tiny, Lich and Shadow Fiend and snowballed into victory.
The second game was similar. PSG.LGD had the advantage again in the first half of the game. But momentum started to turn around the 20-minute mark. Blaze won three team fights in succession, killed Roshan, and snagged aegis on Lifestealer. Then they marched into the enemy base, won a team fight without losing any heroes, and ended the game. The standout player was Xhd, who went 8 – 3 – 9 on Mars and 11 – 4 – 7 on Lifestealer. But it was an incredible team effort.
Axx, the most well-known player in the team, is now the first female Dota player to play at the highest level. Above all, it’s a feel-good story that hopefully encourages other female players to try and break into the professional scene. Axx and her teammates will have a chance to face the best teams in the ESL One Los Angeles China Closed Qualifiers to fight for a spot in the major or minor.
Unfortunately, there are two sides to every story. It has been one setback after another for PSG.LGD. First, they lost Wang ‘Ame’ Chunyu in a shock move to CDEC. Then they brought in Lai “AhJit” Jieshan, only to have him demoted and replaced with Li “ASD” Zhiwen after a mere five days. Now they have crashed out of the open qualifiers and will not have a chance to make an appearance at the ESL One Los Angeles 2020 Major or the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor. It might be time for a reshuffle or even a disband. Something isn’t working out and the organization is already determined to find a solution.
It will be interesting to see what happens next. Until then, there’s still plenty of Dota to enjoy. And with underdog teams becoming more competitive, the professional scene has never been healthier.
