LGD continues their dominance in Dota 2 League, topping the charts above both iG and DK. Only one match remains for LGD, that being against DK. Highlight of this D2L week being the DK vs Rstars match.
The Eastern division of Dota 2 League moves forward, the overall progression remains the same. LGD claims another victory and have won all of their matches so far, the only one remaining is vs DK which arguable is not really an easy victory to take. Winning that will guarantee LGD a spot at the offline playoffs in Las Vegas as the division winner is qualified straight to the playoffs. Positions two to five will play through a bubble race bracket to decide the other finalist from the East. DK and Invictus only has one loss each, but fewer wins than LGD. However they can still compete for the first place if they play in a flawless manner from now on. Vici Gaming are currently placed at a stable fourth whereas the fifth position still can be challenged.
The hero picks continues to trend towards early aggression and push heavy heroes, such as the now go-to-supports Crystal Maiden and Venomancer as well as Luna as main carry. Also heroes well suited for lots of action are heavily favored, such as Visage, Bounty Hunter, Mirana, Nightstalker and Timbersaw. All of the top three teams improved their record this week each winning two matches each, showing that the Chinese elite are adapting well to the new patch even if it took some teams longer to do so, as was the case with DK. In DK vs RisingStars, which was the best series of the week, they still showed signs of struggle but their individual skill and hero composition fought them back into the match versus the impressively playing RisingStars. Check out the the VOD for DK vs RisingStars, game 2.
Furthermore, other than some previously high tier picks getting phased out and some newer getting phased in, more players opt to pick Hand of Midas - no matter what hero they are playing, be it support, hard care or offlane. With a successful start of the game, some early kills and towers, players get a significant gold swing which they can use to get Midas to further increase their advantage.
RattleSnake claimed their first match victory of the tournament, beating RisingStars 2 to 1 earlier today. They might look to challenge for one of the bottom qualifying positions. TongFu on the other hand are running out games and might end up below the bar if other teams start stepping up. Their remaining match is vs RisingStars where they would need to secure a win in order to end at a better looking note.
Week four of D2L Season 4 will begin on the night to 4th of November with Vici Gaming versus RisingStars first. The Western Division is also starting on November 4th which is on Monday. All the VODs made available can be found in our coverage hub here.
