The Chinese have had a difficult time in the early stages of the Shanghai Major. EHOME, Vici Gaming and CDEC are all entering the main event through the lower bracket. In group C, the last match is deciding which of the Chinese teams will be the first to play in the upper-bracket.
Game 1.
Newbee picked a lineup of pushing heroes, including Pugna, Beastmaster and Chen, aiming to take objectives in the mid game. LGD on the other hand, picked heroes who scale better towards the lategame.
Beginning the first game, some early roaming by the MMY Bounty Hunter is pressuring the Hao Morphling very hard, stealing his runes. Newbee was surprisingly falling behind in the lane stage, LGD also went for Hand of Midas on both the Lone Druid and the Slark. Newbee started to push towers around 9 minutes into the game, as LGD is waiting for Sylar to get his radiance. LGD is having trouble defending whenever ravage is on cooldown. Sylar keeps farming, letting Newbee take tier one and tier two towers in the mid and bottom -lane.
At the 20 minute mark LGD´s core heroes looks a lot stronger than those on the side of Newbee, who can no longer fight LGD head on.
At 30 minutes LGD positions themselves around Roshan and Newbee are forced to act but retreat quickly. Chuan's Chen was chased down and killed before LGD go back to the pit finishing the Roshan. Aegis is reclaimed from Maybe's Slark before LGD get any objectives.
The gold graph was about even up until the 40 minute mark, where LGD are getting ahead by a 10k gold difference. The side of Newbee are relying on Haos Morphling which is at this point completely stacked and is being buffed by the many auras of Beastmaster and Chen's ancient creeps.
Morphling was brought down on the bottom lane by a blink ravage from rOtK paired with lots of damage from Maybe´s Slark. LGD quickly rushes down the mid lane, forcing Hao to buyback. Hao does buy back and LGD quickly backs off. Hao creates a pushing wave of creeps on the top lane, while the rest of Newbee runs up the middle lane towards the Dire highground. Newbee fights LGD right outside the dire base but Hao runs off focusing the LGD top barracks and successfully brings them down. LGD, while getting their barracks destroyed on top lane, is winning the fight in mid. After this fight LGD pushing the middle lane all the way, taking the Radiant´s middle and bottom barracks. Desperate, Hao uses his Boots of Travel to attack the bottom barracks of LGD, again successfully. Both teams are now down two lanes of barracks. And the game could be won by "rat-style", base-race.
Just before the one hour mark, Hao´s Morphling gets caught and killed on the bottom lane by the Maybe Slark. Hao buys back but LGD quickly attacks the Newbee base and manages to bring down the Newbee throne under the noses of Newbee who could not stand agains the very farmed cores in Lone Druid and Slark. First game goes to LGD, who’s core heroes were unstoppable.
Game 2.
Sylar on his signature Lone Druid has a great start getting a double kill very early on the mid lane on the Mu-Tiny and the le Io. Hao of course, playing the farming carry role on his Juggernaut gets killed multiple times to Lone Druid Root and to Disruptor Glimpse combination, leaving him trailing behind on the net worth. At 15 minutes Hao is 3k gold behind Sylar who is farming at light speed towards his Radiance.
A big fight breaks out at the 21 minute mark when LGD pushes the mid tower. LGD is successful, killing the cores on the side of Newbee.
Mu on his Tiny is starting to increase his rate of farm after the pick-up of his Aghanim’s Scepter around the 20 minute mark. But unfortunately for the side of Newbee, Hao dies again to the DDC Disruptor´s Glimpse combo, and that was the beginning to the end for Newbee as Sylar charges right down the mid-lane. Quickly destroying the mid barracks before killing all of Newbee’s heroes who calls gg.
LGD and especially Sylar are looking great and dominated the second game. 2-0 to the side of LGD who will play the main event on the fortunate upper-bracket. Newbee will continue their struggle in the lower bracket.
This ends the third day of the Shanghai Major and Group C.
