MDL Chengdu Major’s Day 6 concluded with a third-round Lower Bracket rematch between Evil Geniuses and Team Liquid. Both teams met during the Group C’s Winners’ Match, where the European squad upset the North American juggernauts.
Game one
Right at the start of the match, EG maximized their aggressive core lineups. With the Night Stalker on Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and the Storm Spirit on Abed “Abed’ Yusop, the North American squad punished Team Liquid’s heroes, especially with a Phantom Lancer on Michael “miCKe” Vu who needed time to farm up.
EG continued to make moves around the map, which disrupted Team Liquid’s farm and item timings.
Abed had an amazing Storm Spirit game and was greatly supported by his teammates. Team Liquid often found themselves retreating after every engagement.
The game continued to get worse for Team Liquid. After being wiped out by EG at the bottom lane. Abed decided to Ball Lightning into the enemy fountain. Liquid responded by using their buybacks but this only cost EG the Aegis of the Immortal on Abed. With all of Liquid’s heroes back in the game, EG picked them off one by one and finished the game.
- MDL Chengdu Major Day 5: Invictus Gaming reverse sweeps Fnatic 2-1
- The story of [M]erody: Bren Esports Elite’s outstanding Dota 2 offlaner
Game two
The following game was similar to the previous one. EG put on the pressure on Liquid yet again, and this time the European team struggled even more.
It was surprising to see Team Liquid make mistakes in both games against EG. When they played Alliance in the previous series, they were more put-together and confident.
As a result, Arteezy and Abed proved to be too much for Team Liquid, as both players outplayed their opponents in game two.
EG eventually built up an overwhelming lead against Liquid and, at the 35-minute mark, the North American squad forced their opponents to call good game.
With a 2-0 victory over Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses has secured at least a Top 4 finish at the MDL Chengdu Major. They now await the winner of J.Storm versus Invictus Gaming.
During the previous 2018-2019 DPC season, EG often finished in third-place at Major events. They finished third in the Kuala Lumpur Major, the Chongqing Major, and the MDL Disneyland Major. Now, they’re two series wins away from reaching the Grand Finals and breaking their third-place curse.
Meanwhile, Team Liquid exited the Major in fifth/sixth place and earned themselves US$60,000 and 900 DPC points. Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi and the rest of the team had a good showing in their first Major under the Team Liquid banner. They even managed to completely outplay their former organization in a clean 2-0 sweep.
READ MORE: Into the Invitational: Team Liquid’s new roster has a chance to create their own legacy
