Similar to the previous day, MDL Chengdu Major Day 7 concluded with yet another revenge match between two teams who met earlier in the tournament.

This time, it was a Lower Bracket semifinal match between Evil Geniuses and Invictus Gaming, and both teams had met earlier in the tournament during the Upper Bracket quarterfinal where EG swept the Dota Summit 11 Minor champions 2-0.

Game one

EG decided to draft the Position 1 Night Stalker, a hero that’s been popular in the tournament. In response, iG countered with defensive heroes along with the Disruptor.

The Chinese home team was completely prepared for EG, and they took a commanding 13-1 kill lead. iG dominated their lanes and made the game difficult for EG.

With the Stampede ultimate and Nimbus, iG outmaneuvered EG during full team engagements. The North American squad conceded map control and was forced to retreat back into their base.

Artour “Arteezy” Babaev had a difficult game with the Night Stalker, since iG had multiple ways to control the hero. After winning a few more team fights, iG pushed into the Dire base and ended game one.

Game two

After being dominated in game one, an eager EG squad decided to draft similar heroes in the following game. But, with a few adjustments this time, they gave Roman “Ramzes666” Kushnarev the Night Stalker on the offlane.

In response, Invictus Gaming drafted the Disruptor again. And, to complement the hero, they went with a Naga Siren on Jin “flyfly” Zhiyi.

EG started the game with a better laning stage compared to the previous game, being able to make more impactful team rotations that caught iG off-guard.

With the change, both Abed “Abed” Yusop and Ramzes666 had an amazing game. They maximized Ember Spirit and Night Stalker’s hero abilities and maintained the pressure all throughout the game.

After EG sieged the radiant base, the North American squad overextended their stay in the enemy base, and lost their core heroes — and even spent a crucial buyback on their Lifestealer.

However, as the game progressed, EG continued to get the better exchanges. Eventually, they were able to even up the series 1-1 and force a series-deciding game three.

Game three

In the third game, iG chose the overlooked Monkey King hero for flyfly, and a surprise pick in the form of a Storm Spirit for Zhou “Emo” Yi. The Chinese home team dominated the first 15 minutes of the game and continued to snowball as the game went on.

iG amassed an 11,000 gold lead at the 27-minute mark and completed their Black King Bars on their core heroes. This only made things worse for EG, as they lacked the control to match iG.

With the Aegis of the Immortal advantage on Emo, iG kept outlasting EG in team fights. The North American squad failed to lock down their opponents or deal enough damage to equalize the game. As a result, after wiping out EG at the Dire Shrine, iG ran into the enemy base and finished the series.

With their 2-1 win over Evil Geniuses, Invictus Gaming secured themselves a Top 3 spot at the MDL Chengdu Major. They’re now set to face TNC Predator in a Losers’ Final match on the last day of the tournament.

IG is now one series win away from achieving an all-Chinese team final at the MDL Chengdu Major, as Vici Gaming advanced to the grand final after defeating TNC 2-0.

Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses exit the tournament in fourth place, earning themselves US$80,000 and 1,350 DPC points.

READ MORE: MDL Chengdu Major Day 7: VG knock down TNC, 2-0, to advance to the finals