Yesterday, we reported that Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD were hanging by thread in the ongoing The International 2022. That’s because both Dota 2 teams were relegated to the Lower Bracket. On the second day of the playoffs, EG had no choice but to say goodbye while PSG.LGD got to stay for one more day.
Live to Fight
PSG.LGD was the team that a lot of fans were projecting to reach at least the Grand Final. It was a surprise to many when they were dropped to the Lower Bracket.
With their backs against the wall, motivation pushed the team to find their stride and beat BOOM Esports. BOOM was heading to the match on the heels of a great win against defending champion Team Spirit.
In the first game, PSG.LGD went with Monkey King for Wang "Ame" Chunyu and Kunkka for Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang. BOOM, meanwhile, chose Mars for Erin "Yopaj" Ferrer and Lifestealer for Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong. During the game, it was eventually made clear that the draft of PSG.LGD was simply better than that of BOOM. In the end, PSG.LGD had 15 team kills while BOOM only managed four.
In the second game, BOOM decided to continue having a stable lineup but this time, they made sure it would have power. Thus, they chose Kunnka, Death Prophet, and Bloodseeker. For PSG.LGD, it was Ame on Drow Ranger and NothingToSay on Ember Spirit.
BOOM had a good start, but it was Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida on Visage that turned the tides. BOOM tried a last-ditch effort through a team fight that eventually went the way of PSG.LGD.
With the win, PSG.LGD moves to the next stage of the competition while BOOM takes home about $340,000 in prize money.
The Big Choke
Despite being in the Lower Bracket, fans were still hoping that EG could work their way up to the Grand Final. After all, that happened with Team Liquid and Team Spirit, and both even won the tournament and carried the Aegis. It was a North versus South as EG took on Beastcoast.
In the first game, Beastcoast started strong with Elvis "Scofield" Peña on Snapfire. The heavy damage that it could deal during the early game was too much for EG. Indeed, the North American team had trouble getting back into the game. It didn't help that Adrián "Wisper" Dobles on Mars had a good performance.
The second game felt that EG had found an answer to the problem that was Beastcoast. EG's Artour "Arteezy" Babaev on Lifestealer was actually doing good. However, Beastcoast took it slow and didn't rush things. Eventually, it was the South American team that came out on top.
With the loss, there are no more teams from North America in the tournament.
What did you think of the performance of Evil Geniuses for TI? You can read more about what happened in the Upper Bracket here.
