PSG.LGD - Aiming Higher

That is actually the story of PSG.LGD’s time in Dota 2. At TI2 they shocked the world by going undefeated all the way up to the winners’ bracket finals, a feat that has never been replicated. They were led by Xiao8, a player so revered for his leadership that he earned the nickname “The Director” for the way things always seemed to go exactly as he had planned. For the next two years, LGD would be one of the strongest teams in China, winning the G-1 Champions League over TI2 winner IG and teams like EG, and DK.

Things can never stay the same however and shortly after TI3 big changes were made within LGD. Xiao8 and Sylar both left the team and to replace them the fresh faces of Rabbit and Lin came in. It was a period of growth for LGD as the rookies’ experience in Dota was dwarfed by the legendary names that were still in the scene at the time. Weeks turned into months and the fruit of their labor started to become apparent. This culminated in a respectable 5th/6th place finish at TI4 but it was clear there was still more work to be done if LGD wanted to claim the Aegis as their own.

Soon LGD had a totally revamped roster. Sylar was back along with Yao, a rising star in InJuly, MMY, and eventually Xiao8 once again. They made one more roster move and brought in Maybe, a player who was being touted as being one of the best mid-laners in the world. With his addition LGD became a serious force to be reckoned with once again.

In the lead up to TI5 LGD was undisputedly the strongest team in China. They were dominating domestically and whenever they ran into international competition they would usually come out on top.

At TI5 they once again topped their group, going 12-2 and proceeded to look strong throughout the playoffs. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be that year as they ran into the strongest roster NA has ever fielded in EG. EG put a stop to LGD’s run and they were once again forced to settle with a third-place finish. More roster moves followed, as they always do in the post-TI cycle, and it would not be until TI7 that we would see LGD once again rise to the top.

In 2017 QQQ was brought in as the coach to get LGD back on the right track. He was an experienced player who had played in the finals of TI4 and his experience would be instrumental in helping LGD regain their former glory. At TI7 many were surprised when LGD made their lower bracket run. Crushing DC, OG, and IG until finally meeting their match in Team Liquid. Once again, a rebuild was in the works for LGD and they were able to acquire three key players in quick succession.

Fy joined the team first to play in the offlane but after a few months Chalice joined and fy moved to his former supporting role. xNova joined shortly after and you could see things just clicked. On April 18th LGD formed a partnership with the French football giants Paris Saint-Germain and were henceforth known as PSG.LGD. The name wasn’t the only thing that was different about them though.

The team was so different in how they played that they went from struggling internationally to taking 2nd place at DAC. Spectators wondered if it was just a one-off event for a new team that was going through their honeymoon period. And then PSG.LGD won Epicenter XL and followed that with the MDL Changsha Major. PSG.LGD were headed into TI8 the strongest they had ever looked.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck in the grand finals and PSG.LGD lost in an incredibly close 3-2 series against OG after being up 2-1 in the series and on the verge of winning both Game 4 and Game 5. Once again PSG.LGD had just barely missed the mark but unlike previous years there was no reshuffle after TI. Ame, Maybe (now known as Somnus`m), Chalice, fy, and xNova stuck together and have continued to compete together to this very day. PSG.LGD has remained the strongest team in China and will once again be attempting to leave their mark at TI9. The tournament this year will be coming to home soil for the members of PSG.LGD and what better place is there to immortalize their names than at home in Shanghai?

It may sound somewhat obvious but having a good captain is paramount in Dota 2. You need to be able to trust that your shot-caller knows what he is doing and because of that we’ve often seen most captains play less of an active role during games, often playing simpler heroes that allow them to micromanage their team while paying less attention to themselves. But there are exceptions to every rule and fy is that exception. His Earthshaker and Sand King have both secured PSG.LGD wins with plays that would be on highlight reels for generations if Dota 2 did that sort of thing. Fy is one of the most active captains in Dota 2. He is not satisfied to sit back and let his team carry him, instead he is an active part of initiating team fights or counter-initiating to save his allies. While doing all of this he is also keeping them on track, making sure they are prioritizing the right objectives and making sure his team feels confident that they can make the right moves around the map.

We can not stress how unusual fy’s style of leadership is. He is closest to s4, Alliance’s old captain who used to play mid and would dictate the pace of the game himself as he knew exactly how far he could push his hero. Fy is very much the same except with much less farm priority. He is a superstar for what we see him accomplish with his Tusk and Rubick and yet the fact that he is also leading his team is often understated. Make no mistake, Ame and Maybe no doubt take over during certain parts of the game, as all cores do if they feel they are strong at certain moments or need more time to finish crucial items. Without any of them it would be hard to imagine PSG.LGD being quite as successful as they have been. But fy is the one who unites them and brings them together to make sure everyone sticks to the game plan.

With each player being one part of a greater whole, we can’t wait to see what they accomplish at TI9. With how close they have all been to claiming the Aegis in the past, you can bet they don’t want to let another opportunity pass them by.