CDEC Gaming and Evil Geniuses are the teams to beat at the International Dota 2 Championships as both continued their good form with victories on Day Three of the Seattle eSport event.
China-based CDEC remain the tournament's surprise package after toppling the number one team from their country, LGD Gaming, by two games to nil, guaranteeing at least a third-place finish.
#TI5 HIGHLIGHT: @CDECgaming's Xz cliffs three heroes with one Vacuum: http://t.co/pJ9DLz3BTk pic.twitter.com/3TswYBwVUP
— theScore eSports (@theScoreeSports) August 6, 2015
Xz was their standout player, with a flawless performance on Dark Seer that LGD had no response to, allowing Agressif to press home their advantage in the deciding game of this Upper Bracket contest.
Home favourite Evil Geniuses remain America's best chance of securing the top prize after they saw off EHOME by two matches to one in the Upper Bracket.
Aggressive play and effective teamwork from Storm Spirit and Luna saw EHOME wrap up the opening game within half an hour, but some tactical play with Techies turned the tide for the Geniuses in Game Two.
Game three came down to lineup choices, with EHOME naming a familiar roster led by Winter Wyvern and Phoenix, and Evil Geniuses shaking things up.
That techies net worth HAHAHAHAHAHA http://t.co/0c6OYRPgj6
— Dota 2 International (@D2International) August 6, 2015
With SumaiL on Windranger mid-lane, the US team were able to exploit their opponents' lack of mobility and wrap up Game Three to secure victory in the series.
In the Lower Bracket, Virtus Pro came from behind to defeat compLexity Gaming 2-1.
The American outfit pulled off one of the biggest comebacks of the tournament so far in the first game, clawing back from a deficit of more than 12,000 gold, but the Russians looked in control throughout the second and third as they staged a turnaround of their own.
Also in the Lower Bracket, Team Secret fought their way back from near-elimination by defeating Invictus Gaming 2-1 in a hard-fought contest.
Mark Langshaw
