Three HP. Three HP made all the difference between Invictus Gaming and Royal Never Give Up, who kicked off their 2021/2022 Dota Pro Circuit China (DPC CN) campaign in style.
RNG picked up a tense 2-1 victory against Invictus Gaming, where new superstar midlaner Lu “Somnus” Yao led the team to a game three win off the back of a farmed Lina.
RNG Somnus’ rampage secures win over IG in DPC CN
The third game started with Royal Never Give Up on the back foot as they lost both side lanes to a safelane Razor and offlane Outworld Devourer.
Somnus however, managed to capitalize on a favorable matchup in mid—Lina versus Zhou “Emo” Yi’s Ember Spirit—and stayed on top of the net worth throughout the game.
Still, Somnus’ riches meant little to three farmed cores on the IG side. Pan “Frisk” Yi’s Lion did well in keeping him down, while a Divine Rapier purchase on Emo seemingly had RNG’s fate sealed.
Losing fight after fight pushed Somnus to buy his own Rapier in a desperate defense. As IG sought to end the game in the Radiant base, going all-in on Lina—they couldn’t foresee what was to happen next.
After the miraculous rampage, a short-handed IG attempted to defend their base. They came close to taking down Somnus, but RNG’s superior numbers were enough to finish off the Ancient to secure a hard-fought first series win in the upper division of DPC CN.
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JT’s unique Abbadon build was the highlight of game one
The first game’s unexpected star was an unconventional Abbadon build (Phase Boots > Manta Style > Blink Dagger) from Invictus Gaming’s Thiay “JT-” Jun Wen that proved to be a surprisingly effective and low-commitment initiation.
Manta illusions work with Abbadon’s Curse of Avernus, rendering opposing heroes impotent after a few right-clicks. Blink Dagger allowed him to jump in fearlessly, triggering important defensive items, all while Abbadon’s natural bulk, Borrowed Time, and Io’s healing made room for fearless plays.
In one minute, JT-‘s build contributed to two key pickoffs on Royal Never Give Up’s top two cores, putting IG far ahead.
The game was an otherwise straightforward victory, with some Zhou “Emo” Yi Storm Spirit flashes and Tiny doing Tiny things—shredding buildings and heroes.
Invictus Gaming will look to redeem themselves in the DPC CN with a series against EHOME on January 7, 1 p.m. GMT +8 | January 6, 9 p.m. PT | 5 a.m. GMT.
RNG will try and continue their winning ways against LBZS on January 9, 4 p.m. GMT +8 | 12 a.m. PT | 8 a.m. GMT.
Catch the games live on Perfect World’s official Twitch channel.
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