Dire Dota
Fansided

Invictus Gaming: out of luck, misses third consecutive Top 4 entering TI7

By Jor'El "Sheen Sah" Jones

Image courtesy of dotawallpaper.org
Image courtesy of dotawallpaper.org /
facebooktwitterreddit

Having claimed only $42,500 out of a possible $487,500 (8.7%), Invictus Gaming appears to be out of luck heading into TI7. iG was strong at the start of 2017, handling their business in Chinese qualifiers. I’m not claiming they’re weak at the moment. I’m just saying they’ve lost something special. Invictus Gaming hasn’t looked the same since April, when they 3-0’d OG in the finals of the Dota 2 Asia Championships before a Top 4 finish in Kiev.

Out of luck at the moment

We know iG is capable of winning any series, but that only makes the results more critical when they lose. Falling to new squads like Team NP (now Cloud9) is worrisome. Getting swept in the losers’ round 2 of the Manila Masters was a big red flag. Teams that have little expectations have made easy work of Invictus Gaming post-April. LGD Gaming is another example of an unacceptable loss. LGD swept iG 2-0 in the Summit 7 Chinese qualifier.

The second quarter of 2017 has been a new chapter in the Invictus Gaming story. iG has been a stepping stone for smaller, better prepared, teams. NP and LGD both made their biggest statements against Invictus Gaming before carrying that momentum into their TI7 qualifiers. Personally, I disagree that LGD should be at TI7 because China has too many teams there. However, that’s a topic to discuss on Twitter or in the comments below.

At EPICENTER 2017, iG went 5-5 overall to reach the playoffs before losing in the opening round against Team Secret. The match was a 2-0 sweep. The Mars Dota 2 League wasn’t much easier for Invictus. Eight teams competed in the group stage, and iG ended in 7th Place (ahead of only Clutch Gamers, tied with Vici Gaming). iG met Vici in the opening playoff round, and won 2-0 before meeting Newbee and losing 2-1.

What do you think? Is Invictus Gaming out of luck or just out of form? What’s going to happen for them at The International next month? Reach out on Twitter and let me know. Visit #LetsTalkDota for daily topics to tweet about.

Home/Dota 2