Team Spirit defeated PSG.LGD 3-1 at the Arlington Major grand finals after losing every single game to them.
Team Spirit and PSG.LGD crossed paths once again in a best of five (BO5) grand finals--previously at TI10 and now Arlington Major. Since defeating LGD in TI10, Team Spirit were not able to claim any victories off of them.
PHOTO CREDIT: Juan Valero/ESPAT
Not only did LGD pushed Team Spirit down to the lower bracket this Major, they also defeated them at Riyadh Masters grand finals, both series with a clean 2-0. But after all this time, Team Spirit were finally able to take their revenge against LGD and were crowned champions of Arlington Major. On the other hand, LGD once again found themselves losing a critical BO5 grand finals.
LGD presents the Ame Pudge show
In game one, Ame bulldozed Team Spirit with a carry Pudge. From the get go, Ame kept landing incredible hooks that helped LGD gain the upper hand. Even though Team Spirit had a few moments of respite through winning some key team fights, it was all for naught when LGD had a literal walking fortress that was enabled by a team composition designed to make plays happen. The pudge ended the game with a final score of 11-1-7.
A 60-minute game has finally landed!
The elusive 60-minute game that everyone had been waiting for finally arrived in game two. Both Team Spirit and LGD had good chances to win the game. The net worth advantage came to balance after seesawing between the two sides.
Between the y' Dazzle's clutch saves that led LGD to team wipe Team Spirit, or vice versa with the Yatoro Monkey King luring LGD into a bad fight at Roshan pit, it was not clear which team was going to come out on top every time a team fight occurred. In the end, Team Spirit prevailed after winning one last intense prolonged brawl. The game concluded at the 75-minute mark with Yatoro getting a Rampage.
A slow burn by Team Spirit
After getting their winds knocked out of them, both teams started practicing extreme caution in game three, which was evident in how low the kill score was. A measly total of 13 kills were accumulated 20 minutes into the game. Despite a slow game, Team Spirit managed to get ahead of LGD. The CoLLapse Beastmaster pummeled through all of LGD's towers while the Mira Zeus melted heroes, leading to LGD's early surrender within just 27 minutes. This is the second time LGD picked Naga Siren for Ame and lost.
HATERS WHERE ARE U NOW?
Just when LGD thought they were coming back with a vengeance, leading a better part of the early game with a strong 10k net worth advantage, Team Spirit put them back in their place. It was TI10 all over again. LGD played their hearts out but were doomed to repeat history after being pulled into bad fights time and time again. Before finishing the game, TORONTOTOKYO even dropped some extra spice in all chat, "HATERS WHERE ARE U NOW?" which was presumably directed to people watching the game.
The long journey of Arlington Major has finally come to an end. But there will be two more exciting tournaments coming up before the pinnacle TI11: Gamers Galaxy HatYai starting August 18 and ESL One Malaysia starting August 23. Be sure to check esports.gg for more information.
