PGL's one million dollar tournament marks Xtreme Gaming's fifth international competition this year and their third grand finals spot. However, this is the first tournament where the Chinese team has been truly unbeatable. On their path to the grand finals, XG clean-swept G2.iG, Team Spirit, and Team Falcons.
Xtreme Gaming vs. Team Falcons
A month ago, Xtreme Gaming defeated Team Falcons in the grand finals of Elite League. Since then, the MENA representatives bounced back and claimed the ESL One Birmingham trophy, while Xtreme Gaming finished only in the top 8 in Germany. Heading into PGL Wallachia, Falcons had to bring Leon “Nine” Krilin out of retirement to stand in for Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak in the mid-lane.
Despite this, Falcons were the only team besides XG to swiftly navigate the modified Swiss group stage format, securing the three victories needed for a playoff spot. Even with Nine, who was previously playing in the support position before his break from competitive Dota, the Falcons displayed the same strong form they had in Birmingham up until the upper bracket finals.
In game one against XG, Falcons held a comfortable 10K gold lead but the Chinese team relied on their late-game potential with Bristleback in the carry position, an offlane Viper who became a menace upon reaching Universal status at level 25, and Zhao "XinQ" Zixing on Marci, one of his favorite heroes.
XG mounted a full comeback in the last 10 minutes of the game, thanks to spot-on initiations from XinQ and incredible team fight control with his Marci.
Game two was more of a stomp for the Chinese team, who snowballed their way to the grand finals with a carry Clinkz.
Although the Falcons were defeated, they are not out of contention for what could be their fourth tournament title. Today’s loss to XG sends Team Falcons to the lower bracket finals, where they will face the winner of the G2.iG vs. Team Spirit lower bracket semifinals.
PGL Wallachia Season 1 final day will commence this coming Sunday, May 19, with the lower bracket finals scheduled for 10:00 CEST, followed by the Bo5 grand finals at 14:00 CEST.