Every game has an iconic figure, in both regular sports or e-sports, someone who has made their mark not just on the sport, but also in the hearts of spectators. For Chinese DotA, that man is the iconic Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei or as he is popularly known in the community, B-God.
Many thought his best days were behind him, but on Monday, B-God made a comeback by winning the DotA 2 Asia Championships 2017 with the Chinese team Invictus Gaming.
iG came to DAC 2017, held in Shanghai, through the Chinese qualifiers. Though they were showing signs of life with their new roster, the team did not make the cut for a direct invite. Making it to a major LAN is just the first part of a grueling process. iG were thrust into group B, a group which also consisted of Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, iG Vitality, Newbee and team NP.
Most would have expected either Liquid or EG to top the difficult group, but iG had other plans. With a resurgent BurNIng, who won his last major tournament back in 2014, iG performed nearly flawlessly in their group and topped it.
Topping their group earned them a berth in the upper bracket of the main event. Beating Team Empire 2-1 in front of a roaring Chinese crowd, iG made it to the upper bracket finals to face OG. Even though they had been more than convincing in the group stages, the true test lay ahead as OG was the dominant team in group A and is also the team currently on top of the rankings.
Both teams went at each other as if it were their lives at stake, but in the end, OG emerged 2-1 victors after a series worthy of an upper bracket final. iG dropped to the lower bracket.
On the final day of the tournament, iG took on Newbee in the lower bracket final. Although game one was a tough one, Newbee looked lackluster on the whole and ended up losing 2-1 to iG, who were determined to take their revenge on OG. And take their revenge they did!
As the grand finals began, game one turned into an hour-long fest in which both teams had their ebbs and flows. A lethal mistake by OG, which was probably a result of losing patience, opened the floodgates for iG as they destroyed OG’s base and took game one.
Fueled by the momentum of this win, iG steam rolled OG in the next two games to take the best of five series 3-0 and left spectators all around the world with their jaws wide open.
Not even a gambling man would have bet on OG going down this easily, but it was just meant to be BurNIng’s week. iG had done their homework on OG’s play style and surprised their European adversaries with a few out of the blue tactics.
The crowd went bonkers as they saw their hero of olden times lift up the DAC trophy. This is a big step up for Chinese Dota, which had been languishing in the last few months. With the Kiev Major coming up in less than a month, we will soon know if this was a one off or if BurNIng and the boys really mean business!
