This article is part of our Dota 2 series.
The Invictus Gaming organization secured both Chinese invites to the Kiev Major in Kiev, Ukraine this April, with iG Vitality taking the first on Monday and the main Invictus Gaming squad winning the final slot on Tuesday.
With Newbee and Wings receiving China's two direct invitations for Kiev, the main qualifiers featured a slew of familiar faces, including multiple squads from LGD, Invictus Gaming and Vici Gaming. Although each organization fielded two teams, only Invictus Gaming managed to get both through to the playoffs. They were joined by CDEC Gaming and Vici Gaming to battle for China's two remaining tickets to Kiev.
The first team to qualify was iG Vitality. Going into the round robins as a favorite to advance, iG Vitality encountered some early struggles and found itself fighting for the final playoff slot in a pair of tiebreakers against Vici Gaming Potential and LGD Gaming. After winning both tiebreaker matches, iG Vitality went on to sweep CDEC in the first round of playoffs, and secure itself a spot in the winner's final against the main Invictus Gaming squad. After an intense three game series, iG Vitality defeated its sister squad 2-1, sending Invictus Gaming to the lower bracket and earning itself a trip to Kiev. iG Vitality's last appearances on the main stage ended in two last place finishes at the Boston Major and Starladder iLeague Season 3, respectively. This trip to Kiev is a sorely needed chance for iG Vitality to prove itself against international competition.
The battle for the last spot at the Kiev Major came down to Vici Gaming and Invictus Gaming. With Leong "ddc" Fat-meng on Vici and Xu "BurNIng" Zhilei on Invictus, both teams brought years of competitive experience into the final qualifier game. With everything on the line, both teams played extremely carefully. The first two games were very close, neither team gaining a notable lead until around 25 minutes. After trading wins in the first two games, it all came down to Game 3. Invictus went for the popular but risky carry Vengeful Spirit strategy, banking on BurNIng's ability to lead them to an early win. Things went exactly as planned for Invictus, who smashed Vici on the way to a 24-minute win. This was a disappointing end to Vici's qualifier run, but a deserved win for Invictus who will join its sister team iG Vitality in Kiev.
