After The International 2019, PSG.LGD decided to take a short break and skipped the first Major of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit Season. However, since then, the team has struggled to perform consistently.

At first, PSG.LGD tried to improve their fortunes by implementing some last-minute roster changes, but this only ended up in the team missing out on the first three DPC Major/Minor events after disappointing results in the open bracket qualifiers.

Recently, however, PSG.LGD has been dominating again, culminating in a 3-0 victory over Vici Gaming in the WeSave! Charity Play tournament followed by an undefeated run at the China Dota 2 Professional League where they beat Royal Never Give Up and Invictus Gaming on their way to the Grand Final where they bested Vici Gaming yet again.

How did the team manage to turn things around? Here are five changes the team had to make.

1. Moved Chalice from the offlane to the hard carry position

Yang “Chalice” Shenyi has excelled in his new role in the hard carry position, providing the team with consistent and world-class safelane performances against high-level competition.

Chalice has also proven he is a more suitable hard carry player than Lai Jay “Ahjit” Son and Li “ASD” Zhiwen, who were both previously assigned to replace Wang “Ame” Chunyu.

If you need proof of why Chalice playing hard carry is working for PSG.LGD, just look at their match against Invictus Gaming during the Upper Bracket Final of the China Dota 2 Professional League Season 1, where Chalice’s Phantom Lancer finished the first game with a perfect 10/0/11 KDA.

2. Added eLeVeN as the team’s new offlaner

PSG.LGD managed to pick up a world-class offlaner in Ren “eLeVeN” Yangwei on loan from EHOME. eLeVeN’s has made multiple clutch plays that have given the team the edge they need to take control of key games.

While eLeVeN has been an excellent addition in his own right, what makes him such a perfect fit for PSG.LGD is his favored hero pool of Mars, Timbersaw, and Bristleback is a perfect fit for the team’s playstyle as the tanky hero pool gives Chalice and Lu “Somnus`M” Yao opportunities to jump in and make plays.

3. Gave Fy the time he needed to recover from surgery

After The International 2019, PSG.LGD’s team captain, Xu “fy” Linsen took a three-month break to recover from eye surgery. When fy returned, his game was not at the same legendary level PSG.LGD fans were accustomed to.

Rather than bench fy or put more pressure on him, the team stood by him and gave him the team he needed to get back into form.

fy repaid their confidence in him with incredible performances at the team’s most recent tournaments, which included a ridiculous 11/1/13 statline against Vici Gaming in the WeSave! Charity Play China Final.

4. Experiment with new strategies that fit the current meta

When PSG.LGD came back from their post-TI break, the team looked lost and confused, especially in the post-Outlanders meta.

However, in the 7.25b patch, the team has noticeably been more willing to experiment with new strategies, even in big game situations. They’ve run middle lane Earth Spirit picks for Somnus and tricked enemy teams by having Chalice played a Nature’s Prophet in their safelane, while eLeVeN went with a Bristleback on the offlane that caught teams off-guard.

5. Play as many tournaments as possible

There’s no doubt that PSG.LGD’s long post-TI break cost them heavily. The team looked rusty when they returned and had to slog through Open Qualifiers.

However, the team is now seizing every opportunity to play against top-ranked teams, playing both the WeSave! Charity Play Tournament and the China Dota 2 Professional League within the last two weeks.

With wins in both tournaments, the results clearly speak for themself.

PSG.LGD is currently competing in the ESL One Los Angeles China Regional League online.

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