In a crucial group stage match at the WePlay AniMajor, Chinese icons PSG.LGD cliffed Evil Geniuses star Artour “Arteezy” Babaev three times.
PSG.LGD’s entire squad specifically targeted Arteezy throughout the series. Medusa is a hard-hitting but immobile hero, something PSG.LGD mid laner Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang took advantage of. By positioning perfectly on Magnus and Skewering at a specific distance, he was able to trap EG's strongest hero on a cliff on three occasions.
The first Cliffteezy moment came during a difficult team fight in PSG.LGD’s jungle. Evil Geniuses were already paying dearly for their aggressive move across the river and getting their carry effectively removed from the fight sealed their fate. They lost three heroes in the process, including Daryl “iceiceice” Koh Peng’s Dragon Knight.
Just minutes later, NothingToSay spotted another opportunity to cliff Arteezy on the exact same ward spot. Another perfectly positioned Skewer forced another teleport from Arteezy. He was able to rejoin the fight from Radiant's off-lane tower, but PSG.LGD’s mid laner wasn’t done yet.
Seeing the opportunity, he put Arteezy up one last time in the exact same spot. EG mid laner Abed Azel Yusop was already in the position to Force Staff Medusa back into the fight but the battle was lost by that point.
PSG.LGD support Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida later applied a spray from Evil Geniuses’ Supporter’s Club over the cliff, marking it as Arteezy’s turf. He even returned later to straighten it out. Supporter’s Club items have become the new voice lines in competitive Dota 2. Tons of teams have dished out trash talk, though this was the most poignant instance so far.
The best-of-two ended quickly in the Chinese team’s favor. PSG.LGD is the current group stage leader with a 10-2 record on maps. Evil Geniuses are currently slated for a lower bracket playoff berth at 6-6. Only two teams can qualify for the AniMajor upper bracket. The rest will begin the final stage just one loss from elimination.
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