This article is part of our Dota 2 Recap series.
The group stages of the Dota 2 Asia Championships wrapped up Wednesday, setting up the brackets for the main event. With upper bracket seeding still on the line entering the final day of group stage competition, there was plenty on the line for prospective teams.
With its top spot in Group A secured on the second day of competition, OG went for two experimental drafts in its game against VG.J. OG drafted a very unusual Nyx Assassin middle for Anathan "Ana" Pham in Game 1, predictably losing its only game of the group stages. OG drafted a much more comfortable lineup for themselves in Game 2 and came away with the victory to split the series.
The second-place spot in Group A came down to one of the final scheduled matches of the day, Team Empire vs. Wings. Empire only needed one win to lock down its spot in the upper bracket, and it proved up to the task by splitting its series with Wings, sending the opposition down to the lower bracket.
Empire lost Game 1, but came roaring back in Game 2 with a strong draft centered around a Rostislav "fn" Lozovoi Slark. Despite losing out on the CIS invitation to the Kiev Major, Empire have secured themselves a challenging match against Invictus Gaming in the upper bracket of the main event this Friday.
In Group B, Invictus Gaming won two very convincing games against Evil Geniuses, both cementing its first-place spot in the group and ensuring that EG will start the main event in the lower bracket. So far iG has looked extremely impressive on LAN. The team's drafting has been excellent, and in-game every position has been delivering.
Group B came down to a battle for second place between Newbee and Team NP. In order to take second place NP only had to win one of the two games, while Newbee had to win out to secure an upper bracket spot. Newbee proved themselves as the more capable team, advancing to a difficult match against OG on the opening day of the main event.
The final battle for seeding came down to a best-of-one between Team Liquid and NP. The winner of this match would get to choose its opponent in the cutthroat first round of the lower bracket, best-of-one elimination matches. Both teams went for classic comfort carries; Anti-Mage for NP and Naga Siren for Liquid. The game ended in spectacular fashion with NP's Divine Rapier Anti-Mage facing down mega creeps, but in the end Liquid won out and took third place in Group B.
The Dota 2 Asia Championships continue on Friday starting at 10:00 p.m. EST.
