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MATUMBAMAN and Liquid outlast Thunder Awaken to make TI11's Finals Weekend

MATUMBAMAN and Team Liquid outlasted Thunder Awaken in an epic 2-1 slugfest to make it to the Finals Weekend of The International 11. (Photos: Valve Software)
MATUMBAMAN and Team Liquid outlasted Thunder Awaken in an epic 2-1 slugfest to make it to the Finals Weekend of The International 11. (Photos: Valve Software)

Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen has extended his career to The International 11 (TI11) Finals Weekend.

The TI7 champion led Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) winner Team Liquid to an epic 2-1 victory over South American hopefuls Thunder Awaken and become one of the last four teams left standing in the battle for the Aegis of Champions.

Despite coming from the LCQ, Liquid looked dominant and finished with a 13-5 record to claim Group A's second seed as well as an upper bracket berth in the Main Event.

They didn't stay long in the upper bracket, however, as Team Aster knocked Liquid down to the lower bracket with a 2-0 sweep. MATUMBAMAN and his squad then knocked out fellow Western European teams Entity and OG to advance to the fourth round of the lower bracket.

Meanwhile, Thunder Awaken have arguably been the biggest surprise of TI11. They finished as the third seed of Group B with a solid 10-8 record then kicked off the Main Event with a massive upset over North American powerhouse Evil Geniuses.

However, Thunder Awaken's unexpected upper bracket run was ended by Team Secret in a 2-0 sweep, which knocked down to the fourth round of the lower bracket to face Liquid.

The series kicked off with one of the best games of the tournament so far, as Thunder Awaken managed to pull off a thrilling 57-minute comeback from Mega Creeps. Liquid shook off their loss in game one and quickly tied up the series with a convincing 35-minute victory in game two.

If game one of this series was already epic, then game three will go down in Dota 2 legend.

In an absolute rollercoaster of a game, Liquid outlasted Thunder Awaken in a 50-minute bloodbath to keep their tournament hopes alive.

With their victory, Liquid have guaranteed themselves a 4th place finish and over US$1 million in winnings. MATUMBAMAN now leads his team to TI11's Finals Weekend, where they will next face Team Aster in the lower bracket semifinals.

MATUMBAMAN is still determined to retire with his second Aegis of Champions, can he do it?

Meanwhile, Thunder Awaken end their run in 5th-6th place and with US$600,000 in consolation. With their exit, no more South Americans remain in contention for the Aegis.

While they fall short of the ultimate goal, Thunder Awaken have put the whole world on notice and gone farther than any other South American team had in the history of TI.

There will be five-day break before the Finals Weekend from 29 to 30 October. The penultimate day of TI11 will feature the upper bracket finals between Team Secret and Tundra Esports as well as the lower bracket semifinals.

A new Dota 2 world champion will then be crowned on 30 October, which will begin with the lower bracket finals. The Aegis of Champions will then be claimed by the winners of the best-of-five grand finals.

TI11 will be hosted in Singapore from 15 to 30 October and features a revamped format and a longer schedule.

For everything you need to know about TI11, check here.

Team Liquid roster:

(Photo: Valve Software)
(Photo: Valve Software)
  1. Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen

  2. Michael "miCKe" Vu

  3. Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg

  4. Samuel "Boxi" Svahn

  5. Aydin "iNSaNiA" Sarkohi

Thunder Awaken roster:

(Photo: Valve Software)
(Photo: Valve Software)
  1. Crhistian "Pakazs" Savina

  2. Gonzalo "Darkmago" Herrera

  3. Rafael "Sacred" Yonatan

  4. Farith "Matthew" Puente

  5. Jose "Pandaboo" Padilla

Otomo is a long-time gaming enthusiast and caster. He has been playing games since he was 10 and is the biggest Dota 2 fan.

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