OG Wins The International 2019

You red that right, ladies and gentlemen, OG wins The International 2019. For the first time in Dota 2 history, a team became back-to-back champions.

What an incredible series of games put on display as part of the best of 5 Grand Final. Find out just what in the world happened.

“OG, OG, OG!”

At the start of the tournament, you would scarcely have thought it possible. OG’s form had been intermittent in the run-up to TI. Some shocking drafts and some disappointing finishes were, it seems, just practice for their dominance of the mainstage at The International.

Image courtesy of OG

OG faced off against Team Liquid in the Grand Final in a best of 5 series. Liquid took game one in a swings and roundabouts game. For reasons beyond understanding, Anathan “ana” Pham held on to his buyback while OG’s throne was under siege. This cost them dearly as, when he did use it, it was already too late. Liquid swept game one away.

However, this was to be the last success Liquid would enjoy at TI9.

OG, in arguably the most dominant performance in the history of TI Grand Finals’, blitzed the next THREE games in sub-30 minutes. The casting team could barely believe what they were seeing. Owen “ODPixel” Davies, who had the privilege of casting the Grand Final, showered OG with praise upon their victory.

“They are so far ahead of anyone else who plays this game for a living.”

Image courtesy of Valve and OG

It really does not get better than that for OG. Not only are they the first-ever back-to-back TI champions, but they are also the first players ever to win the Aegis more than once. No player in history has ever won the coveted grand prize more than one time, until this tournament.

Anathan “ana” Pham, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, Sébastien “7ckngMad” Debs, Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka and captain Johan “N0tail” Sundstein walk away with their share of over $15M US. This is in addition to the over $11M they won for taking first place last year.

If this wasn’t enough, they also achieved this with a core IO and a Gyrocopter with Diffusal Blade in the final game. It was a masterclass of Dota 2. OG wins the International 2019.

OG Wins, But What About Team Secret?

A little footnote here to address the elephant in the room. If you bought a ticket on the hype train then you were almost certain that this was supposed to be Team Secret’s year. But what happened?

Image courtesy of Valve and Team Secret

After getting knocked down into the Lower Bracket early in the tournament in a shock loss, Team Secret had their work cut out for them. They battled all the way through to top 3 playoff spot where they faced Team Liquid. Liquid, of course, started in the Lower Bracket, much to everyone’s surprise.

Liquid took a convincing game 1, but game 2 was a lot closer. In a chaotic and protracted fight in the mid lane, Team Secret looked to be on top, but it was not to be. Liquid worked their huge net worth advantage in their favor and won the war of attrition, turning the fight around. They then marched up the mid lane and broke Team Secret’s hearts, eliminating them from The International 2019.

Just pretend this article doesn’t exist, okay…?

Final Thoughts: OG Wins The International 2019

Aaaaaaaand breathe. It’s all over. OG wins TI9 and the crowd goes wild.

The boys from OG have made history this year. The world can’t wait to see how OG, who have kept exactly the same draft since last year, go on to further success. Three-time champions?

However, if you believe with the end of TI that all the excitement for Dota 2 is spent, you’re very wrong. Snapfire is just around the corner.

p.s. 5000 points from the bracket predictions this year. It could have been worse…

What was your highlight of the final day of TI? Are you happy with the OG win? Now’s the time to have your say in the comments.

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