The International 2018's Day 3 and Day 4 saw incredible action. Both days were filled with some action-packed matches. The biggest shock had to be Virtus Pro getting eliminated from the tournament.
Virtus Pro was the bookmaker's favourite to win the 8th edition of the tournament. Although it is the year of the Chinese, people expected VP to finally win The International. But in a shocking turn of events, Evil Geniuses took down VP 2-0 in the lower bracket to eliminate the pre-tournament favourites.
On the other hand, OG has gone straight to secure a Top 3 spot in an amazing performance in the Upper Brackets. Let's have a closer look at the last two day's actions:
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Upper Brackets
In the Upper Bracket semifinals, PSG.LGD faced Team Liquid while Evil Geniuses were matched up against old rivals OG. The winning teams would qualify for the Upper Bracket finals and top 3, while the losing teams will fall down to the Lower Bracket Semifinals.
While OG and EG defied all expectations to reach this stage, people expected Liquid and PSG to qualify this far.
Semi-Final Game 1: PSG.LGD beats Team Liquid 2-0
In an epic series of Dota, PSG beat Liquid in two consecutive games to secure a Top 3 finish and establish themselves as the number 1 favourite to win the competition. Ever since the start of the tournament, people had earmarked 3 teams to win The International- Virtus Pro, Liquid and PSG.LGD.
PSG beat both the other teams 2-0 in consecutive games. Each game took just over half an hour and PSG sent Liquid down to the Lower Brackets.
Click here to watch the highlights.
Semi-Final Game 2: OG beats EG 2-1
The Green Dream and The boys in blue, two old rivals found themselves locking horns in the Upper Bracket semi-finals. A couple of years ago, no one would have been surprised by this result but in 2018, this shocked everyone. OG took the win and made the top 3 against all odds.
This is OG's best ever performance in TI history. They beat EG in 3 gruelling games and in over 2 hours of top-level Dota. OG, now, find themselves as the favourites to lift the Aegis. Click here for the highlights.
Lower Brackets
The Lower Brackets are more punishing. If you lose, you go home. So we usually see much more intense action in these matches. High intensity is exactly what we saw as the teams pulled off incredible performances with their backs against the wall.
VGJ.Storm faced Winstrike while Team Secret faced Vici Gaming in the last two games of round 2. The winners of these games would face each other and the winner of that game will be facing Team Liquid. Similarly, Virtus Pro and Optic will face each other with the winner facing Evil Geniuses.
Round 2 Game 3: VGJ.Storm beats Winstrike 2-0
Storm had looked amazing throughout the group stage but fell to OG in the first round of the Upper Bracket. They returned to their amazing form again as they made quick work of Winstrike in two swift games. Both games combined took an hour to finish. Winstrike will go home with ~$378,000.
Click here for highlights.
Round 2 Game 4: Team Secret beats Vici Gaming 2-1
Secret found themselves cornered by Vici Gaming when they lost the first game of the best of 3. But they composed themselves and came back to win the series 2-1. Secret always manages good finishes in top tournaments but never actually wins the said tournaments.
They made a statement, that they are looking to change everything in this game. The 3 games took just over 2 hours. Vici will also go home with ~$378,000.
Click here for highlights.
Round 3 Game 1: Virtus Pro beats Optic Gaming 2-1
Like Secret, VP also went 1-0 down to the underdogs. They also came back and took the win 2-1 in the end. The stern favourites to win TI prematurely found themselves in the lower bracket.
But they are still fighting with this victory over Optic. The 3 games took 97 minutes as VP eliminated Optic from the tournament while keeping their dream alive. Optic will go home with a Top 8 finish and ~$630,000. Click here for highlights.
Round 3 Game 2: Team Secret beats VGJ.Storm 2-0
Secret kept their game faces on as they steamrolled past VGJ.Storm in just 2 games. As the tournament reaches it's final stages, every best of 3 usually sees all 3 games as both teams give it their all.
In this case, Secret proved too strong. They even made a surprise Meepo pick to win the game and get them to Top 6. VGJ.Storm went home as a Top 8 team and ~$630,000.
Click here for highlights.
Round 4 Game 1: Evil Geniuses beat Virtus.Pro 2-0
The final Lower Bracket game of Day 4 saw the biggest upset. EG read VP like a book and countered every single move they made. As a result, the multiple time major winners and the favourites to take the Aegis of Champions found themselves eliminated with an underwhelming Top 6 finish.
EG not only defeated VP, they destroyed them 2-0 in a best of 3. Both games took a total of an hour and 20 minutes. VP will go home with a cheque of ~$1,134,000. So it isn't all sad for them.
Click here for highlights.
The International has reached its endgame. Only 5 teams survive - PSG and OG in the Upper Brackets. Liquid, Secret and EG in the Lower Brackets. With the favorites VP eliminated, PSG is the team with all eyes on them to lift the Aegis. Tonight's games start at 10:30 PM IST. You can watch it here.
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