The International 9: OG Take Down LGD and March into the Grand Finals

The International - the annual Dota 2 Esports international tournament - is at its most important stage now, when the losing teams are getting knocked out and the winners are proceeding one step closer to the Aegis. The Upper Bracket Final game between OG and PSG.LGD turned out in OG’s favour as The International 8 winners obliterated LGD in a 3-1 win.

Chinese favourites LGD took the first game and were looking to wrap up the series by winning the second game as well. However, LGD made a huge mistake in the drafting phase of the second game, letting OG pick Chen, Dark Seer and Alchemist. OG often look for multiple synergies in their draft and if they get what they want, it becomes extremely difficult not just for LGD but any team to stop them. Having Chen already gives a lot of control to the team, given the fact that Chen can control creeps and use them to stack camps for the Alchemist creates another advantage. Additionally, both Ion Shell and Surge abilities of Dark Seer work really well with Alchemist and JerAx's Spirit Breaker who was also in OG’s draft.

The third game had a much-balanced draft on both sides and the match was pretty even compared to the second one. Although LGD let OG pick Chen and Alchemist for the second time, they did include Slark and Tiny in their draft to better deal with the situation. However, OG outplayed LGD in the 42-minute game to hold a place in the Grand Finals.

OG were underdogs coming into TI 8 and it was a similar case in The International 9. Teams like PSG.LGD, Secret and Vici Gaming were considered really strong. OG proved everyone wrong yet again after showing a solid performance in the group stages. The team kept pushing their limits to win game after game and booked their place in the Grand Finals of the greatest Dota 2 competition.