Gaming
Gaming
Behind the scenes with OG: The road to TI6
We follow the Manila Major winners as they look towards The International 6.
3 min
OG in Manila - Tournament Mode
OG in Manila - Tournament Mode
It was assumed by many that OG were simply victims of the laws of gravity during the Shanghai Major back in January. After a rousing victory in Frankfurt mere months beforehand, the team proceeded to crash into the floor at top speed. First they were knocked from the upper bracket, then the team was thrown out of the ring for good by Fnatic. What goes up, must come down.
Then came Manila, where OG dramatically turned the tables and dominated the upper bracket, losing only two games out of a total of eleven played. The doubting voices were silenced, and one of the freshest teams on the European scene had proven itself a force to be reckoned with.
In spite of its relative newness, the team’s consistent composition, which has remained unchanged since late last year, has clearly reaped incredible benefits for the group. In Dota 2 cohesion is everything, and the OG group has demonstrated octopus-like coordination, moving its many limbs with a single purpose. Synchronising to the rhythms and beats of your team-mates is key, as is trusting them implicitly, and seeing the team hug it out after their Manila performance makes one thing clear; this group are clearly great friends.
Taking the lion’s share of two separate one-million dollar prize pools isn’t enough for this group, though. Having just become the first team to win two Valve-sanctioned events in a single season, OG is now setting its sights on the grandest prize of all: The International. The most extravagant pot of gold in eSports currently stands at around twelve million dollars, and is set to climb above and beyond the eighteen million figure of last year.
The moment when OG won the Manila Major
© OG Dota 2
Even for a team as talented as OG, the walk to victory at T16 will be treacherous. Throughout this season Team Liquid has been hot on their heels, reaching two Major finals in which OG has managed to snap up victory. With two months between now and the big competition, the opposition has time to size up the Manila winners and consider ways to counter the strategic thinking that led to such a dominant victory. And make no doubt about it; many eyes are fixed on the trophy, but just as many are fixed nervously on OG’s winning squad.
And why wouldn’t they be? This year has seen the team conduct some flawless plays, constantly working and reworking tactics between matches to capitalise on their enemies’ weaknesses. There’s also the matter of Miracle’s not-so-small miracle: reaching 9000 MMR. Not only was he the first player globally to ever achieve such a gobsmacking figure, it has also lent him god-tier levels of player versus player intimidation.
It seems like this season has been a litany of firsts for the team: the first one to make their professional breakthrough, the first to win two Majors, the first to break the laws of mortal-bound matchmaking. Maybe the team will add another first to that list before the year is over, or maybe the laws of gravity will take hold once again. What’s certain is that everyone in the world of competitive Dota 2 will be watching to see exactly how this team leave their final mark on a season in which they have undoubtedly been shining stars.
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