posted by derMeser,
Back to old strength
After a weak start to the season, the team surrounding captain Johan 'BigDaddyN0tail' Sundstein finally seemed to be returning to its old strength—the return of Anathan 'ana' Pham helped OG place 5th at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major; however, that finish was not enough to qualify them for TI9. The EPICENTER Major in Moscow will be their last chance to secure any points for the Dota Pro Circuit.
We stayed a bit longer after our serie here at #MDLDisney to meet the great fans who came and cheered for us during this Major.
— OG (@OGesports) May 11, 2019
Thanks for the great emotions we shared here. See you soon for some more great Dota!#DreamOG pic.twitter.com/wOkT0WTDsm
Double-up for qualification
OG is currently sitting at 948 Pro Circuit Points—10th place in standings. They are in a pretty good spot, but would need to double their points up to 2041 to guarantee qualification. The Europeans must secure at least 4th place at the EPICENTER Major to do so.
We are qualified for the @epicentergg Major!
— OG (@OGesports) May 18, 2019
GGs @theAllianceGG, amazing serie.
See you in Moscow 😘#DreamOG pic.twitter.com/dvb3onBezh
OG against the top of the world
On their way there, OG will face off against some intimidating old rivals, including the near-undefeatable Team Secret, the Russian powerhouse Virtus.pro, and one of the best North American team Evil Geniuses. Save for a few moments, all these teams are performing near their peak and are going to be extremely hard to beat, especially if played early on in the tournament.
Help from the Ninjas in Pyjamas
OG will be watching Ninjas in Pyjamas in the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor #2 EU Qualifier. The Minor is the last chance for two teams to make the EPICENTER Major, and after getting eliminated by OG in the Epicenter M: Europe Qualifier, NIP will be hungry to get one of the top spots in Kiev.
NIP has already qualified for The International 2019, but by taking a seed at the EPICENTER Major, they could potentially kick some of OG's competition out of the race for TI slots. If OG does not make 4th place or higher at EPICENTER, they will have to hope no other team can overtake them in the DPC standings, or that they can successfuly qualify through the TI9 Open Qualifiers.
.@OGesports 🇪🇺 takes the series 2:0 which means that we are out of the EPICENTER Major 2019 Europe Closed Qualifier... Time to prepare for the minor. PepeHands#GONINJAS #DOTA2 #EPICENTER pic.twitter.com/IlyO5p7twC
— Ninjas in Pyjamas 🇸🇪 (@NiPGaming) May 18, 2019
Trouble from below
Currently, OG's biggest competitors in the standings are Keen Gaming, TNC Predator, EHOME and J.Storm, who are placed 9th, 11th, 12th and 13th in the Pro Circuit standings respectively. While TNC Predator has already qualified for the Major in Moscow, the other teams still need to make it through the Starladder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor #2 Closed Qualifiers, and they are surely all hungry to compete.
Will OG make 4th place in Moscow and qualify for TI? Can someone upset the DPC standings in the final tournament of the season?
Photo Credit - Valve | The International 2018 Flickr
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