OG secure Upper Bracket, first team eliminated

posted by SmittyW.,

After Day Three at The International 2019 the group standings are more and more definite. Defending world champions OG have secured a spot in the Upper Bracket. Meanwhile, the fight for survival in the lower parts of the standings has begun – and been lost by the first team already.

OG make jump into Upper Bracket over VP

OG know how to surprise. Last year, they made it into The International 2018 and won the Aegis surprisingly. This year, the team surrounding captain Johan 'BigDaddyN0tail' Sundstein didn't do too well in the DPC season. Still they got their spot at TI9 and what they've been bringing to the table has been amazing so far.

At the end of Day Three, they boast a 6-1-0 score leading with 13 points. Not only did they earn they spot in the Upper Bracket but they also took first place in a really tough group. OG displayed great performances against Virtus.pro today, and even defeated a Fnatic who are clearly regaining their former strength, too.

Ninjas face elimination

TI9 hasn't gone as planned for Peter 'ppd' Dager and his fellow ninjas. After six matches they their record doesn't look very reassuring. Four losses, two ties – this is by no means enough to stay in the tournament.

Tomorrow, Ninjas in Pyjamas are going to play their last two matches against Evil Geniuses and Infamous. If the results we've seen so far are taken as an indicator, both teams are favoured against the Swedish outfit. But NiP have proven against Vici Gaming today that they are willing to fight. In order to stay in the tournament the ninjas need to win at least one series tomorrow.

Fight for the Upper Bracket

Vici Gaming and Natus Vincere have good chances to make it into the Upper Bracket. The Chinese missed the opportunity to secure their spot today dropping a map against NiP. One more win would seal the deal for them. Na'Vi have, on the other hand, lost to both Fnatic and Royal Never Give Up today which puts their Upper Bracket dreams in danger. However, they have gathered enough points to stay in the tournament regardless of tomorrow's outcome.

Evil Geniuses, who are currently standing fourth after VG and Na'Vi, only got themselves one point today against Infamous. After their great performance against VG, this was a little disappointing, but – to be fair – the South American squad is doing much better than most people expected.

As OG was the only team that was able to fix their position on Day Three in Group B, we may expect very exciting matches tomorrow. Some of them are going to be a matter of life and death.

Secret drop first maps, still go Upper Bracket

Team Secret has played a great tournament as well. However, on the third day at TI9 Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov and his squad dropped their first two maps against TNC Predator and Mineski.

In their last match of the day, Secret face PSG.LGD in an epic battle for first place in Group A. At the time of writing this article, both teams are set for the Upper Bracket even before that, so this duel has more of a symbolic meaning.

Chaos first to go home

This tournament was really disappointing for Lasse 'Matumbaman' Urpalainen and his new team Chaos Esports Club. It took only three days and squad got eliminated from the world championship after five lost matches and two ties.

Tomorrow, they play against Team Secret but even if Chaos win – which will be an incredibly tall order – they cannot accumulate enough points to stay in the tournament. The best Matu and his sqaud can hope for is saying good-bye with a bang and show the best Dota 2 they can play.

Almost anyone else could make it to the UB

Just like in Group B, the last two Upper Bracket spots are highly contested in Group A as well. Any team but Chaos can still get enough points for the UB. In comparison to their competitors, Newbee have a slight advantage going into the last day of the group stage with 8 points. Alliance, Mineski and TNC Predator have earned 7 points each.

Team Liquid is in a rough spot. The organisation that went as a favourite into TI9 has been struggling in the group stage. But they were able to overcome Keen Gaming on Day Three, closing the gap between them and the other teams hoping to avoid the much hated best-of-1 elimination match in the playoffs.

In their last series, Liquid will take on TNC Predator. The TI7 champions have to win the match, while at the same time hoping for the three other UB contenders to drop points in their last series on Day Four. Keen Gaming as played all their group stage games by the way. As they are stuck on 5 points, they have no chance making it to the UB.