There is still some time for TI 10 and going by the ongoing pandemic, we can’t be sure if it will held on dates as planned. What we can be sure of is helping you remember The International 9 to best we can.
Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9) has now become somewhat of a cult classic for Dota 2 fans and for all the right reasons. It had the largest prize pool ever for a Esport tournament with close to $30 millions in offerings.
The event was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China from Aug15-25, 2019. Eighteen teams from six different regions qualified for the mega event. Europe had 6 participants while 5 teams qualified from China itself. South East Asia had 3 teams, while NA and the CIS region had 2; South America had a single participant. Here is a list of all the teams which qualified:-
- Europe: Team Secret, Team Liquid, OG, NIP, Chaos, Alliance
- China: Vici Gaming, PSG.LGD, Royal Never Give Up, Keen Gaming
- North America: Evil Geniuses, Forward Gaming
- South East Asia: TNC, Fnatic, Mineski
- CIS: Virtus.Pro, Natus Vincere
- South America: Infamous
OG, the defending champs and the eventual champions weren’t favorites from the get go, ironically. Team Secret, Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD were the frontrunners for the title, while Team Secret were considered the team to beat.
Group Stages
15h-19th August
Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9) the top 18 teams were divided into two groups of 9 each. Teams played in a Bo2 round robin match. PSG.LGD, Team Secret, Newbee, TNC Predator qualified for the upper brackets from Group A while Chaos Esports Club were eliminated. OG, Vici Gaming, Evil Geniuses and Virtus. Pro progressed to the upper brackets from Group B, Ninjas in Pyjamas were the team to be eliminated.
These is how the group stages panned out:-
Group A
- PSG. LGD 13-3
- Team Secret 11-5
- Newbee 9-7
- TNC Predator 9-7
- Alliance 8-8
- Mineski 8-8
- Team Liquid 6-10
- Keen Gaming 5-11
- Chaos Esports Club 3-13
Group B
- OG 14-2
- Vici Gaming 11-5
- Evil Geniuses 9-7
- Virtus. Pro 8-8
- Fnatic 7-9
- Infamous 7-9
- Natus Vincere 7-9
- Royals Never Give Up 5-11
- Ninjas in Pyjamas 3-13
The teams placing 5-8th in the standings entered the lower bracket playing in a Bo1 series. The group stage conclusion saw favorites like Secret and PSG qualify from Group A while OG sprung into life from the get go and looked super solid in the group stages.
Playoffs
20th August
The bracket stage started with the match between PSG and VP, a third consecutive bracket matchup between the two over the last three TI’s. The second upper bracket match saw Vici Gaming face off against TNC predators, PSG and Vici came out as winners in their respective matches.
Alliance, Fnatic, Keen Gaming, Natus Vincere were the teams which were eliminated after losing their matches against RNG, Team Liquid, Infamous and Mineski respectively.
21st August
The second day of playoffs began with two upper bracket matches with OG and Evil Geniuses coming out on top against Newbee and Team Secret. OG again looked in stupendous form and it was the Topson show which resulted in a one sided series.
In the lower bracket matches RNG slapped VP to win 2-0 while Team Liquid began to showcase a serious comeback in the competition to win against TNC Predator.
22nd August
Day three of playoffs of Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9) had the upper brackets finals in store with a hotly anticipated OG vs EG clash. The first match though was a Chinese showdown between PSG and Vici, with PSG winning 2-0. The second match was a rollercoaster with stars from both teams showcasing their class and skill on the server. EG won the first map but OG roared back again riding on Topson’s performances to eventually win out the series 2-1 and relegate EG to brackets once again.
For the lower bracket matches , first up where two underdog teams: Newbee and Infamous. Infamous emerged victorious to eliminate Newbee from the tournament. Team Secret faced off against Mineski in the last match of the day. Secret literally scratched their way to victory in the series winning 2-1 and eliminating Mineski.
23rd August of Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9)
Day four of the bracket stage was a story of redemption for Team Liquid. They first beat RNG to set up a mouth watering elimination match against EG. Both these teams have a history and to be playing against for survival in the competition meant everything was about to give in. The hype was real but the result wasn’t, Liquid steamrolled over EG and survived to stay in the competition. EG on the other hand choked and made a relatively early exit in the tournament.
In the other match Secret kept their hopes alive to defeat Infamous 2-0 and booked a date against Vici Gaming.
24th August
The fifth and the penultimate day of the competition started with Team Secret facing Vici Gaming. While it was expected to be a close match the result was a dominating 2-0 victory for Secret who qualified the next elimination match against Team Liquid.
But before that matchup, a spot in the finals was to be decided when OG and PSG.LGD clashed heads. It was a rematch of the TI8 finals where both teams played their hearts out. PSG were looking for revenge and started off well taking the first map but OG showed their winning mentality to mount a comeback and take the series 2-1 and proceed to the grand finals. PSG.LGD though had another chance to make it to the finals and had to defeat the winners of the match between Team Secret and Liquid.
Coming to the last match of Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9) it was Liquid who by now had come to full force and confidence on the mainstage took on Team Secret. Liquid’s flow and superiority in the lanes was too hot to handle for Secret with Liquid again winning 2-0 to set up a 9-0 record on the main stage.
25th August The Final Day of Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9)
The final day of the competition had three different storylines in store of us:- a) Would Liquid be able to complete a monumental comeback to win their first ever TI, b) Would PSG.LGD be finally be able to overcome their fears and get their revenge against OG ;and c) Would OG create history by becoming the first team ever to win back to back TI and take a majority of the $30 million prize pool.
The first match saw Liquid take on PSG in a Bo3 series. The match was a back and forth experience but Liquid cleared the PSG hurdle to set up the final clash with OG. Liquid won the series 2-1. PSG bowed with third place, not what they expected themselves to be but still a respectable finish.
The finals was a B05 series between a consistent and star studded OG against the rampant and a resurgent Liquid. Liquid had the momentum going into the finals but they still had to be wary of defending champions OG. The first map of Dota 2 The International 2019 (TI 9) Finals started off brightly for Liquid with OG finding it very hard to match up against Liquid’s playstyle. But starting from the second map OG took control with every player from the team contributing.
It wasn’t that Liquid were playing badly but they simply couldn’t control the teamplay OG put out. OG won the second and third map to take a 2-1 lead. Liquid tried their best in the fourth map and gave all they could but were simply outclassed by OG. Winning the fourth map, OG created history to be the first team to win back to back TI’s.
All 5 members on the OG deserved a MVP award for their consistent showing but speaking honestly it was Topson who had created the most groundbreaking plays to help them win the title. And it was indeed Topson who was selected as the MVP.
Remembering Dota 2 The International 1 (TI 2011) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 2 (TI 2012) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 3 (TI 2013) here.
Remembering Dota 2 The International 4 (TI 2014) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 5 (TI 2015) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 6 (TI 2016) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 7 (TI 2017) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 8 (TI 2018) here
Remembering Dota 2 The International 9 here
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