The fourth minor of the season, OGA Dota PIT 2019 will take place from April 22nd to 28th. The favorites of the championship are Ninjas in Pyjamas and Gambit Esports. But the statistics of previous tournaments suggest that the Chinese teams cannot be eliminated from the equation. Let’s have a comprehensive look at the dark horses of the competition.
Three TI Champions, One Team
Three months ago, EHOME beat Gambit in the finals of The Bucharest Minor and finished at 6th place in The Chongqing Major. Then the Chinese side was tipped to be amongst the top-ranked teams of the DPC, but things didn’t go according to plan after the MDL Macau. On February 19, Faith_bian sprained his shoulder and the line-up had to find a substitute just before the start of DreamLeague Season 11.
The sudden change in roster resulted in last place finish at the championship. As a result, the team conducted a full-fledged reshuffle and recruited three TI champions in one roster. The lineup now includes Ferrari_430 along with the temporarily signed xiao8, who replaces Faith_bian. On paper, the roster looks pretty impressive and it is quite capable of winning the minor.
Farewell Ferrari_430!
After discussion with the player and the team. Former MGB mid player Ferrari_430 transferred to @EHOMECN
Thank you for everything Ferrari and good luck in the future! You will always be our “Magic girl”.
Also thank you for the support from our fans! pic.twitter.com/QTGOnSFbGm— Newbee (@newbeecn) March 29, 2019
RNG, the true underdogs
The second participant Dota PIT from China is Royal Never Give Up and things are not going well for them. The team finished at last place in the Kiev Minor. It is difficult for the team to qualify for the Major from the open qualifiers since they are dominated by teams like PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming. In March, without mentioning any reasons, the replaced their offlaners after winning the qualifiers for a major.
But it’s not worthwhile to write off China completely. At The Bucharest Minor, the Chinese teams were predicted to have a tough time, but both were in the top 3. It is quite possible that we will see Gambit or NiP against RNG or EHOME.
CIS Fears China
The current roster of Gambit Esports made its way to the finals of two Minors and both times lost to the Chinese teams. This time, Gambit Esports has every chance to win the competition. First of all, the team will perform with its full five-man roster. Since, in Kiev, the CIS played with fn instead of Afoninje.
Gambit recovers after a loss on the first map and qualifies for OGA Dota PIT Minor! See you in ?? Split on April 22 – 28! #DotaPitMinor #TornadoEnergy pic.twitter.com/ed62wRkjp1
— Gambit Esports (@GambitEsports) April 4, 2019
Secondly, the roster has been playing together for more than three months and have qualified for the finals of three offline championships. So the CIS team cannot be taken for granted. We foresee a solid finish for the CIS team if they manage to avoid getting out drafted by their Chinese opponents.
OGA Dota PIT 2019 will award the winner of the competition with $125,000 and a spot at the Paris Major. All the matches of the tournament will take place in the best of three format. While the grand finale will be of best of five format. Let’s see who will shine on the Croatian soil.
