The final day of play came with its surprises and was far shorter than almost anyone wanted it to be at ESL One Malaysia.
ESL ONE Malaysia came to a conclusion today, and it was to the delight of OG fans. The final day was as exciting as the rest of the tournament, albeit a lot less arduously contested, as it was a completely one-sided sweep by the winners.
In the first match of the day, OG met Team Secret in the Lower Bracket Final. After taking them out with ease, the five-time Major champions went on to add another piece of silverware to their already unparalleled collection. Here are condensed accounts of today’s action.
ESL One Malaysia – Team Secret vs OG
This matchup was one for the ages. OG hadn’t beaten Secret on the main stage of a big event since well before TI9, and Clement “Puppey” Ivanov’s squad had become something of a bogey for them. Secret had been one of the favorites to win the tournament, and this was do or die for OG.
Game 1
Secret’s draft, while covering most bases, lacked a decent wombo combo aside from what the Invoker would offer. He was accompanied by Tusk, Shadow Shaman, Razor and Dawnbreaker. OG’s draft made a lot more sense as far as teamfight went, with Mars, Queen of Pain, Phoenix and Dark Willow with an Alchemist thrown in for heavy DPS.
The game went relatively slowly early on, with not many kills being traded. OG naturally took a gold lead courtesy of the Alchemist. The first climactic battle took place near the Roshan pit in the 23rd minute, with OG team wiping Secret to take firm control of the game.
Although OG should by all means have closed out the game, Secret showed great tenacity. Despite a massive deficit, they kept fighting back and even pulled things back enough to push OG’s high ground. However, the most decorated team in Dota 2 got there for a reason. They weaseled their way into winning a couple of teamfights and eked out the win.
Game 2
With so much to play for, Secret changed tactics and went with a big AoE draft featuring Tidehunter and Enigma, with an Ogre Magi, Skywrath Mage, and Razor alongside. In reply, OG picked up Puck, Bloodseeker, Chen, Dark Willow and a rare Slark.
The start was uncharacteristically slow for a side like OG once again, but the teams began trading blows more often as the game went on. However, the lack of DPS on the side of Secret began to show its ugliness soon. Soon, teamfights began to go their opponents’ way.
After this, OG just never looked back. Absolute dominance ensued, and Secret couldn’t even get out of their base without being wrecked by OG. One last fight near the Roshan pit ensued, and after Secret’s teamwipe there was followed by some more deaths, they gave up.
ESL One Malaysia – Team Aster vs OG
The Grand Final was upon us, with 10 superb players ready for some fine casting from Owen “ODPixel” Davies and Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas. Aster had looked nigh-untouchable throughout the tournament, and it would be up to the youthful spirit of OG to stop that well-oiled machine.
Game 1
Aster’s Game 1 draft of Troll, Tiny, Enigma, Queen of Pain and Dazzle looked terrifying to say the least, with all bases covered except perhaps some heavy burst damage other than the Tiny. OG’s draft saw Mars, Shadow Fiend, Omniknight, Bristleback and Dark Willow.
If the matches against Secret had been slow in terms of kills, this one was reminiscent of the early days of Dota 2 with just 10 kills between the two teams until the 29th minute. Neither team ever took anything of an unassailable lead, but OG was clearly ahead for most of the game.
A few teamfights went pretty evenly, but OG’s map control increased. One strong uphill push in the 46th minute, however, proved to be too much for Aster, who lost their Ancient with some of their heroes still alive.
Game 2
Game 2 saw Aster resort to putting Du “Monet” Peng on his trademark Phantom Assassin, playing around him with Visage, Puck, Tiny and Winter Wyvern for save. In response, OG picked Mars, Ember Spirit, Terrorblade, Nyx, and of all heroes, Techies.
The changes to Techies have made the hero a lot more viable for team play, and that’s exactly what OG showed. The game was arguably the most exciting of the three, with both teams fighting tooth and nail for most of the match.
Despite Artem “Yuragi” Golubiev’s Terrorblade taking OG to a considerable gold lead, Aster were adamant on holding on. A brilliant performance from the aforementioned Monet — including a Rampage — gave Aster some promise, but it was just not their day as OG made the best of their chances to close out what was a fantastic game in the 50th minute.
Game 3
Nobody likes to go down 2-0 in a best of five, and Aster tried their best to make a comeback with Bloodseeker, Mars, Hoodwink, Tiny and Grimstroke. OG’s answer was to pick Puck, Underlord, Phantom Assassin, Shadow Demon, and Dark Willow.
In this game, the teams went back to the low-key torpor of the previous round. Things were pretty quiet until the 23rd minute, with both teams making kills but nothing too decisive. That all changed with a massive teamfight in the Radiant top triangle, with OG taking out four of Aster’s heroes to take a lead which they would retain until the end of the game.
Despite the gold lead not being substantial initially, Aster were absolutely terrified of OG’s fat cores — especially the PA. Slowly but surely, OG chipped into Aster’s map control and launched a high ground assault in the 38th minute. The Chinese squad tried their best to hold on, but the damage being dished out by their foes was just too much. OG had won ESL ONE Malaysia with a clean sweep in the Grand Final.
ESL ONE Malaysia provided quite a bit of insight into not just the peak meta of the last patch, but also the meta for the current patch, which will only receive minor tweaks and adjustments until Valve’s flagship tournament. Its end, however, unfortunately, means that the only competitive Dota for the next month and a half will be the regional qualifiers. We’ll be covering all the important news and action from those, so stay tuned!
