We are on our way to the playoffs of the ESL One Birmingham. In the playoffs we will see only eight teams, meanwhile other four are set to be eliminated in the first stage of the tournament. So the group stage matches had their fair share of excitement since we see two teams eliminated from each group.
In the past couple of days, six teams competed for supremacy in the Group A, they had to play in the two game series. On the first day, OG was the strongest team of the group, since they were they only team to get a 2-0 result. Meanwhile, the rest of the candidates had to settle ofr 1-1 draw. OG comprehensively outplayed Forward Gaming. After the claiming the first game win, the side registered the shortest game of the competition. The reigning TI champions beat OG in just 14 minutes. The team had a poor second day, since they lost their first game 0-2 and then drew their second. Before their last game of the group against Liquid, they team was in danger of facing early elimination.
OG vs Liquid, an absolute thriller
In the first game of the 2nd, Liquid outdrafted OG with a last pick Meepo. It took Liquid little to no time to snowball to victory. Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi had an amazing game with a 14/0/8 KDA. In the second game, OG had a poor start, yet they redeemed themselves and executed Magus-Troll Warlord combo to perfection. This 1-1 result was enough for OG to secure them qualification for the playoffs.
CEEEEEEEEEB ? @OGesports beats @TeamLiquid to make it 1-1! #ESLOne
?? https://t.co/RUTJQiyOsP pic.twitter.com/EIlXOapFRc
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) May 30, 2019
Demolition of NiP and Forward
Aside for the exceptional game between Liquid and OG, Ninjas in Pyjamas had their fair share of troubles. One the last day, the side only needed a 1-1 result against TNC to force a tiebreaker. Yet NiP faced a SEA side that was more than prepared to claim the 2-0 victory. TNC picked strong laning phase combos and had amazing crowd control in team fights. IN the first game, the side picked the Warlock-Sven combo for the safe lane. It made it impossible for the offlaner of NiP to lane, owing to the disgusting Fatal Bonds and Cleave combo of the duo. The side also played a similar combo in next game but this picked Medusa with the Sven. The strategy worked flawlessly for the SEA side. Since NiP were unable to take any team fights.
Even though the team picked AM and he had good farm, it could match the raw power of Sven. NiP tried to push the game as late as possible, but TNC was having none of it and eliminated NiP from the competition with 2-0 result.
Meanwhile, Forward had a disastrous run in the first phase of the competition. The side only managed a 1-1 draw to Liquid and TNC. Besides these results, they lost all of their game. The team finish dead last in the group. They need to train hard for the upcoming EPICENTER Major.
