A European gamer crew known as OG Esports defeated China’s PSG.LGD 3-2 in the grand finals of The International 2018 on Saturday, capturing the largest Dota 2 crown in the world and winning more than $11.2 million.
The win made OG Esports the first-ever team to win The International after qualifying through an Open Qualifier, and the victory came just months after retooling the team’s roster by replacing three of its five members.
OG Rolls Through Upper Bracket
The International traditionally offers the largest prizes in esports, thanks to a crowdfunded approach in which in-game purchases help build the prize pool for the game’s premier event. This year, the size of the purse ultimately settled at more than $25.5 million, allowing the top six teams in the competition to walk away with over $1 million.
With the top teams in the world gathered at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, OG got off to a solid but unspectacular start in the group stages, finishing 9-7 to take fourth place in their group and squeak into the Upper Bracket.
But from there, they wouldn’t lose a match. Upset wins over VGJ.Storm and Evil Geniuses moved them into the Upper Bracket final against PSG.LGD, where they scored the first of two wins against the Chinese favorites, taking a 2-1 victory in the best-of-three match.
That loss dropped PSG.LGD down to the lower bracket final, where they scored a convincing 2-0 victory over Evil Geniuses to set up a rematch for the title in the best-of-five grand finals.
Breaking West-East Curse
Despite having already lost to OG once, PSG.LGD still came into the final as the favorite. They had earned their ticket to The International by finishing third in the Dota Pro Circuit, rather than through open qualifying. There was also the matter of superstition: Chinese teams had won the tournament in every even numbered year heading into 2018, while teams from Europe or the United States claimed all the odd year titles.
After a victory by OG in Game 1, PSG.LGD scored two consecutive wins to put themselves on the brink of the championship. OG also looked to be in trouble in Game 4, before clawing their way back to force the first Game 5 since 2013. A relatively conservative approach by PSG.LGD didn’t pay off, as OG was able to take advantage of their opportunities to clinch the series.
Before their final two matches against PSG.LGD, OG member Sebastien ‘7ckngMad’ Debs said that the team’s relaxed nature had helped them make a deep run that came as a surprise to many outsiders.
“We knew we had potential to go far in the tournament, but we didn’t put unnecessary amounts of pressure on ourselves,” Debs told Red Bull, which sponsors OG Esports. “Whatever happens, happens.”
The victory was all the more stunning because of the relative inexperience of the OG lineup. In particular, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen had never played in a major LAN event before The International.
While the result was a bitter disappointment for the favored Chinese squad, they’ll hardly go home empty-handed. PSG.LGD earned just under $4.1 million for their runner-up finish, while Evil Geniuses collected nearly $2.7 million for third place.