Dota 2 EU Qualifier Finals: The OG dream for TI lives with their 3-2 comeback victory against Tundra Esports 

After a hectic back-and-forth series of Dota 2, OG managed to snatch their TI ticket out of Tundra Esports’ wyvern jaws.

Today, OG displayed again why they are the only two-time TI champions in Dota 2. It was not the rare reverse sweep that happened in the SEA qualifier finals between TNC Predator and Fnatic.

But it was nevertheless a familiar rags-to-riches OG tale of winning against a team that whitewashed them in the upper bracket finals.

The EU qualifier grand final showcases everything that makes Dota 2 such a joy to watch

Both teams fought tooth and nail in a series that led to a 5th match tiebreaker. To give praise where it is due, Tundra Esports have shown incredible Dota 2 prowess throughout the qualifiers.

Up until the grand finals, they had not given up a single match, sending heavyweights like OG and Team Liquid packing to the lower brackets.

Tundra Esports has always been just shy of breaking into tier-1 Dota 2 in the past. But they are a stack of extremely talented players, including two TI veterans.

Leon ‘Nine’ Krillin is indomitable once his midgame snowball gets going, and Neta ‘33’ Shapira has proven to be among the most competent offlaners in Europe of late.

But the team accrued their plaudits by reminding everyone of the sheer ingenuity and innovation allowed by Dota 2.

33 improvised a completely unprecedented Helm of The Dominator build, which allowed him to pick and prod at the creep equilibrium throughout, perhaps taking a cue from Kurtis ‘Aui_2020’ Lang during his short stay at Arkosh Gaming.

Nine, on the other hand, had almost cemented their TI foothold by whipping out a very unexplored mid Winter Wyvern pick. It almost won them the second game against OG single-handedly, and might have even turned around the 5th tiebreaker.

Adrian ‘Fata’ Trinks’ incredible victory lap towards his first TI stint as team captain was sadly interrupted by the worst possible enemy they could face. In the past, OG has won games, series, and an entire TI from the depths of despair.

The SEA qualifier finals between TNC Predator and Fnatic was a similar best-of-five with a 3-2 scorecard as well. Like TNC Predator, OG were forced to play 11 hours of pro Dota 2 with very little respite.

However, unlike TNC Predator, OG managed to pull through despite their exhaustion. The latter’s mental fortitude proved to be their best quality as a Dota 2 team.

Syed ‘SumaiL’ Sumail Hussain was OG’s saving grace in this series

There is no exaggeration in saying that Tundra Esports seemed downright scary in this qualifier. For the 5th game, panelist Peter ‘ppd’ Dager also placed his vote of confidence in Tundra Esports after finding out the overpowered nature of a mid Wyvern.

Despite all the odds and threats of arrow snipes from Mirana extraordinaire Jingjun ‘Sneyking’ Wu, SumaiL emerged as the real King in the end. SumaiL’s Aghanims-powered Templar pick is what kept the OG dream alive and paved their road to TI. Although it is extremely popular in NA Dota 2, Templar has seen little usage in European qualifiers so far.

SumaiL has been top-notch as the OG carry so far. He consistently tops the net worth chart in nearly all the games.

OG recognizes this potential, and thus many of their past strategies have been about enabling SumaiL, be it through free Aghanims from Alchemist, Empower from Magnus, or the company of an IO.

It seems like OG have finally found their replacement for Anathan ‘Ana’ Pham. Come August, they will be going into their ultimate Dota 2 test as the defending TI champions with high hopes.