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The third day of The International 2019 has ended, and Group B is proving to be unpredictable. Besides OG standing alone atop the table, every other team seemingly has a chance to fight for an upper bracket slot.
In contrast with OG’s repeated dominance, the other top teams in Vici Gaming, Natus Vincere and Evil Geniuses continued to lose games today. Several teams split their series again, resulting in a packed mid table that could see tons of tiebreakers being played tomorrow.
The rest of the Group B standings can be seen here:
| Standing | Team name | Record |
| 1 | OG | 13-1 |
| 2 | Vici Gaming | 8-4 |
| 3 | Natus Vincere | 7-7 |
| 4 | Evil Geniuses | 6-6 |
| 5 | Fnatic | 5-7 |
| 6 | Infamous | 5-7 |
| 7 | Royal Never Give Up | 5-7 |
| 8 | Virtus.pro | 5-7 |
| 9 | Ninjas in Pyjamas | 2-10 |
OG emerges again as the biggest winner of Group B. They are guaranteed the top spot in their group, meaning that they will be able to choose their upper bracket opponents in the main event. The defending champions have been undefeatable for two days straight, as their opponents could not figure out OG’s signature teamfight style.
Fnatic came the closest today in trying to defeat OG, drafting a Timbersaw for Daryl “iceiceice” Koh’s to counter Anathan “ana” Pham’s carry Io. While the plan seemed to work for 20 minutes, with Fnatic even jumping out to a kill lead, OG’s unselfish item decisions transformed OG into an unstoppable teamfight juggernaut. This marks ana’s fourth game and win with the unorthodox picks, looking less and less like a gimmick and more a legitimate strategy.
Related: What we learned from the second day of The International 2019 group stage
Vici Gaming’s only series of the day was against Ninjas in Pyjamas. In another lackluster performance from the two-time Major winners, Vici actually drew the series against the bottom team of Group B. This nets NiP only their second win at the event, and they will have a chance to fight for their survival in the fourth day.
Vici Gaming will still retain their second-place spot in the group since Natus Vincere had a dismal performance on day three. After yesterday’s brilliant 5-1 record, Natus Vincere lost both series against Fnatic and Royal Never Give Up. Natus Vincere will hold on to the third spot with a 7-7 record.
Vici will go against Na’Vi and OG tomorrow. All three teams are guaranteed to play at the main event, although Vici and Na’Vi might find themselves staring at a lower bracket berth if results don’t go their way.
Evil Geniuses played one series today against Infamous and drew. Even though SumaiL will be happy to be the first player to reach 1,000 kills all-time at The International, EG won’t have time to celebrate as they might find themselves in a precarious position tomorrow. With series against Virtus.pro and Ninjas in Pyjamas tomorrow, they might even end up playing tiebreakers for elimination if NiP manages to four games tomorrow.
Four teams head into the last day of the TI9 group stage with a 5-7 record. Fnatic, Infamous, Royal Never Give Up and Virtus.pro will all be playing games with each other. Each team will hold their fate in their hands, as all of these teams are still in danger of being eliminated from TI.
Fnatic destroyed Natus Vincere 2-0, and lost to OG 0-2 in a hard-fought series. Fnatic fans will be happy that the Southeast Asian all-stars appear to be steadily improving, and even had a solid game plan against the defending champions in their series. They will play RNG and VP tomorrow.
Infamous was the biggest surprise of day two, showing up with Peruvian swagger to hand Vici their first loss. The South American spice was a little less hot today, ending the day with a 1-3 record. For a team that was predicted to finish last, Infamous is still doing well, proving that they belong in the big leagues.
RNG won all four of their games today to create some breathing space for themselves. RNG midlaner Gao “Setsu” Zhenxiong was on fire today, even pulling out a mid Underlord to secure a win against Na’Vi. If RNG continues on this trajectory, they might even find themselves in the upper bracket.
Virtus.pro has been severely underperforming at TI9, winning only their second series at the event against Infamous. VP’s reputation as TI underachievers will only worsen if they don’t buckle up soon.
Ninjas in Pyjamas achieved a much-needed win against Vici Gaming, recording only their second win in the TI9 group stage. They still have two series to play on day four, so NiP holds onto the chance to qualify for the main event. No doubt still in a precarious position, NiP will have to set an alarm clock and wake themselves up if they want to see the main stage.
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