Three teams remain in the $3.1 million Dota 2 Manila Major. OG, Newbee, and Team Liquid have now secured the lion’s share of the massive prizepool.
The big winner of today’s matches was undoubtedly European team OG, their form has only looked better as the tournament’s progressed. Unlike their previous opponents Na`Vi and MVP.Phoenix in the upper bracket, however, their match against Newbee earlier today proved their biggest challenge yet.
The Chinese team gained an early lead in the series. Defeating the unbeaten OG in a rapid 28 minute game, putting them on the backfoot for the first time in the playoffs. OG answered back in the second game, and at one point looked more than ready to shut the door on Newbee in the final deciding game.
Resilient as always, Newbee managed to hold off a series of high ground pushes from OG which, as a result, lined the coffers of Zhang “Mu” Pan’s already massive Alchemist. Just when it looked like Newbee may very well be on their way to staging an impressive comeback, a final confrontation outside of the Roshan pit saw the entire Chinese squad get wiped out, mainly due to an immaculate Crystal Maiden ultimate courtesy of Tal “Fly” Aizik. Following the crushing team fight, the game—and the series—was over, sending OG to their second grand final in a Valve major.
In the lower bracket LGD managed to defeat MVP.Phoenix in equally as close fashion, eliminating the South Koreans with a 2-1 scoreline. But despite their consistent form throughout the event, and the incredible performances from their star mid laner Lu “Maybe” Yao, the Chinese team’s run was ended by recent Epicenter champions Team Liquid. The European team took LGD down in two straight games, putting them in the lower bracket finals against Newbee.
Tomorrow will see the conclusion of Valve’s third Dota 2 Major. Team Liquid and Newbee will start off tomorrow with a best-of-three series to see who gets to face OG in the grand finals.
