Not many people were putting their money on OG to win the Dota 2 Stockholm Major. After the dust settled, it was OG standing tall and beating TSM 3–1. The win allowed OG to bring home $200,000 along with the more important 680 DPC Points.
To be fair to OG, the team did enter the tournament on the heels of getting first place after the end of the Spring Tour. During the Group Stage, they were in second place behind Tundra Esports to secure an Upper Bracket placement for the playoffs.
During the playoffs, OG was put to the Lower Bracket after losing to TSM 2–0. After that, the team worked its way to the Grand Final losing one game to Fnatic and sweeping BOOM Esports, Thunder Awaken, Gaimin Gladiators, and Tundra Esports at 2-0.
At the Grand Final, OG faced TSM.
A Strong Start
In the first game, TSM showed just how ready they were without fear of OG's Sébastien "Ceb" Debs getting Windranger. There was no question that TSM was ready as they destroyed OG. Enzo "Timado" Gianoli O'Connor on Wraith King had 12 kills and zero deaths while Jonathan Bryle "Bryle" Santos De Guia contributed 11 kills and only one death. Overall, TSM had 31 team kills versus 9 team kills from OG.
Strong Return
In the second game, TSM made the decision to ban most heroes favored by Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf. OG picked Nightstalker instead for ATF and it paid off. Of course, there were also excellent performances from OG's Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov on Storm Spirit and Artem "Yuragi" Golubiev on Monkey King. Let's not forget Ceb again on Windranger contributing 26 assists.
Turning Point
With the series tied at 1-1, both teams knew the importance of the third game, and it showed. There was the usual back-and-forth between the two, but TSM managed to get the much-needed advantage. OG played it smart, picking off TSM one at a time as a group. At around the 30-minute mark, a crucial team fight went in favor of OG, and they never looked back after to grab the win and lead the series 2-1.
Closing the Series
The third game loss appeared to have drained TSM as they couldn’t find their footing in the fourth game. It was all about OG from the start with ATF on Mars having nine kills and zero deaths. Yuragi, meanwhile, had 11 kills and only two deaths on Bloodseeker while bzm contributed 10 kills and zero deaths. Ceb once again had an excellent game on Windranger with 21 assists and also zero deaths. Overall, OG only had four team deaths.
After being swept again, TSM had no choice but to call it GG.
What next?
With the win, OG has likely secured a direct invite to this year’s The International. Before we ask the question of whether OG has what it takes to get another TI crown, it would be good to look at what’s going to happen in Tour 3.
What about you? What was your favorite moment in the Stockholm Major?
