Esports News: Featuring a number of top teams on the Pro Circuit, MDL Macau was one of the standout events in a crowded Dota 2 festive calendar. After four days of intense skirmishes, it was OG who triumphed above all, boosting their bank accounts to the tune of $130,000 and adding 150 Pro Circuit points to their tally.
Road to the finals
Securing themselves a spot in the tournament through the qualifiers, OG topped the round-robin group stage with six wins and two losses, going down only to Virtus.pro and, somewhat more surprisingly, Infamous.
The next step would involve a tough fight against Na’Vi. However, still in the position of slight favourites, OG managed to overcome their opponents with a clean 2-0 victory. And while the odds were that Virtus.pro would reach the grand final, it was TnC who overthrew their more famous opponents to get there.
The grand final itself was won quite comfortably by OG, with yet another 2-0 win. Fly and co. were in control throughout both games, with the result almost seeming like a formality. Despite conceding first blood in game one, OG started to find early kills thanks to rotations from JerAx. Apart from that, OG secured farm for both their mid- and hard-carry cores, setting them up for a great game.
The team really started to gel in the mid-game, stringing together kill after kill. Resolut1on’s Morphling was stomping heroes left and right, leaving TnC with little option but to call the “gg”.
The second game turned out in a similar fashion: OG gained a gradual advantage from the laning stage, managing to shut down the enemy cores with kills, while giving space to their own. OG were the ones dictating the pace and moving to attack the enemy; the encounters would almost always end in their favour. Notable performances from JerAx, s4 and N0tail sealed the victory in the end game.
Late-game dominance
OG looked comfortable throughout the tournament, and with several exceptions (most notably, against Virtus.pro), the team did not face a considerable challenge along the way. Being in control and their ability to dictate play were their key strengths. Traditionally known as a late-game team, OG demonstrated an improved laning phase, particularly in the final.
Whenever their early game did not unfold as expected, the team would usually group up in the mid-game in an attempt to find kills to get ahead of their opponents. OG truly shone in the late game, where they were able to use their favoured heroes to deadly effect, such as Morphling and Medusa.
Fly is the inspirational captain of the team, and the one who calls the shots in-game. In terms of drafting style, he often hovers around heroes and strategies that his team are comfortable with rather than try to counter the enemy drafter. Supports that are good defensively, as well as ones that can make a lot of impact on the team fight, are the ones most often picked by Fly. He more often than not prefers to stay in the lane rather than roam around in the early game.
OG snap silverware drought
In claiming victory, OG finally ended their drought that stretched back to the Kiev Major in April of this year. The team had a roster change with Ana being replaced by Resolut1on and it took some adjustment to have the hard carry play in the mid role. These teething pains now seem to have subsided, with the Ukrainian player finally seeming quite comfortable in the mid-farming role.
Despite gaining momentum here, OG will surely need to amass more victories to achieve their ultimate goal – to qualify for the International 2018.
