EG tops Group A on Day 1 of TI11, climbs ahead of OG

Dshae Zulkiflee

Dshae Zulkiflee

EG closes TI11 Group Stage Day 1 convincingly, smashing OG Esports 2 to 0. They come out of the day top of the Group A, with a 6:0 scoreline.

Evil Geniuses closed Day 1 of The International 11 Group Stage with a banger against OG Esports. Earlier in the day, they dominated their games against Soniqs and pulled a huge upset against PSG.LGD with a 2:0. Meeting their nemesis on the stage is something everyone has been waiting for, as we all know the deep history (and drama!) between these two teams.

Game summary: No mercy for OG

Game one started with a classic ATF Timbersaw and Arteezy's Ursa. ATF and Taiga's Dark Willow had a great laning phase, giving Ursa a hard early game. Yuragi, on the other hand, was also punished by Nightfall's Razor.

By the mid-game, EG capitalized on OG's carelessness, which helped them pick OG apart. Arteezy's Ursa hit his timings and he immediately asserted aggression, popping up in fights to quickly burst the opponents. At one point, OG attempted a teamfight that saw the early deaths of Misha's Clockwerk and BZM's Void Spirit. OG decided to weather it out and it ended in a team wipe by EG, which swung the lead to their side and built the momentum for them to destroy OG's throne.

Game 2 gave us Abed's go-to Primal Beast and BZM's signature Invoker. OG's lineup had all the combo-wombos they needed but EG was more than prepared. From the early phase, OG was already crumbling. EG went for an early Roshan and ATF tried to contest, but with Broodmother's tanky nature and Primal Beast's survivability, it ended wrong for OG.

They kept control of the map and caught OG out of position several times. By minute 20, EG came knocking at the base with Primal Beast trashing every hero in the way. They danced and lingered around OG's gates, not letting a single hero out alive. OG couldn't counter EG's aggressive playstyle, ending it with a GG. Abed's Primal Beast was once again unbeatable, accumulating an impressive 12/1/13 KDA.

The day ends with EG at the top of Group A

Group Stage Day 1 Results. Image from <a href="https://liquipedia.net/dota2/The_International/2022/Group_Stage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">Liquipedia</a>.
Group Stage Day 1 Results. Image from Liquipedia.

EG is now the top dop of Group A, beating OG who was having a great run until this series. They are still undefeated after two series wins against Soniqs and PSG.LGD. EG will play against Team Liquid and Hokori on TI11 Group Stage Day 2 and we can't wait to see if the NA kings stay on top of their game at The International.