OG bring carry Io to TI9 main stage in big win over Newbee

OG is looking unstoppable right now.

The defending champions made their main event debut at The International 2019 on day two. Facing Newbee, the team continued to ride the momentum they enjoyed in the group stage en route to convincing 2-0 win.

OG came out with another unique composition in game one. Anathan “ana” Pham went back to the core Io he debuted in the group stage, while Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen wound up playing Bristleback in the mid lane. Both moves paid off in a huge way.

OG invested all their resources into building up their carries, stacking camps and even giving them Tomes of Knowledge to ensure they could quickly hit their talents as quickly as possible. Newbee couldn’t find a way to punish that, and once Io and Bristleback were properly itemized and leveled up, the OG push was on.

Newbee had no answer to the rapidly regenerating Bristleback charging at them with Quill Spray. OG rotated from objective to objective and closed out the game with Topson casually standing in Newbee’s fountain, killing them before they could even leave to defend their base.

OG thrives at TI9 with a variety of compositions

Game two saw a somewhat more conventional lineup from OG, but with the same result. Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka locked in Treant Protector while Sébastien “7ckngMad” Debs took Magnus. That combination provided huge boosts to Topson and Ana, while also making it nearly impossible for Newbee to push towers.

Newbee mid Quinn “CCnC” Callahan had a few moments in the game as Ember Spirit, but OG just had too many disables and too much mobility for him to handle. Newbee was able to resist OG’s advance for a bit longer than they did in the previous game, but still fell quickly to end the series.

The victory was an impressive one from OG who continue to look very good. The team took first place in its group and show no signs of slowing down. What’s more, their willingness to bring the seemingly cheesy group stage drafts up to the TI9 main stage shows that they’re once again ahead of the meta.

Meanwhile, this was a tough blow for Newbee. The team was surprisingly formidable in the group stage despite having a disappointing season and needed to put on a respectable performance here in order to show that they are a legitimate threat. Instead, they were essentially embarrassed by OG, who steamrolled them while spamming the chat wheel and slapping down signs.

Newbee will look to rebound tomorrow in a loser-goes-home showdown against Infamous.