OG play carry Io to win series at The International 2019

gabhernandez Published 18/08/2019

Defending champions OG stomped Ninjas in Pyjamas with a wildly unconventional draft.

In the first game of its series against the European rival, OG drafted Shadow Demon, Treant Protector, Io, Axe, and Windranger. Fans and Dota 2 experts were surprised over the lack of a carry hero on the team, but were absolutely shocked when OG opted to put Anatham “ana” Pham on Io for the game.

The biggest stunner of all came when the strategy actually worked. Twice.

The plan initially looked like it was going to backfire. NiP created a significant net worth advantage over OG with successful map rotations. The team repeatedly picked off OG’s core players and dictated the game’s tempo.

However, a clash near one of OG’s shrines turned into a bloodbath that swung the momentum. Ana kept mid laner Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen’s Windranger alive using Tether and a Heart of Tarrasque build, which provided incredible HP regeneration alongside Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka’s Treant Protector.

Ninjas in Pyjamas’ early lead evaporated over time and the team wound up with its back against the wall. Ana and Topson destroyed NiP’s tier-four towers through backdoor protection and closed out the game with an Io Ultra Kill.

OG went back to that well in game two.

Once again, Ninjas in Pyjamas dominated the laning phase.The game started with three kills surrounding the first bounty runes, which was followed by strong showings from Martin “Saksa” Sazdov and Neta “33” Shapira.

By 25 minutes Ninjas in Pyjamas racked up a 9,000 net worth advantage, but OG did not back down. OG won a team fight around the Roshan pit, took the Aegis of the Immortal, and went straight to the opponent’s base.

33 tried to trade objectives with OG by split pushing but he was no match against Ana’s Io and Topson’s Troll Warlord, who charged the Ancient and took the win.

Across the two games, Ana posted a 20-7 K/D. Expect a slew of pub players to emulate this strategy, and enrage teammates when it fails.

Read Also

Dota 2

Team Spirit wins TI15 to lift a record third Aegis of Champions Michael Hassall Team Spirit has defeated TEAM VISION in the grand finals of TI15, The International 2025. In a full five-game series on Aug. 23, Spirit pulled out all the stops and narrowly defeated an incredible VISION team in a back-and-forth series in Shanghai, China. With Spirit’s victory, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov become the first ever three-time TI champions, and Team Spirit becomes the first ever organization to lift ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Finals Preview and Predictions Michael Hassall The International 2026, TI15, has reached its final day, and just three teams remain in the fight for the Aegis of Champions. With the lower bracket final and Grand Final still to come, everything comes down to one final day of Dota 2 action. The lower bracket finalists will first battle for the right to reach the main event’s final series, while the winner will advance to face the upper-bracket ...

Dota 2

TI15’s opening ceremony weaves a tapestry of emotion for Valve’s storied title Michael Hassall The main stage of The International 2026, TI15, kicked off today with the traditional opening ceremony heralding the start of the biggest celebration of Dota 2 on the calendar. On Aug. 20 fans in Shanghai, China, and at home, were treated to a rousing 11-minute series of performances and video packages, introducing TI15’s main stage show. Here’s how the magic unfolded: The ceremony began with a graphic which quite literally ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Playoffs preview and predictions Michael Hassall The Group Stage of The International 2026, TI15, is in the books and we’ve whittled down 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams to just eight finalists. One of these talented lineups will be the ones lifting the Aegis of Champions come Sunday, Aug. 23, but until then, there’s plenty of playoff shenanigans that could go on. Below we’ve put together a preview of the upcoming Playoff Games, along ...

News

The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027 Ben Boland The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...

Dota 2

Team Spirit vs Iron Wing at TI15: Best Betting Predictions and Picks Owen Harsono The playoffs for TI15 starts off with an absolute banger of a match between Team Spirit and Iron Wing, and the betting odds could not be any closer. Here are our TI15 Team Spirit vs Iron Wing predictions. Tournament: The International 2026 (TI15) Stage: Playoffs Game: Dota 2 Format: Best of 3 Betting tip: This is the closest series we have at the first round of the TI15 playoffs, as ...

Dota 2

Who Will Win The International 2026 (TI15)? These Are Our Best Picks Owen Harsono The TI15 group stage is over, and we’re down to the top eight teams. We’ve now got a pretty good idea of which teams are the favorites heading into the playoffs based on recent performance and season results, so here are the teams we think have the best shot at winning TI15 and claiming some of The International  prize pool. The TI15 group stage saw eight teams exit the event ...