After an abysmal 1-5 start to The International 2019 Group Stage, including a disheartening 0-2 loss to OG earlier today, Evil Geniuses (EG) bounced back with two dominant wins against Chinese team Royal Never Give Up (RNG).
EG got off to a hot start on the back of a dominant laning stage for Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan on Kunkka against Setsu on Queen of Pain, which gave Artour “Arteezy” Babaev’s Lifestealer space to outpace Monet’s Faceless Void. With EG winning the midgame fights, they attempted an early push at RNG’s high ground but were repelled.
That only served to delay what seemed inevitable however, as EG was becoming too tanky for RNG to try and burst down. An Aghanim’s Scepter pickup for Gustav “s4” Magnusson’s offlane Abaddon ensured that whatever RNG tried to throw EG’s way was easily brushed off, eventually prompting the Chinese team to call the GG.
EG opted to have strong lanes again for Game 2, picking Templar Assassin for SumaiL and Gyrocopter for Arteezy, with Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen on a roaming Mirana to terrorize RNG’s lanes.
EG’s strategy panned out perfectly, with Arteezy picking up an early Mega Kill streak and RNG pinning all their hopes on Monet’s Antimage to carry them in the lategame.
That didn’t come to fruition however, as EG was already knocking on RNG’s door before Monet could come online. It didn’t take long before the Chinese team was forced to tap out.
EG improve to a 3-5 record, but are still in real danger of starting in the Lower Bracket in the Main Event. RNG meanwhile fall to 1-5, with elimination after the Group Stage a looming possibility.
Be sure to check out our coverage of The International 2019 Group Stage for more TI9 action.
