After an eventful week of non-stop Dota 2 action in Mumbai, the grand final stage saw Mineski and Keen Gaming (KG) battling it out to see who would walk away champions.
Mineski, best known for their success in Southeast Asia, shocked the tournament as they advanced to the grand finals through the upper bracket, showing incredible skill as they beat Team Team and Natus Vincere (NaVi) in the playoffs.
KG, on the other hand, got a wake-call at the start of the playoffs after losing to NaVi. The veteran Chinese squad quickly rallied, tearing through the lower bracket, only losing a game to ‘The Pango’. They beat TNC Gaming and then avenged their playoff loss to NaVi, propelling them to the grand finals where they faced Mineski.
Mineski were eager opponents at the start and had their moments during the first game but KG showed strong consistent play as they steadily built up their lead and stopped Mineski from mounting a comeback.
The second game proceeded the same way as Mineski applied pressure at the start of the match but KG’s top-notch map control allowed them to increase the gap in terms of gold and hero levels and gave them a two to nothing lead against their rivals.
With KG one match away from winning the tournament, Mineski bet it all on a Morphling and Enigma draft hoping to turn the tide and gain enough momentum to pull off a reverse sweep but KG dominated the third game, giving them the victory at ESL One Mumbai 2019. The Chinese squad took home US$135,000 while Mineski walked away with US$70,000 as runner-up.
While KG’s Hu “Kaka” Liangzhi was expected to take the MVP award, which comes with a €50,000 Mercedes Benz as a prize, it was Mineski’s stand-in, Kim “Febby” Yong-min, who took home the award, which was determined via votes from Twitter and by “experts”.
It will be interesting to see how both teams perform in the upcoming MDL Disney Paris Major in a few weeks as all the top teams from around the world will be battling it out for those incredibly important DPC points.
