TNC Predator finishes Day 1 with a Tie, while Mineski and Fnatic fail to add to their tally

Day 1 of the International has finally come to a close. It has been one hell of an action packed day featuring mega-creep comebacks, support Invokers, fountain dives, incredible upsets and one hell of a day for Dota.

SEA teams had a decent outing in the field today with TNC Predator, Mineski and Fnatic going 3-3, 2-2, 2-2 when the curtains came to a close.

Here’s how the final set of matches went down on Day 1 of TI9.

TNC Predator vs PSG.LGD

After a disappointing loss to Mineski, TNC Predator needed to rally and show that the series against Mineski was a one-off. They did exactly that against one of the best teams in the world PSG.LGD.

Game 1: It was an absolutely clinical performance from TNC Predator which came out in Game 1. Every single player delivered in this game proving that their 2-0 victory against PSG.LGD in the Epicenter Major was no fluke.

Tims played like an absolute monster pulling off some sophisticated movements in the early game to give TNC an early advantage. The Filipinos never looked back. With a clear win-condition in mind, the team played a near-perfect game to secure the Game 1 victory.

Game 2: PSG.LGD struck back in Game 2, hard. They completely decimated their opponents 26-8 on the road to a 36 minute victory. Ame and Maybe were the MVPs of this game with KDAs of 12/0/3 and 10/0/6 respectively. TNC simply couldn’t deal with the absurd amount of farm amassed on both heroes and ended up conceding the second game to draw the series 1-1.

Mineski vs Keen Gaming

Keen Gaming were finally able to put up a win under their name after starting the day with a 0-4 record. They turned up their performances by a notch, allowing them to overcome a searing Mineski who were coming off a 2-0 victory over TNC Predator.

Game 1 was a 25-minute stomp with the Chinese team overwhelming their opponents with Zhai “?” Jingkai’s 15-1-7 Mars leading his team to victory.

Game 2: Keen Gaming played well in the early game again, and capitalized on the advantage and soon racked up the towers with their farmed Naga Siren. Zhai “?” Jingkai impressed once again with an 11/1/11 performance carrying them to a game two victory and another series win for the team.

Fnatic vs Vici Gaming

Even though Fnatic would go on to lose the series 2-0, they were quite impressive against Vici Gaming, arguably the favourites to take the Aegis of Champions this TI. Abed and Jabz, in particular, were effective in making space and carving out advantages for Fnatic out of nothing.

If they manage to sustain these levels performances throughout the upcoming week, it will not be surprising to see Fnatic grab a Top 6 finish at TI9.

Vici Gaming and Team Secret top their tables and look like the clear favourites to take the $15M USD+ prize money by winning TI9.

Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses and RNG, on the other hand, have all had horrid starts to the event. They really need to step up their play if they want to cling onto their hopes of an upper bracket berth.

Day 2 of The International 9 resumes at 06:30 AM IST | 09:00 AM PHT. 

Stay tuned to AFK Gaming to stay up to date with the latest info from TI9.