Cover-Credits:
In ESL One Birmingham 2024, OG had the toughest opener against Xtreme Gaming considering the Chinese squad’s Elite League victory, but it came through with two superb wins to claim the series 2-0. As the series got going, Sébastien "Ceb" Deb delivered his iconic speech, spurring the team on. Things were competitive for much of the first game, but OG dominated thanks to critical pickoffs and strong teamfight gameplay. Xtreme Gaming found itself helpless to make any moves in the second game, tapping out within 30 minutes as it was outclassed by OG right from the laning phase.
OG thumps Xtreme Gaming in ESL One Birmingham 2024 opener
Due to 1win's disqualification, OG received an invite to the event just days before kickoff and faced a fierce Xtreme Gaming team in its first series in Group B. Ceb's speech, which OG posted on Twitter, set the tone for the series.
“Don’t treat this game any different than any game you play and we play together. Trust yourself, trust your instincts trust your teammates, we are ready, we know what great Dota is. We know what peak Dota is, it’s in our system now. It’s gonna come but what I am asking is for people to trust themselves in the game. Don’t hesitate, don’t second guess yourself or your instinct. Your instinct is correct. Trust it and communicate that we can help you and enable each other. That’s how you play to win basically. No hesitation.
These guys are absolute fr**ks. I don’t know if you remember playing against them - I don’t remember the last time we played them but you remember XinQ - Maelstrom, pushing every wave alone as Batrider travels. This is the guy we are playing against tonight and the others. So, they don’t hold back. Play to win the game, play to win the game in every moment.”
OG and Xtreme started slowly, focusing on farming in the first game, with both teams scoring kills now and then. However, Ceb set it up brilliantly for his team on Bane with clutch Grips, giving OG just enough extra space to come out stronger and win in 42 minutes.
In game 2, OG selected formidable laning heroes, and Xtreme Gaming, seeing this needed a playmaker and drafted an unorthodox mid Slardar. He was unable to make plays, while Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov on Invoker was setting the tone for the game for OG with maneuvers that turned into kills in other lanes. The team’s carry, Troll Warlord, got considerably stronger than anybody else on the map, and with him in the front, OG crushed Xtreme to claim victory.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
There is still time for Xtreme to turn things around as the event is just getting started for both teams. Meanwhile, OG has historically elevated itself to another level in LAN events, and it will be interesting to see if the same happens at ESL One Birmingham 2024.
