After a few days of intense Dota 2 action, the third Minor of 2019 has come to an end. There was tons of back-and-forth action, amazing moments, and clutch plays. Let’s take a look at what happened after the Group Stage.

Upper Bracket

Round 1

Never in doubt! ?

With some nice Naga song + Black hole combinations we take down the pesky sniper and claim the first game! ?#ALLfam #DotaPit pic.twitter.com/DcHkNQIktE — Alliance @ ??Minor (@theAllianceGG) April 26, 2019

As expected, Forward Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Boom ID were able to deal with their opponents. FG opened the playoffs series with a win against RNGU and the star of the show was Yawar. The NA squad continued to dominate in the second game, which resulted in a well deserved 2-0 victory.

NiP, on the other hand, had the time of their life against Majestic Esports. They were able to take the series in less than an hour.

Even though EHOME made a roster change by adding the TI winner Ferrari_430, they were unable to deal with the Indonesian sensation. Boom ID crushed their enemies in game one. Even though game two was definitely a lot harder for them, they were able to stay calm and eventually won.

Gambit vs Alliance was among the most interesting series of the day due to the unpredictable result. The EU squad has been in outstanding form recently, so it is no surprise that they were able to reach the Lower Bracket Final. To make a long story short, Alliance just outplayed their enemies. Gambit was among the biggest favorites due to their previous Minor results. However, they did not live up to the expectations.

Round 2

NiP ? DotA ? Best ? DotA GGWP @goFORWARDgg ?? We take the series 2:0. On Saturday at 18:00 CEST, we are going to playin in the SEMI-FINALS!#GONINJAS #DOTA2 pic.twitter.com/ykMwWjUWwX — NiP ?? @ #IEMSydney ?? (@NiPGaming) April 25, 2019

Forward Gaming vs Ninjas in Pyjamas was among the most expected encounters in this Minor. As expected, NiP’s Drow strat got a significant advantage early on, which resulted in a fast Roshan kill and ultimately the victory in game one.

The Europeans outplayed their enemies in game 2, but this time the main star was Anti-Mage. After securing an early Battle Fury, he was just out of control. Ace and Co. needed just 30 minutes to secure the victory in the series and a spot at the Upper Bracket Finals.

The second series was a fight to the death between Boom ID and Alliance. The SEA team started the series with a Drow-Razor combo but it was unsuccessful. Alliance was able to outmaneuver their opponents with some amazing rotations. Slowly but steadily, they got the needed items in order to survive the damage output by Boom.

Game two of this series was a gruesome beatdown by the Indonesians. They needed just 25 minutes to stomp their enemies with their OD. He had a nearly perfect game.

The decisive game three was everything that we expected it to be. Both teams chose some of their strongest heroes and gave it all out. Despite that, there was only one winner - Alliance

Round 3 - The Upper Bracket Final

Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated series of the event was this one. Alliance and NiP are both looking very strong but only one of them went to the Grand Final - PPD and his team-mates. Alliance was unable to utilize their Alchemist pick properly in game one, which resulted in a win for NiP.

In game two, NiP’s Meepo just ripped through the enemies lines. Having no ways to deal with him, Alliance had no other choice but to call it in.

Lower Bracket

Majestic Esports and EHOME were able to deal with RNGU and Gambit and were looking to face their next enemies. As we know, everything is possible whenever the series is Bo1. That’s how the South American sensation was able to beat Boom ID, despite being the underdog. Ttheir “fame” was short-lived, however, as EHOME cruised through them in the next round after successfully eliminating Forward Gaming.

Round 4 - LB Finals

So close yet so far. ? pic.twitter.com/bWqa7g5FLO — Alliance @ ??Minor (@theAllianceGG) April 28, 2019

The Lower Final was between Alliance and EHOME, both of which had a terrific run so far. Many people expected the Europeans to stomp the Chinese, but that did not happen. EHOME needed just 19 minutes to completely demolish their opponents in game one. The Drow start from Alliance had little-to-no chance against EHOME’s draft. That is one of the main issues with this type of pick. Once it goes badly early on, it is kind of hard to recover.

Game two was a lot more interesting to watch as both teams gave it their all. However, the Chinese were the ones that seemed to want the victory more. After 56 minutes of epic Dota, they secured the win and a slot for the Grand Finals.

Grand Final - NiP vs. EHOME

NiP started the series with a tough win, despite having the lead for the better part of the game. EHOME tried to fight back and work around their WK, but at the end of the day, it was not enough. Slowly but steadily, NiP’s Morphling became the strongest hero on the map. This game EHOME had no other choice but to GG out and focus on the second game.

Game Two

Similar to game one, the second game of the series was very interesting to watch. Neither team was able to take much of a lead over the other until the 40th-minute mark when EHOME won a team fight and were able to secure themselves Aegis for their Dusa as well as a Cheese and a Refresher Orb. Having the momentum, EHOME ran down mid and got two lanes of rax. NiP tried to fight back, but they just could not do anything. The score was even.

Game Three

Seeing how powerful Dusa was, NiP decided to pick it for themselves. The game had tons of action going on, however, the longer it got, the harder it was for EHOME. At one point, Medusa became the strongest hero on the map. Even Sniper, who is generally very good against Dusa, could not deal with him. The Chinese had no other choice but to call it in and prepare themselves for the next game.

Game Four

Facing elimination, the Chinese decided to pick some of their most comfortable heroes. They pretty much controlled the game since the start. The Naix and Centaur combo were very hard to deal with as NiP had no answer from EHOME’s aggression. After yet again another good team fight, EHOME secured the victory and pushed the series into a game five.

The Final Game

People were criticizing their performance in the group stage, some were saying that they weren't even being serious, but you can't deny that they looked like a different team when the playoffs started. Congrats @NiPGaming , well deserved win! pic.twitter.com/qri5mOTuW8 — OGA Dota PIT (@OGADotaPIT) April 28, 2019

We could not ask for more out of a Grand Final: marathon game five, which had tons of action.

NiP decided to go yet again with a Drow Ranger start; however, they also added Huskar to it. On the other side, EHOME chose to go with the WD-Specter combo, which turned out to be very successful.

The Europeans were more aggressive during the early-mid game. As soon as they secured an Aegis, they tried to get all the remaining towers. With over 15k net worth advantage 40 minutes in, NiP started to taste the flavor of victory.

EHOME was able to mount the beginnings of a comeback. After losing their Rubick without a buyback, however, NiP just pushed in and got the throne and the ticket for the MDL Paris Major.