Ari on ESL One Birmingham: "We're pretty confident"

Some teams are underdogs in ESL One Birmingham 2024 and OG is one of them. The team has the only UK player, Matthew " Ari" Walker, for the tournament. It could give them the home-town advantage (if there's such a thing in Dota 2).

Ari is the only British player competing in ESL One Birmingham 2024. (Image Source: Screen Capture from ESL One stream.)

OG was fortunate to get a chance to participate in the tournament. A team from Eastern Europe faced visa issues. As a result, ESL One acted swiftly and gave OG the slot as a replacement. However, the decision faced some backlash from the Dota 2 community. Nevertheless, OG showed up to the tournament with their game ready.

OG at ESL One Birmingham 2024. (Image Source: Screen Capture from ESL One Stream.)

On the opening day, the team took a 2-0 victory against Xtreme Gaming. Before their series, the only hometown player of the tournament, Ari, foretold how the series would go down.

OG Dominated Xtreme Gaming

OG's lineup for ESL One Birmingham 2024. (Image Source: Screen Capture from ESL One Stream.)

Both teams opt for a farming-oriented lineup in game 1. OG had a safelane Luna. On the other hand, Xtreme Gaming opted to have a safelane Gyrocopter backed up with a midlane Pangolier and offlane Mars. As the match began, OG dictated the game's pace.

Ceb's performance on Bane against XG was mesmerizing. (Credits: Valve)

Their midlane Void Spirit was finding pick-offs on the map. Additionally, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs was fantastic with his hard support, Bane, punishing the cores of Xtreme Gaming whenever they got out of position. OG's safelane Luna came online to close out the game. Game 2 was more one-sided in OG's favour. With Troll Warlord and Invoker, OG took game 2 in 30 minutes.

BZM's Invoker has the most impact in game 2 against Xtreme Gaming. (Credit: Valve)

Defeating Xtreme Gaming was not an easy feat by any means. However, OG did it by relying on their intuitions and brilliant strategies. Instead of waiting for Xtreme Gaming to come online, they completely shut them down by winning their lanes and picking them off the map.

Ari is the support player of OG. (Image Source: Screen Capture from ESL One Stream.)

Jake "SirActionSlacks" Kanner asked Ari before the series if they would win 2-0 against Xtreme Gaming. Ari confidently replied "Absolutely." When asked about his picks, Ari stated he has some tricks up his sleeve and is saving them for the main event.

" I do have some, but I'm not sure if we can show it today."

Tied Against Tundra Esports

In their following match against Tundra Esports, OG drew the series. Tundra took game 1 with their Sven draft. However, OG tied the series in game 2 with their Luna draft.

Luna could be the meta carry for ESL One Birmingham 2024. (Credits: Valve)

During their first day, OG has shown a few things that they have been working on. In both matches they won, the team had a Bane, Marci, and a Luna. More importantly, OG had these three heroes played by Ceb, Ari, and Enzo "Timado" Gianoli in those matches.

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, and it seems ESL One has given OG an opportunity to make it to The Riyadh Masters 2024. Despite the decision facing some backlash, OG held their heads up high.

Group B results of ESL One Birmingham 2024 after the end of Day 1. (Image Source: Strafe)

After the end of Day 1, OG is tied for the first seed in Group B with Heroic and Tundra Esports with a score of one win and one tie. Their upcoming match is against Gaimin Gladiators.

Image Source: Screen Capture From ESL One's Stream

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