Fans have not missed a single action in “The International 9: Lakad Matatag” DOTA 2 World Championship as ABS-CBN Sports delivers a live coverage of the prestigious eSports tournament held in Shanghai, China on ABS-CBN’s popular streaming service iWant since Tuesday (August 20) until l the final day of the competition on Sunday (August 25).
 
eSports enthusiasts and the entire gaming community have tuned in to the rampage of defending champions OG through the group stage of the event that saw Filipino teams TNC Pro and Mineski drop from the running yesterday.
 
Aside from OG, other teams to look at are their top contenders in Liquid bannered by Miracle, w33, and Kuro as well as Vici Gaming boasting of Paparazi, Ori, and Fade. However, Evil Geniuses, who is running with Arteezy, SumaiL, and Fly, failed to avenge their 2018 defeat at the hands of OG last night.
 
For Neil De Guzman, known as the shoutcaster “Midnight,” it was unfortunate that the Filipino teams have dropped to superior teams but it is never too late for local teams to rise to the top.
 
“Every year, we’re improving, but the time will come that we will eventually have our moment,” he shared.
 
However, he says that it is not hard to miss the fact that the defending champions, helmed by captain N0tail, Ana, JerAx, Ceb, and Topson are the heavy favorites coming in after the group stages.
 
“This is the highest probability that we will see a repeat for the championship. You’ve seen how OG, despite not drafting well, and just having fun with their game, is playing. This is still the same roster that is taking chances from other teams yet they don’t care what other teams are doing and this is their chance to prove people wrong that you can’t repeat in TI,” he added.
 
Don’t miss the intense DOTA 2 action brought to you by the “TI9: Lakad Matatag” coverage which streams on iWant daily until the Finals on Sunday (August 25).
 
For more stories and news on eSports and TI9, follow @ABSCBNSports on Twitter and Facebook or visit sports.abs-cbn.com. For updates, follow @ABSCBNPR on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or visit www.abscbnpr.com.