T1 finally displayed its fine form in the tournament with a sweep of Virtus.pro before giving the defending champions OG a run for its money to cap a rousing Day 2 in The International in Bucharest, Romania on Friday, October 8.
After failing to score a point against Evil Geniuses and Invictus Gaming in the opening day, T1 stepped up its game a notch higher in Day 2, beating Virtus in a 2-0 fashion before putting up a gallant stand against the two-time champs OG to end the day.
Filipino wunderkind Karl “Karl” Jayme, after a quiet first two games, came alive for T1 and spearheaded the 36-31 Game 1 victory for the South Korea-based squad. Karl on his Lina scored a 16-3-12 KDA while Filipino Dota 2 veteran Carlo “Kuku” Palad added an 8-5-17 score line on his Earth Shaker to lead T1 in the 40-minute first game domination.
Karl's stellar play carried over in Game 2 as T1 showed a much cleaner execution, evident in a swift 45-11 victory in just 33 minutes of play. T1 dominated Virtus with the Filipino tandem of Karl and Kuku doing most of the damage on their Doom and Necrophos. Karl finished with an immaculate 10-0-16 KDA while Kuku gave ample support with 10-7-24 KDA.
Nuengnara “23Savage” Teeramahanon also joined the fray with 13-4-24 stat line in Game 2.
That sweet sweep was a good momentum builder for T1 when it went up against OG in its second match of the day.
OG drew first blood in the series, leaving T1 in the dust with a 28-15 victory in just 28 minutes of play. Sumail “Sumail” Hassan on his Tiny was at the forefront of the attack for the European squad, finishing with an impeccable 9-0-6 KDA.
That, however, did not dishearten T1 as it led for the most part of Game 2 behind a solid showing from Karl’s Storm Spirit who finished with 15-4-9 KDA and 23Savage’s Troll Warlord who added a 10-5-11 score line.
OG, however, displayed the champion’s poise and rallied behind Sumail’s Slark with a 14-5-7 KDA and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen’s Ember Spirit with an 11-3-15 KDA to score the come-from-behind 31-32 victory in Game 2.
T1 currently sits at the seventh spot of Group A with a 1-0-3 record and 2-6 win-loss slate. It will have a chance to improve and climb up the standings when it takes on Team Undying on Saturday.