The final match of the first day of the playoff stage at TI9 brings Dota 2 fans Mineski vs Na'Vi. The best-of-one match will decide who goes through to the lower-bracket second round and who goes home.
Mineski vs Na'Vi at TI9 starts at 5.30pm BST / 6.30pm CEST with live streams and betting odds at Luckbox.
Head-to-head record
Both teams have played a total of four times against each other since 2012 but this is the first meeting between the two at The International.
Mineski won 2-1 their most recent meetup in ESL One Mumbai 2019 Upper Bracket Finals, last April. Mineski won game 1 and 3.
Before that it was Na'Vi's turn to win their mutual meetup 2-1 in ESL One Genting in January 2018 but still, Mineski won Game 1.
Two years ago, both teams met-up again and Mineski won 2-1 AND game 1 again.
Their road to TI9
Mineski
TI9 Qualification
Mineski finished 18th in the DPC table which did not allow them to qualify to TI9 directly. Instead, they had to qualify through The International 2019 South East Asia qualifier.
While coming out on top, they were one game away from elimination vs Team Jinesbrus in their regional qualifier Grand FInal.
Related: TI9 standings, bracket and results for The International 2019
TI9 Group Stage
The Filipino side won vs Chaos E.C (eliminated at group stage) and vs TNC Predator who is showing excellent game skills. They lost vs Keen Gaming and heavyweights PSG.LGD.
Out of the four BO2 matches they drew, they won Game 1 in three of them. They finished sixth of their group with eight points.
TNC Predator 0-2 Mineski - Series A2
Keen Gaming 2-0 Mineski - Series A3
Team Liquid 1-1 Mineski - Series A4
Chaos E.C 0-2 Mineski - Series A5
PSG.LGD 2-0 Mineski - Series A6
Team Secret 1-1 Mineski - Series A7
Alliance 1-1 Mineski - Series A8
Newbee 1-1 Mineski - Series A9
Natus Vincere
TI9 Qualification
Na'Vi are another team that did not make it to TI9 through DPC table, they had to qualify through The International 2019 CIS qualifier. They also played with fire by winning the qualifier going through lower bracket but ending 3-0ing Winstrike Team
TI9 Group Stage
Qualified with three defeats vs the surprise Royal Never Give Up, FNATIC and heavyweights Vici Gaming, and only one victory vs Virtus.pro. Important to notice they still managed to win one game vs beast-mode OG and a solid EG in Day 1 and 2 of the group stage.
They still just finished seventh in their group, with seven points.
OG 1-1 Natus Vincere - Series B1
Evil Geniuses 1-1 Natus Vincere - Series B2
Natus Vincere 1-1 Infamous - Series B3
Virtus.pro 0-2 Natus Vincere - Series B4
Ninjas in Pyjamas 0-2 Natus Vincere - Series B5
FNATIC 2-0 Natus Vincere - Series B6
Royal Never Give Up 2-0 Natus Vincere - Series B7
Vici Gaming 2-0 Natus Vincere - Series B8
Mindset going into the match
Head-to-head and recent past statistics seem to point to a slight advantage for Mineski. They showed slightly more consistent results in their qualification and group stage to TI9 playoffs. However, Na'Vi has equally shown they are able to show nerves when it matters, a quality that might not be that important in a tight and closed BO1 match.
*Picture Copyright: Bart Oerbekke for ESL
