TI5 results, final day: Evil Geniuses are your TI5 champions

After 11 thrilling days of competition and 176 games played, three teams were left fighting for the most coveted trophy, The International 5 Aegis of Champions. Following another day of shocking TI5 results, Wild Card team CDEC has surprisingly advanced into the Grand Finals, leaving Evil Geniuses and LGD to battle it out in the Lower Bracket Finals. From the ashes of the Lower Brackets, Evil Geniuses have risen to claim the championship title and the staggering 6.6 million dollars prize.

UPDATE:

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TI5 has been one of the most entertaining and riveting events in recent memory. Filled with epic comebacks, surprising twists, incredible stories of perseverance and dedication, the matches have brought us to the edge of our seats.

After a phenomenal opening ceremony and a sensational All Star Match, this year’s Grand Finals and closing ceremony had much to deliver. And that is precisely what they did.

The last day of the event kicked off with the Lower Bracket finals between North American favorites, Evil Geniuses, and the iconic Chinese team, LGD. EG managed to sweep through xiao8&co. and secured their place in the Grand Finals.

The Grand Finals were remarkable in every way. Evil Geniuses bested CDEC, 3:1, thus becoming the first North American team that has ever won The International. On top of every professional player’s goal, the Aegis of Champions, EG will walk away with the biggest prize in esports history: $6.6 million.

CDEC – the first Wild Card team to make it into the International Grand Finals – ended their impressive run on second place, 2.9 million dollars richer.

TI5 brackets

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TI5 results and summaries – LGD Gaming (0:2) Evil Geniuses

Game 1

The first game of the Lower Bracket finals started with a respect Techies ban coming out from LGD Gaming and Zhang “xiao8” Ning on Clockwerk again.

Evil Geniuses’ Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling would take first blood. By 15 minutes in, the game was relatively close, with a total of 10 kills already on the board – a taste of what would follow for the entire match. For the complete 58 minutes, the game was brimming with back and forth kills. It could have easily been either team’s victory.

LGD’s first smoke gank payed off, but at the same moment Aui completed his mek. A huge fight on the bottom lane around minute 24 gave Evil Geniuses some space and took away some of LGD’s momentum. Another big fight on the mid-lane at minute 29 favored Evil Geniuses. However, LGD would continue to farm, forcing EG back and taking favorable fights.

VOD: TI5 Lower Bracket Finals, Game 1, Part 1 and Part 2, Evil Geniuses vs. LGD

The Tuskar-Dazzle combination was consistently the saving grace for Evil Geniuses, as it was difficult for LGD to kill heroes after a grave and snowball had made them invulnerable for a period of time.

A four-man wipe around minute 58 on LGD at the bottom lane would be enough for the Chinese team to call “GG” and give EG the win after almost one hour.

TI5 results: Evil Geniuses took the first game of the series and were one game away from the TI5 Grand Finals.

Game 2

LGD started out the draft by banning Techies again. Evil Geniuses picked up Leshrac instead. xiao8’s roaming Earthshaker got first blood on Syed Sumail “Suma1L” Hassan and then the immediate follow up kill as well. LGD would then kill SumaiL when he respawned and TP’d mid again. LGD’s initial trilane meant to keep Leshrac from getting ahead would prove to be a good strategy initially.

Four of EG’s heroes took out Rubick and Shadow Fiend, but then, at minute 22, a 3:1 trade in LGD’s favor brought them back. A five-man wipe on EG at minute 27, thanks to a stolen Winter’s Curse and ultra kill by Liu “Sylar” Jiajun, followed by pick-offs on Fear and Universe would give LGD their momentum back.

VOD: TI5 Lower Bracket Finals, Game 2, Evil Geniuses vs. LGD

However, LGD got massacred during a Roshan fight at minute 42. The Chinese team had lost a dieback, the Aegis and all of their heroes. Evil Geniuses moved mid to take down some barracks. Six minutes later, as LGD started to crumble, a three-man wipe on them would be all that they could handle. They called their last “GG” at The International 5. The incredibly close series showed how evenly matched those two teams were.

TI5 results: Evil Geniuses swept through LGD, 2:0, and moved into the grand finals to face CDEC once again. LGD came in third at this year’s International and will walk away with $2,204,095.

TI5 results and summaries – CDEC (1:3) Evil Geniuses

Game 1

For the first game of the best-of-five TI5 Grand Finals, CDEC went for a “Bleed Blue” draft, trying to use EG’s very own arms against them. Their first three picks were identical with what EG had chosen for their second game against LGD in the Lower Bracket finals, earlier today – Leshrac, Phantom Lancer, and Winter Wyvern. They then followed up with Spirit Breaker and Queen of Pain. Evil Geniuses on the other hand went for Gyrocopter, Clockwerk, Crystal Maiden, Storm Spirit, and one of their common “pocket picks”, Skywrath Mage.

Shiki drew first blood on SumaiL, at minute 2. Three minutes later, SumaiL was 0:3, after some very good rotations coming out from CDEC. Universe, with a level 3 Rocket Flare on his Clockwerk, got the first kill for EG on the scoreboard.

CDEC executed their gank-strat a bit sloppier than usual and ended up heavily counter-ganked. Usually, CDEC’s smoke ganks work out for them in the early game and they find the picks they need. In this game, however, they found aggression early on and were not allowed to play their usual game. By minute 14, EG were sitting on a comfortable 5K lead and SumaiL and Fear were topping the net-worth charts.

VOD: TI5 Grand Final, Game 1, CDEC vs. Evil Geniuses

Despite a weak start, SumaiL managed to get the fastest Orchid of the tournament, at minute 15. EG were rampaging through the game, taking pick-offs and objectives all across the map. By minute 22, Evil Geniuses were leading by 12K XP and net-worth. CDEC tried to stay in the game. Shiki’s Queen of Pain fared relatively well in terms of farm and managed to get ~700 gold out of killing SumaiL’s Storm Spirit. Meanwhile, Q had purchased his Glimmer Cape. However, EG headed for Roshan, SumaiL picked up the Aegis and purchased a Bloodstone.

EG were holding onto their commanding grip on this first game of the TI5 Grand Finals. Fear went totally uncontested until the very end – 8:0:9, and played an extremely aggressive game, demonstrating why Gyrocopter has had a 100% pick/ban rate in the main event. Universe’s Clockwerk was also perfectly executed. CDEC called “GG” at minute 34, when EG took their first set of racks down.

TI5 results: EG were leading CDEC, 1:0, in the TI5 Grand Finals.

Game 2

For the second game of the series, EG went for Windranger, Gyrocopter, Clockwerk, Crystal Maiden, and Winter Wyvern. CDEC caught them off-guard with an offlane Queen of Pain, a mid-lane Broodmother and a safe-lane Leshrac, following up with Tusk and Visage. It was rather obvious from the very beginning that CDEC had the more dominant laning. Shiki drew the first blood on Universe’s Clockwerk. EG did not have any viable solutions to CDEC’s trilane, as the Chinese did not leave any lane unpressured and none of EG’s heroes were able to move into the jungle and take the farm.

At minute 16, Evil Geniuses found two much needed pick-offs and it became slightly harder for CDEC to group up. Fear finished a full Mek in under 20 minutes on his Visage, while Agressif purchased his Orchid. Moments later, CDEC took down four of EG’s heroes and started gaining a lot more map control. Agressif and Shiki were topping up the net-worth charts. By this point in the game, EG had already lost their tier one towers and a third of their top tier two. The North Americans took Roshan uncontested, but CDEC were still determining the tempo of the game.

VOD: TI5 Grand Final, Game 2, CDEC vs. Evil Geniuses

Due to CDEC’s dominant laning, EG’s heroes got their items later than they should have. EG were constantly forced into a position where they either fell back, or they got an unfavorable trade. With a 10-second-charge BKB on Gyrocopter, Evil Geniuses finally found a fight on a single front and managed to get a 4:1 trade out of it. They straightened out the deficit. However, at minute 32, they got team wiped and the game started to swing back from them. CDEC bounced back, got Roshan and were 12.5K ahead in gold and closing in on 10K XP. They now had a full BKB on Leshrac and Agressif had purchased Assault Cuirass. EG called the “GG” at minute 38.

TI5 results: The game spiraled out of EG’s control and CDEC managed to level the series, 1:1.

Game 3

A comfort pick coming out from EG for the third game, with SumaiL on Ember Spirit, Fear on Gyrocopter, Universe on Clockwerk, Aui on Skywrath Mage and ppd on Undying. CDEC drafted a Leshrac for Shiki, Slark for Agressif, Dark Seer for Xz, Lion for Garder, and Visage for Q. Slow start of the game, as PPD drew first blood on Q, at minute 5. SumaiL’s usual hyper aggressive plays were well countered by CDEC, and he wasn’t able to do his classic dives. After a triple kill for Shiki’s Leshrac on EG, CDEC’s momentum was coming their way again.

CDEC managed to get some perfect exchanges early on, Shiki and Agressif were topping the net-worth chart. EG were constantly under pressure, allowing CDEC to get control of the map. However, SumaiL managed to pick off a double kill, at minute 22. It appeared to be an unfavorable fight for EG at first, but CDEC did not follow through and the North Americans managed to take their Lion, Leshrac and Dark Seer down. Aui’s Mek definitely helped out EG in the fight.

VOD: TI5 Grand Final, Game 3, CDEC vs. Evil Geniuses

Much spread damage coming out from both teams, and EG managed to even out the charts and headed for Roshan, at minute 26. Minutes later, Visage had two aghanims completed, while SumaiL had just purchased Eye of Skadi.
CDEC started stalling: their ganks had been played out by this point in the game, smokes gone, BKBs running low. Their vacuum combos were difficult to lane. However, they had three of them. Q had just purchased an Aghanim Scepter.

At minute 36, SumaiL managed to disengage and turn a fight around due to Skadi. The vacuum coming out from Xz was good, but did not do enough damage. EG head for Roshan. At minute 41, CDEC took down four of EG’s heroes down and were pulling ahead with 10K XP. EG cornered them at minute 55 and managed to take down two of their biggest cores, with no buybacks. CDEC were able to get SumaiL instead. Minutes later, CDEC lost all their heroes, except for Lion. It wouldn’t be long until “GG” was called.

TI5 results: EG were leading 2:1, after what Synderen dubbed as “the best game of The International 5”.

Game 4

In what would prove to be the last game of the TI5 Grand Finals, CDEC went for Clockwerk, Lina, Winter Wyvern, Phantom Lancer, and Dragon Knight, while Evil Geniuses seemed to be favored straight away with Gyrocopter, Naga Siren, Storm Spirit, Earthshaker, and Ancient Apparition. The draft paid off for EG, as they ended up winning all the lanes, early on.

We didn’t get to see CDEC’s typical early aggression. Eight minutes in, there was still no sign of a first blood. SumaiL spilled it before the 10-minute mark, and Universe followed up with a second kill. EG outnumbered CDEC, 5:4, taking advantage of the fact that their Phantom Lancer was busy on the top lane. Unable to play their usual game, CDEC started to hobble throughout the map. They did manage to tip the gold scale by 1K, at around minute 13, but experience-wise, they were not once at least close to even, throughout the entire game.

VOD: TI5 Grand Final, Game 4, CDEC vs. Evil Geniuses

SumaiL got one of the earliest bloodstones in the tournament, at minute 13. A triple kill for Universe, at minute 24, was followed by a couple of more favorable trade-offs for EG. However, their lead was still negligible.

An echo slam coming out from Universe, at minute 28, would be what skyrocketed the North American team to the top of the charts. Outvisioned, CDEC were contested the Roshan and got four-man wiped – only Agressif left standing. SumaiL got the Aegis of the Immortal and EG were suddenly closing in on 15K experience. On top of that, they had all the items they needed by this point in the game. CDEC called “GG” at minute 38.

TI5 results: Evil Geniuses bested CDEC, 3:1, and have become the The International 5 champions.

TI5 main event format

Sixteen teams competed in a best-of-three double-elimination bracket, with a best-of-five grand final. Bracket placements were decided through group stage results. The first four Lower Bracket confrontations were best-of-one elimination series.

• TI5 results, main event, day 1: LGD, CDEC thrive, Na’Vi, Newbee, Fnatic, MVP.Hot6 eliminated
• TI5 results, main event, day 2: Empire and Cloud 9 eliminated, Secret sent to the Lower Brackets
• TI5 results, main event, day 3: Invictus Gaming, compLexity eliminated; CDEC, EG advance to the Upper Bracket finals
• TI5 results, main event, day 4: VP and VG advance; Secret, MVP, EHOME knocked out of contention
• TI5 results, main event, day 5: CDEC advance to Grand Finals, EG and LGD still in the cards for title

TI5 prize pool breakdown

The TI5 prize pool has reached a staggering total of $18,377,817.

• 1st place – $6,616,041 – Evil Geniuses
• 2nd place – $2,848,562 – CDEC
• 3rd place – $2,205,338 – LGD Gaming
• 4th place – $1,562,114 – ViCi Gaming
• 5th-6th place – $1,194,558 – EHOME and Virtus.Pro
• 7th-8th place – $827,002 – MVP.Phoenix and Team Secret
• 9th-12th place – $220,534 – Team Empire, Cloud 9, compLexity Gaming, Invictus Gaming
• 13th-16th place – $55,113 – Newbee, Natus Vincere, Fnatic, MVP.HOT6ix

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