ESL One Mumbai 2019 is finally over, and as I predicted previously, Keen Gaming won the event without too many problems. They did somehow lose to Na’Vi, of all teams, in the first round of Upper Bracket matches, but they then went on to demolish everyone they encountered on their path to the title.

Event Analysis

As a whole, ESL One Mumbai 2019 was a great tournament with lots of spectators, good matches, and some memorable moments created both by the casters and analysts as well as the players. India totally deserved an event like this, and it should help their esports scene quite a bit. So far, they haven’t really gotten involved in esports at a professional level and are light years behind in almost every game.

The local team, Signify, lost six games out of six, winning absolutely nothing in three consecutive Bo3 matches. Furthermore, they lost each of the first four rounds in under 30 minutes, clearly showing their severe lack of experience relative to the other opponents. And these weren’t even the best competitors on the scene. They were squads with ranks ranging from 8th to 30th.

By winning the title at ESL One Mumbai 2019, Keen Gaming got $135,000 for their efforts and proved once again that they are now one of the best teams in China. A brief look at their roster makes it easy to see that Keen has some of the best Chinee players: old chicken, eLeVeN and Kaka are all experienced veterans with a lot of trophies next to their name.

Complete Results

ESL One Mumbai 2019 took place in two stages. Here’s how the event unfolded in each:

Group Stage

This stage proved very challenging for a few teams that were expected to do better than they ultimately did. In particular, TNC Predator managed to lose somehow against TEAM TEAM and also against Natus Vincere. This was a big upset given how strong TNC is compared to both of these opponents.

Just consider the fact that they are sitting at number 10 in the DPC rankings, with almost 700 points. Natus Vincere is sitting at number 16 with 175 points, while TEAM TEAM is nowhere to be found for now. They will take part in the upcoming MDL Paris Major, but until then, they’re just a provincial nobody.

The Group Stage results wound up as such:

Group A:

• 1st place: TEAM TEAM (2 W – 0 L)
• 2nd place: Natus Vincere (2 W – 1 L)
• 3rd place: TNC Predator (1 W – 2 L)
• 4th place: compLexity Gaming (0 W – 2 L)

Group B:

• Keen Gaming (2 W – 0 L)
• Mineski (2 W – 1 L)
• The Pango (1 W – 2 L)
• Signify (0 W – 2 L)

Playoffs

The Playoffs Stage started with one major surprise: Natus Vincere somehow managed to defeat Keen Gaming at the end of three games in which they picked Templar Assassin no less than three times. Apart from this unexpected result, things went pretty much according to expectations, even though some people had anticipated a win for TEAM TEAM in their match against Mineski.

Upper Bracket Matches Round 1

• Keen Gaming vs. Natus Vincere: 1 – 2
• TEAM TEAM v. Mineski: 0 – 2

Lower Bracket Matches Round  2

• TNC Predator vs. Signify: 2 – 0
• The Pango vs. compLexity: 2 – 1

In the Upper Bracket Finals, Mineski defeated Na’Vi (2 – 1) and advanced to the Grand Final. In the Lower Bracket, TNC Predator crushed TEAM TEAM ( 2 – 0) while Keen Gaming bested The Pango, although they did need three games to do it. Keen’s next two matches ended with 2 – 0 victories against TNC Predator and Natus Vincere. The Grand Final ended quicker than people would have liked. A 3 – 0 result for Keen Gaming brought them the title but apart from the 3rd game, the battle looked fairly close.

Post Event Incidents

Immediately after the tournament, TEAM TEAM, EternaLEnVy’s new team, lost two players. Actually, let me rephrase that. TEAM TEAM kicked two of their players. Given EE’s past, it’s only natural that the rumors started circulating and of course, almost everyone blamed him for the departure of Gunnar and Newsham.

Truth be told, these two players were the weakest amongst the five,  and the move was partly expected, considering the fact that so many superstars are currently free agents. The list includes UNiVeRsE, SVG, Resolut1on and Mushi. I personally expect at least one of these four to be announced in the coming days as a new TEAM TEAM member.

The particularly sad part about Gunnar and Newsham’s fate of Gunnar comes into play with their performance prior to ESL One Mumbai 2019, where the team finished 5th – 6th. TEAM TEAM qualified for the upcoming MDL Paris Major, which would have been a huge chance for these two players who have spent many years grinding and trying to finally make it to a big Valve event.

It’s heartbreaking to see your dreams collapse in front of your eyes after you’ve worked so hard to turn them into reality, only to be sacked by your own team after finally succeeding in doing that. Many might regard this gesture as purely evil, although it is true that just like many other things, the decision probably had nothing to do with the two players and was purely opportunistic given the current player market.

EE is known for having this habit of acting in a totally opportunistic way, as he already did this sort of thing multiple times in the past and has since turned into one of the villains of the professional Dota 2 scene. His Twitter response to his fans was quite telling:

I don't dislike Gunnar

— EternaLEnVy (@EternaLEnVy1991) April 21, 2019

This response came after many people pointed out that on his former team, Flying Penguins, EE did the same thing to Gunnar right before a DPC Minor. So practically, this is the second time when EE denies Gunnar the chance to play at an important event after he assisted his team in getting there.

As far as I’m concerned, Valve should make it impossible for teams to do things like this. The type of selfish behavior that we see here on full display is simply eroding some people’s trust in the professional Dota 2 scene and makes them look upon it as a chaotic jungle where everyone’s constantly aiming for a better position at the expense of anything and anyone else.

As the guardian of more than a circuit, but also a dream, Valve should definitely speak up against such incidents and enact rules that prevent them. It is inadmissible for people to be kicked from their own team right before the most important moments of their career and after having earned their place at big events by assisting their team in getting there.

What TEAM TEAM did is a prime example of ruthless behavior that should be excluded either by the way in which player contracts work or by the rules imposed by Valve on everyone who wants to be a part of their Dota Pro Circuit.