Mineski team captain Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr. shakes hands with Virtus.pro’s Pavel “9pasha” Khvastunov. Mineski was eliminated after losing 2-0 to VP in The International 2018. Image: Screenshot from Twitch
And then there were none.
Philippines-based esports team Mineski has been eliminated from the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year.
Mineski lost both matches against Russia’s Virtus.pro in a best-of-three match in the second round of the tournament on Wednesday, Aug. 22 (Manila time).
Mineski’s elimination meant that there will no longer be any representatives for the Southeast Asia region in the running for the championship.
Their second-round, lower bracket finish however also meant that Mineski will still take home a cool $373,699 in prize money (over ₱19.9 million), as of this writing (prize updated, 6:16 p.m.).
United Kingdom-Malaysia team Fnatic on Tuesday lost to Chinese esports organization Team Serenity, while Mineski knocked out all-Filipino team TNC Predator in a do-or-die match in the lower brackets of the International 2018.
Fnatic’s roster includes Filipinos Abed (Abed Azel Yusop) and DJ (Djardel Mampusti).
Mineski’s Filipino team captain ninjaboogie (Michael Ross Jr.) was the last remaining player from the Philippines in the running for the championship before his team’s loss against Virtus.pro.
Both Fnatic and TNC Predator will be going home with a guaranteed $124,343 in winnings (over ₱6.6 million as of Aug. 21) and is expected to increase as tournament sponsor Valve continues to raise funds for The International 2018 via the in-game compendium.
The International 2018’s prize pool was valued at $24,873,919 (over ₱1.3 billion), as of this writing. JB
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