As The International marks its seventh year, the dota-ers get together excitedly (eating and sleeping partly as a bettor) to see what this year’s event will bring. The esports world will surround Key Arena in Seattle this August, but right now, the meta(1) is almost out, and the rivalry between the teams will be resolved soon. After six days of intense competition, the two strongest teams will face each other in the final round, along with a million dollar prize for the winner.
The finals of The International are not just looking for a new king. And those matches also reflected the reality of the Dota 2 scene at that time, including the meta, the players, and the enthusiastic atmosphere of the fans. Below is a compilation of the six finals of Dota 2’s biggest annual tournament.
6. TI4: Newbee vs. Vici Gaming
Is there an important match that was so predictable that the whole community thought it was pre-arranged?
The whole TI4 event is considered one of the most missed tournaments. It was the first event held at KeyArena, and Valve wasn’t aware of the event either. Only eight teams appeared in the main round, making the tournament less attractive.
The meta at that time was also considered quite old compared to the rest of the years, at least from the fans’ perspective. It was the era of the “deathball strat” (2), when players picked heroes who could push lanes and play aggressively, often finishing matches in under 40 minutes.
It’s not that they don’t have skills and tactics. The truth is that once you have perfected a method, there comes a time when it completely backfires, turning the perfect skill into a habit. Each match is decided not during champ select, but after the game has started for about 6 or 7 minutes, when the turrets have been attacked.
Not a single game in the finals of this tournament lasted more than 30 minutes. The longest game of the match ends when the in-game clock reaches 26:11 (excluding draft time and game sounds). The last match ended at 15:08.
The worst thing ?
The final is on Monday. (Wake up the night to watch the match, who would have thought that it would only fight the house)
5. TI1: Natus Vincere vs. EHOME
The first The International was quite unfamiliar, as it was Dota 2’s first public appearance. The commentators at that time didn’t have much experience, while the players only knew “DotA” (the Warcraft 3 mod), they were just getting used to Valve’s remastered version. But this didn’t stop Valve from gathering the world’s top “DotA” players to show off this remake.
Viewers can feel all of the foregoing at the first round of TI Finals, with the champion taking home $1 million in prize money. There were also skill demonstrations, but the lack of a lot of heroes (due to the lack of updates on the word “DotA”) made the game quite strange. The players gave their all, and they did it phenomenally. As usual, tracking Na’vi’s mid laner Dendi is quite eye-catching.
Most importantly, TI1 is a true reflection of what has changed in Dota 2, and the competitive community, from the prize pool to the team of commentators. But when it comes to gameplay, especially when compared to recent matches, there’s nothing special. Not that it’s bad. Which is nothing interesting in the final round.
4. TI2: Invicitus Gaming vs Natus Vincere
A year later, Dota 2 stood even more, getting out of the shadow of “DotA” and becoming more active than before. It’s not perfect, but by no means less exciting. The meta at that time was “protect the carry”, heroes like Anti-Mage and Alchemist were popular, so they weren’t too unfamiliar to today’s fans.
But the most memorable moment was IG vs. Na’vi in the bracket won the semi-finals, not the final. Extreme gamers will remember “The play”, the combat that defined Dota 2: the unpredictability and innovative gameplay, which are still present today. When Invictus Gaming started with Enigma’s utilmate, Black Hole, IG locked up all of the members of Na’vi – except for Dendi’s Rubkick, the hero who could steal moves and turn the game around. And he did, Na’vi captured the whole IG team, taking back the win of that game.
The Play by Dendi
Despite that sublime moment, IG still claimed the invincible Aegis shield. That’s not to say IG didn’t deserve it – they did, IG played underwhelmingly, and it was well deserved. The final round is a series of exciting matches, teamfights and great tactics from each team.
3. TI5: Evil Geniuses vs. CDEC
When TI5 kicked off, no one expected anything from the wildcard (3) team from China that had come a long way, CDEC. CDEC overwhelmed the teams in the winning bracket, making the final round more attractive thanks to this dark horse.
Meanwhile, Evil Geniuses(EG) dropped to the losing bracket – but EG had a reputation as the king of the losing bracket, and they made it back in the finals. It was the year of Sumail, the mid lane legend was discovered, creating a new fan base all over the world. Led by the genius “salty” PPD, now the CEO of the organization, EG is considered a candidate for that event – and possibly the only US team to come close to the title of TI champion.
It was the match of the American dream and the Chinese tiger, and there was a full audience of spectators with passionate cheers, partly cheering for home and partly watching the breakthrough of black horse. Finally, Evil Geniuses stepped onto the podium; and until now, many believe that success is due to PPD’s great drafting talent. The captain wrote down his recent journeys, including agreeing to discuss his draft after numerous fan requests. Of course, there is also a need for harmony in skill, with Sumail, the youthful, aggressive mid style and Universe’s six million dollar Echo Slam from Earthshaker and above all, teamwork.
Most importantly, at a time when North America was considered too weak to exist in a professional environment for any esport, but not Dota 2 in general and North America’s Dota 2 in particular have brought it to life. that – and possibly the region’s esports industry as a whole.
2. TI6: Wings Gaming vs. Dignitas Chaos
TI6 is quite interesting. With the meta picks so familiar at that time, Mirana and Shadow Demon were typical, although not a “choice to win”, but still stormed at that time.
But the motto of winning strategy is the variety of heroes in the way of play. The top two teams, Wings Gaming and Digital Chaos, were praised throughout the event for their ability to play a huge number of heroes. You can’t catch cards when you don’t know what they’re going to put out.
For that reason, the finals take place not only at the start of the game but also during the draft. While DC had a chance to crush Wings in the game, Wings won thanks to their hero lineup and map, proving what the world of Dota 2 is all about: perfection in skill, intelligence, and tactic. There is nothing to say about the level of play, as the teams are all reaching the pinnacle of Dota skills, which the audience has certainly seen and will see again. The way Anti-mage returned in game 4 and last game, is a perfect example of effective farming as well as refreshing in the game.
Sadly for this year, Wings won’t be returning to TI7 because the roster has disbanded, but they have inspired other teams like Virtus.Pro to expand their skillset.
1. TI3: Alliance vs. Natus Vincere
A lot of people still believe that until now, the final of The International 3 is still the best series of matches that Dota 2 has ever had.
At this point, Dota 2 has begun to mature, gradually coming out of beta when it ends in early July, open to all players. This means an influx of viewers – and their accompanying friends – lining up for Esport’s biggest event. And it was really big, it was also the first year of Compendium(4), which increased the prize pool by more than $2 million.
In the pro world, Alliance won multiple tournaments in a row, including finishing a “perfect” game 22-0 with total kills, adopting “rat dota”, an ‘objective’ focused strategy. of the game (i.e. just focus on destroying the opponent’s tower and fountain/ancient instead of fighting). This means that, instead of focusing on teamfights (combats), one enemy usually goes solo and only focuses on taking turrets, while the other four take over the position of the map. This method is difficult, and easy to kill if observant.
And the match between these two opponents constantly appeared: Alliance vervus Natus Vincere, Dota 2 El Classico (in football, Real vs Barca). All the fans want them to face each other at the biggest Esport event in the world. Alliance pushed Na’vi into the early losing bracket, but Na’vi came back to the finals. Something the fans love.
While “rat dota”, in regular matches, is criticized as obnoxious for the reason of avoiding combat; At the highest level, it was a long game of chess, with a cat-and-mouse phase. There are only two ways to get rid of this strategy: get rid of it right from the draft, or race faster than your opponent. Alliance has perfected the art of drafting, and it’s hopeless for Alliance’s ‘outdraft’ ‘ratter’ opponent AdmiralBulldog, so he can play his hero. Instead, Na’vi created a game that chases them down while also trying to ‘push’ the opponent and knock them down.
In the end, there were only two lone ancients and the Dream Coil “Million Dollar” – the ultimate from Alliance player “s4” Puck. “s4” stopped Dendi’s necessary teleport by just a few milliseconds, causing Na’vi to lose the Ancient, and ultimately Na’vi to lose the championship cup.
s4’s million dollar Utilmate fruit
Dota 2 is a game of flips, close-ups and milliseconds, and TI3 is the perfect example of those moments that always bring players back into the arena.
Source: pcgamer.com
Meta: basic tactical principles of the game at the time. For example Ti3 is rat dota
Deathball strat: focus on pushing towers fast and finishing the game early.
Wildcards: of four teams that finished in 3rd place in their respective regions. They competed against each other in a win-lose bracket format and only the two strongest teams made it to the Group Stage.
Compendium: books (accessories) purchased in dota during Major/The International used to receive in-game rewards and follow Valve’s official tournaments
Source link: Dota 2’s Most Memorable Finals
– https://emergenceingames.com/