TI8 – All Articles
You red that right, ladies and gentlemen, OG wins The International 2019. For the first time in Dota 2 history, a team became back-to-back champions. What an incredible series of games put on display as part of the best of 5 Grand Final. Find out just what in the world happened. “OG, OG, OG!” At…
ESL One Hamburg marks the beginning of the 2018-2019 DotA season by being the first major tournament following The International. Although the event offers some major prize money, it does not award Dota Pro Circut points. DPC points are used as a measure to distribute invites to major tournaments, making the points incredibly important going forward.…
Valve completely revamped the tournament system starting with The International 5 by introducing the roster lock period. This prevented teams from dropping or adding players before tournaments. This also gave the professional scene more stability by encouraging teams to stay together for longer periods of time. Another feature Valve later introduced was the Dota Pro…
Following any major sporting event that players trained all season for, there is going to be burnout. Professional players dedicate their whole selves to coming out on top at one tournament and need to take a break after the fact. This is especially true for DotA and other esports because players are able to practice…
The International 9 will be hosted in Shanghai, China at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in the summer of 2019. This move was announced at The International 2018 through the form of a video featuring Shanghai Vice Mayor Weng Tiehui. Although The International 8 was the first TI hosted outside of the US, The International 9 will…
In the wake of The International, roster shuffles are inevitable. Teams frustrated with poor performances may disband. Player disagreements may drive some talent away from certain organizations. But beyond the drama, the post TI shuffle period is always exciting. PSG.LGD Continuity is great to see in any sport. Like the old saying goes “If it…
The International (TI) is always a time where anything can happen. Underdogs, Cinderella stories, and unorthodox strategies are frequent at the event. Teams will give their all at TI because even finishing in sixth place rewards a team with upwards of $1 million. Although there are some underdog stories, most series have been very predictable.…
Being a China year this year at The International 8, it is wise to focus more heavily on their performance in the group stage. And although there was only one Chinese team that secured an upper bracket spot, anything can happen on the main stage. And despite the fact that PSG.LGD was the only upper…
Since its inception in 2010, The International has been on a regular cycle. The cycle is a Chinese team winning the tournament every other year. Invictus Gaming won The International 2 over Na’Vi and every year since, China and other regions have traded the aegis. The upcoming International 8 could be the first year that…
The Summit 9 was a good glimpse into current meta trends as The International approaches. Quickly following the end of the tournament however, there was a small patch, 7.19. While there were only minor adjustments made to some of the core heroes picked, they can result in major changes to the competitive hero pool. For…
The Summit The Summit tournament is always a fun experience for both players and fans. A relaxed tournament with players, community members and pros casting games brings a wealth of knowledge for the casual viewer. This is valuable preceding The International in order to understand not only the current meta but also the teams power…
Fueling Competition Through Increased Prize Pools The International has always boasted a massive prize pool in comparison to other similar events of its time. The prize pool of the first installment of the tournament was $1.6 million. This was so exorbitant that many professional players at the time did not believe in the event’s legitimacy.…
After a two month lull in competitive DotA 2, the first ranked tournament of the season is now only a week away. While qualifier games have been plentiful lately, victories there do not translate into TI8 Qualifying Points. The Star Ladder i-League Invitational will put the first of these points on the board for the…
It has been almost two months since Team Liquid claimed the Aegis at TI7, and since then roster shuffles have been in full swing. Though parting ways with an old team can be difficult, it also opens up new opportunities. During these shuffles, many players understandably choose to accept offers from other well established teams.…
