Dota 2 is one of the most popular games in the last few years. Now it is very difficult to find a person who has not heard of the sensational project from Valve. In this article we will talk about one of the most important events in the "Dota" community. We will discuss International Dota 2. What it is? You can find the answer to this question in this article.
What is International Dota 2?
The International is the largest annual Dota 2 tournament. The event is sponsored by the notorious Valve company (Dota developers).
"International Dota 2" is a whole holiday for gamers, comparable in scale except for the New Year. It’s just that instead of the president’s speech and the chimes, the Doters expect a spectacular, exciting battle for a prize pool of several million dollars. Let's talk about this event in more detail.
Organization
The tournament hosts 16 best teams from around the world. Some teams receive direct invitations personally from Valve representatives. The rest are forced to play qualification games that take place in the regions of Europe, America, Southeast Asia and China. Teams that win the qualification receive an invitation to International Dota 2. After this, the teams that took second places in the qualification get the opportunity to compete for the latest invitations. Further, after passing through the group stage, a standings are created, which determines who we will play with whom. International Dota 2 games are held according to the Olympic system (up to 2 defeats). The final and semi-finals are held in the BO5 format (from English best of 5 - up to three defeats).
Champions Shield
Aegis of the Immortal is an artifact in Dota 2 that grants its owner the opportunity to be reborn after death. It acts once, after which it disappears from the player’s inventory. You can get Aegis of the Immortal by defeating Roshan (plays the role of the boss in "DotA 2").
So why this talk about Aegis? The fact is that in addition to money, the winning team receives the Champions Shield. Champions shield is a cup that is stylized as the same Aegis of the Immortal from the game. It is made by Weta from silver and bronze. When creating this cup, Valve set out to create a prize that would be worthy of the winner of such a prestigious championship.
Who won the Dota 2 International?
The first tournament was held back in 2011. It took place from August 17 to 21 at an event called GamesCom in the German city of Cologne. It was then that Dota 2 was first introduced to the general public. The prize fund of the first The International was $ 1,600,000 (the winner received 1,000,000). The first place was taken by the Ukrainian team Na`Vi, who defeated in the final of the Chinese champions called EHOME. Relatively recently, Valve released the documentary Free to Play, which tells about the history of the tournament, its significance and impact on the gaming industry, etc. In addition, the film reveals the formation of such popular e-sportsmen as Danil "Dendi" Ishutin, Clinton "Fear" Loomis and Benedict "hyhy" Lim. You can watch a movie on Steam for free.
Interantional 2012 was held in Seattle from August 26 to September 2. The prize pool was the same $ 1,600,000. The championship was won by the Chinese team Invictus Gaming, and last year's Na'Vi champions had to be content with second place.
The third International was held in Seattle from August 3 to 12. This time the prize pool amounted to as much as $ 2.8 million. And it was during this event that the first interactive compendium was introduced. 25% of its sales went straight to The International 2013 prize pool. This time the Swedish team The Aliance took the Champions Shield and one and a half million dollars.
The International 2014, which, according to tradition, was held in Seattle, broke all possible records. The prize fund of the event amounted to almost 11 million dollars and at that time turned out to be the largest in the history of e-sports. The victory in the tournament was won by the Chinese team NewBee. For first place they received more than 5,000,000 dollars.
The international 2015
Relatively recently (from August 3 to 8, 2015), the 5th annual Dota 2 tournament has ended. The prize pool amounted to about $ 18.5 million (17 million were collected due to in-game transactions of ordinary players). The winner of the tournament was an old American team called Evil Genius. For the first place they received more than 6 500 000 US dollars.
Value for ordinary players
Why are all doters looking forward to the next The International? The answer is pretty simple. One of the main reasons is that Valve issues interactive compendiums during the tournament. Thanks to them, you can get rare and unusual sets, items or unique couriers that cost a lot of money on the trading floor. In addition, by acquiring compendiums, players thereby support the tournament and its participants in particular.
The cohesion of the community also plays a rather important role. The gaming community during The International becomes much more responsive, friendlier. Thanks to this, playing Dota 2 is much more pleasant. In addition, the story of e-sports is written right in front of your eyes, so you feel like part of something great.
Some gamers watch The International in the hope of someday becoming a professional player. As you know, it is at the tournament that further gaming trends are formed. And to know the current meta and counter it - the main goal of any player.
Well, and another reason that explains the popularity of this event is entertainment. Throughout the year, world-famous teams thought out unusual and effective strategies for defeating enemies. Watching how the best tactical minds try to beat each other is very interesting. The apogee of all this action is the finale of “Dota 2 International”. The two best and world-famous teams open their last trump cards and show everything they are capable of. Stream "DotA 2 International" can be viewed on Twitch or, if possible, directly in the game.