The Dota 2 International concluded this evening, with Chinese team Wings Gaming claiming championship rights. They walk home with a combined earning of 9.1 million dollars from the total prize pool of 20 million. This is the largest pot ever in e-sports history.
The entire tournament was fun, unpredictable, and showcased a steady stream of high caliber of skill and “Did you just see that?” moments. But if you had money down on your bracket being correct, you were probably out of the running after the first round.
For starters, crowd favorite Na’vi were defeated by Team Liquid in the very first round of the tournament. Both teams are stellar competition, but preformed miserably throughout the tournament. The team who had absolutely rolled their opposition all year, OG were stunned early on by MVP, losing 2-1. They had a chance to rebound in the Loser’s Bracket, but were defeated soundly by a young Filipino team, TNC.
To top it all off, just about zero people predicted that the finals would be between Wings Gaming and DC (Digital Chaos). The finale was set to be a best of five match between the two. DC started out strong, dominating with strong map presence and cutting off the chance of a comeback.
The good times would not last for DC. Capitalizing on poor positioning, and questionable calls due to tilting (poor play stemming from frustration), Wings took over game from the second one on. They ganked often and well, and cutting off farm from the lanes and jungle, forcing DC into a corner. Some questionable late game plays from DC in the fourth match, and Wings completed their three came comeback to claim their prize. DC wouldn’t walk away empty handed either, taking home 3.1 million dollars.
The International 2016 will go down as a very successful, and highly entertaining tournament. Dota 2’s popularity continues to rise, and the festivities will only continue to be more grandiose as time goes on.