The International: the script that can't be written

Many have already heard about the «script of The International». Yes, the scenario exists. However, it is not about 26 talking points that were highlighted by users of social networks. This is all speculation from fans who only see what they want to see.

With all this, The International does have a «Real Scenario». We will analyze it in this article.

Where did the script come from

There were always talks that everything was planned and paid for in advance at all tournaments. Most often, this is written by those who were dissatisfied with the results of a particular event. In an attempt to justify or blame the team, many begin to look for signs and talk about conspiracy theories.

This year was no exception. Indeed, why would the strongest Chinese team PSG.LGD suddenly lose in the grand final, while playing against young and inexperienced guys? How much nonsense and fairy tales are circulating on social networks, preventing people from learning the truth? The answer to this question was given in the article «How the fear of PSG.LGD players prevents them from winning The International».

The first thing to consider is that The International has been going on for ten years. And, of course, many moments can be repeated or simply coincide. So, for example, the tournament brackets of 2017 and 2021 partially coincide. Some saw a repetition of the path of Team Liquid here. Apart from some coincidences, there are so many differences. And now let’s talk about the real reasons for victories and defeats.

The real reasons for victories and defeats

In reality, there is no script written by someone. Do you really think that Valve, or even Gabe himself, has taken a break from their business and spent nights working out the ideal scenario for a $40 million tournament? And then coordinated all actions with all organizations, players and others? In that case, wouldn’t anyone out of a couple of hundred people over so many years accidentally spill the beans?

All this is nonsense. In reality, the team that has analyzed the meta of the current patch and uses powerful heroes and combos wins. Through numerous trainings, strategies are developed and the individual skill of each player is increased. At the same time, esportsmen themselves should be relaxed or even play for fun, because otherwise it will be almost impossible to win with trembling hands. And these are just the general factors that can lead the squad to victory. And if you take a brief look at all the previous The Internationals, then you will see that every year the team that has certain prerequisites for victory won.

Natus Vincere (2011) TI1

The first major international Dota 2 tournament from Valve, the time when you had to get an invitation key to play DotA. The game was still new then, professional players from DotA actually learned how to play again. Ones, who quickly adapted to the characters and game mechanics, had the advantage. They tried different strategies and drafts.

By the end of the tournament, NaVi finally understood how to play this game. Yes, and the lineup had everything you need: ease of play from the ever-jolly Dendi and XBOCT, aggressive ganker Artstyle and prudent LighTofHeaveN and Puppey. They had everything, while their opponents seemed to lack something in the composition and in the game. They have become the first champions of The International.

Invictus Gaming (2012)

The TI2 meta has changed and now, in the vast majority of cases, the game was decided by the pick of heroes. Whoever won the draft stage and took heroes with powerful ultimate abilities for a mass brawl – got the win. During the tournament, the finalists – Natus Vincere – have already defeated Invictus Gaming in the upper bracket. But in the grand final, the Chinese team broke the established system and started taking strong cows. It is worth noting the role of Ferrari_430 and ChuaN in the decisive match. IG were able to adapt to their opponent. Thanks to the draft and individual performance, they were able to win the tournament.

Alliance (2013)

The legendary The International 3 went down in history forever thanks to Natus Vincere‘s great performance on the third map in the game against TongFu. However, they were not the winners of the tournament.

It was the Swedish team Alliance who made the most of the push strategy, which was incredibly strong at the time. AdmiralBulldog was remembered by the audience as a virtuoso of microcontrol, he liked to join the fight and creat space for his carry Loda and other teammates. The grand final turned out to be incredibly emotional and difficult for both teams. NaVi were good, but Alliance proved to be better due to their strategy and its implementation.

Newbee (2014) TI4

Chinese team, of course, had the best players in the world at that time. Even the legendary coach of PSG.LGD – xiao8 – played for Newbee. For the first time, the team was able to successfully implement its early dominance strategy. Its essence is simple, but it requires almost perfect execution and does not forgive mistakes. The idea is to pick heroes that are strong in the early game, can farm fast, get into fights early, or have summons. And having such a peak at their disposal, the Chinese players pressed their opponents from the very first minute. Few teams could oppose something like that. In the grand final against Vici Gaming, Newbee players won second, third and fourth maps in 26, 17 and 15 minutes, respectively. The score is 3:1 – and the fastest Aegis of Champions is in the hands of Chinese esportsmen.

Evil Geniuses (2015) TI5

The International 5 is not famous for some strategies or imba-heroes. Everything was much easier. At some point, the Evil Geniuses organization gathered the best players, adding young and hot blood to it – SumaiL. Squad with great chemistry, good players and excellent individual skills of each member of the team ensured the success of the winners.

However, it is worth taking a bow for their main rivals – CDEC Gaming. After the end of the tournament, there were rumors around the Chinese team that they supposedly knew the opponent’s strategies and signature heroes in advance. Later, the fact of transferring API keys was revealed and there was a scandal, but the grand final put everything in its place.

Wings Gaming (2016) TI6

Wings Gaming became the main revelation of TI6. Chinese underdogs, who did not even have branded T-shirts, managed to win the main tournament of the year in Dota 2. The secret of success is constant training. During the preparation, the players have increased their skill to incredible heights. While others had a small pool of heroes (a certain set of characters from which participants can choose – Ed.), Wings had a whole «sea» of different heroes in their arsenal. This allowed them to get the main win of their professional careers.

An interesting fact: in the first and last match of the playoffs, they played against Digital Chaos. Both finalists qualified for TI6 through regional qualifiers. DC looked like a random set of players from different countries: Resolut1on, w33, Moo, Saksa, MiSeRy, as well as two coaches Loomdun and Pajkatt. By the way, Digital Chaos’ path to the grand final is similar to the one that Team Spirit went through in 2021. Scenario?

Unfortunately, Wings Gaming had no luck with the organization’s managers, who actually invested a large percentage of the prize money into another League of Legends team, instead of developing Dota 2 roster. On top of that, due to contract restrictions and bans from the Association for Chinese Esports, ACE, team was disbanded and ceased to exist. Now only Faith_bian and y`, who took second place at The International 10 this year, are actively playing on the professional stage.

Team Liquid (2017) TI7

Team Liquid‘s triumph is the victory of skill and composure, mixed with genius and a touch of fun. KuroKy, being an experienced captain and player, gathered the best around him: MATUMBAMAN, MinD_ContRoL, GH and the incredible Miracle-. The team was coached Heen, who now works with Team Secret.

It is Liquid’s path to victory at The International that is being compared to Spirit’s. However, even after the group stage, it was obvious that Liquid is one of the strongest teams in the tournament, which cannot be said about Spirit. The victory of KuroKy and his team is a completely expected and predictable result achieved by hard training, brilliant skill and many years of experience.

OG (2018, 2019)

YOLO-style, mixed with fun, ingenious game play and imba heroes led OG to victories. This is what the two-time champions of The International looked like at that time. N0tail, JerAx, Ceb, Topson, and ana are true geniuses of the game, but that’s not the only reason for their success. Until now, many do not understand one simple fact – for some reason, OG’s opponents did not ban their signature heroes. This is where conspiracy theorists should dig.

Team Spirit (2021) TI10

Two years after the break made due to the COVID-19 epidemic the Dota 2 esports world has experienced a generational change. Young players, having everything they need to win, as mentioned at the beginning of the article, simply began to push the old school players.

We have already told a lot about Team Spirit. We advise you to read the articles: «The Phenomenon of Team Spirit. The path from no-names to the stars», «Silent: from a former player to a top coach».

Looking back over the past years, there are many differences and similarities. However, there are real factors that guarantee victory:

• Perseverance, drive and motivation. Something for which the player gives all his best and is able to overcome everything together with the team for the sake of victory.
• Preparation and training. You need to know who you will face in the tournament and be ready for anything.
• Individual skill. The strongest players from all over the world take part in the tournament. If you want to win, be better than them.
• Signature Heroes. What could be stronger than a professional player? Only a player who plays his signature hero perfectly.
• Meta patch. Before the tournament, it is very important to analyze the current meta in the game and use it to the fullest.
• Synergy in the team. Mutual understanding and teamplay are the basis of a team game.
• Strategies. A well-thought-out strategy and its correct implementation brings victory even against a stronger team.
• Psychological stability. Calmness, composure and a little childishness helps not to be led by emotions and not to succumb to outside pressure at the most crucial moment.
• The ability to adapt. Difficulties arise in the course of a tournament or match, but the ability to adapt to the enemy saves you at the most unexpected moment.

With some or all of these characteristics, teams and players themselves are able to script their own victory in any tournament.