Yesterday was the grand final of the 2018 Dota 2 International, the biggest esports tournament in the world, which had a prize pool this year of nearly $US25.5 million ($34.8 million). In an underdog story nobody thought possible, the $US11.2 million ($15.3 million) title was won by a scrappy team that only came together in June. And for the first time, one of the winners was Australian.
The ultimate objective in Dota 2 is to destroy your enemy's ancient, the massive structure at the heart of their base. Do that and you win. When Evil Geniuses went on a potentially game-ending push into Fnatic's base today, Jacky "EternalEnvy" Mao of Fnatic responded by going straight for the game-winner.
This weekend was another shot for the new look of Evil Geniuses to prove itself. While the team's run up to the grand finals seemed steady, a devastating three-and-done series showed the lineup hasn't found its footing yet.
Even in professional matches, sometimes you have to dive the fountain.
Some days, you just can't catch a good Puck.
SG Esports had already conquered a titan in Team Secret, and just a day later, the team found itself facing another giant in Evil Geniuses. Though the underdog didn't overcome the odds this time, the match between these two was a barnburner.
The lower bracket seems like a strange place for a match-up like Evil Geniuses and Wings Gaming to happen, but in the first round of the Dota 2 Asia Championships bracket, both teams found themselves on their last leg in a best-of-one match. Back against the wall, both teams turned to oddball strategies, leading to one wild ride of a match.
After watching two of their elite players leave for Team Secret, Evil Geniuses have concluded their DOTA 2 roster reshuffle with something as ironic as it is inevitable: eight months after they fired him, they're bringing back Kurtis "Aui" Ling.
Remember two weeks ago, when Team Secret showed they didn't need a lineup of marquee superstars like Artour "Arteezy" Babaev to be the best team in DOTA 2? Well, apparently they're over that now.
Professional gaming can be a ruthless business.
As a good American I was filled with a jingoistic fervour after the triumph of the Evil Geniuses at The International, the world championship for Dota 2, this past weekend. I like video games. I like sports. But I've never watched eSports, not a single match of Starcraft 2, Dota 2, League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, or anything else. In the hopes of learning more about yet another thing that the United States is better at than anyone else in the world, I decided to talk to Rob Zacny of the new podcast Esports Today on the Idle Thumbs network, for Shall We Play a Game?
