The International 2016

The International 2016
Tournament information
Sport Dota 2
Location Seattle, Washington, United States
Dates August 3–13, 2016
Administrator(s) Valve Corporation
Tournament format(s) Group stage
Round robin
Bracket
Double elimination
Host(s) Valve Corporation
Venue(s) KeyArena
Participants 16 teams
Purse $20,770,460
Final positions
Champions Wings Gaming
1st runner-up Digital Chaos
2nd runner-up Evil Geniuses
← Manila Major Boston Major →

The International 2016 (TI6) was the sixth iteration of The International, an annual Dota 2 eSports championship tournament. Hosted by Valve Corporation, the game's developer, the tournament began with the qualifier phase in June 2016, and ended after the main event at the KeyArena in Seattle in August.

The tournament awarded the biggest prize pool in eSports history at over US$20 million, surpassing the record set at the previous International in 2015. The best of five Grand Finals took place between the China-based Wings Gaming and U.S.-based Digital Chaos, with Wings Gaming taking the series 3–1, winning them over $9 million.[1] The event, seen by millions of viewers globally, was considered to be one of the greatest eSports tournaments of all time, with multiple upsets and Cinderella stories throughout.[2][3]

Background and format

The KeyArena in Seattle, the venue where the tournament took place

Just as in previous years of the tournament, a corresponding digital compendium for Dota 2 was released before the event, allowing the prize pool to be crowdfunded.[4] Known as the "Battle Pass", 25% of revenue made by it was sent towards the tournament's prize pool, with the other 75% being used by Valve to cover production costs.[4][5]

The tournament initially began with the Americas, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia open region qualifiers in June.[6] The winners of each region then went on to the main qualifiers, which also took place in June. Winners of the regional qualifier earned an invite to the main event, while a secondary playoff bracket took place for teams in 2nd–5th place, with the winner of those also earning an invite. Six teams were directly invited without need for qualifying, which was based on consistently good results at previous Dota 2 events.[7] However, The International 2015 champion team Evil Geniuses did not receive a direct invite due to breaking Valve's rules on roster swapping after the completion of the last premier Dota 2 tournament, the Manila Major, in June.[8] They and Team Secret, who also broke the same rule, were forced to make their way through the open and main qualifiers, eventually finishing first in their respective regions, gaining an invite.[9][10] Two teams from the Philippines, TnC Gaming and Execration, had issues securing travel visas to the United States, but were eventually able to get them one week before the event due to assistance from Filipino senator Bam Aquino.[11]

The main event began in Seattle with the wild card matches on August 2, with the EHOME and Escape Gaming advancing to the round robin group stage the following day.[12] The round robin group stage consisted of two groups of eight teams, with the top four teams of each group advancing to the upper bracket of the best-of-three double elimination main event, and the bottom four advancing to the lower bracket.[12] The Grand Finals, consisting of the winners of the upper and lower brackets, took place in a best-of-five series between Wings Gaming and Digital Chaos, with the former winning the series 3–1.[12][13]

Teams

Direct invitation
Regional qualifier winners
Wild card

Bracket

Wild card

Round one Round two Qualified
                   
 China EHOME 2  
 Philippines Execration 1  
   China EHOME 2  
   Europe Escape Gaming 0  
 Europe Escape Gaming 2
 United States compLexity Gaming 1  
   China EHOME Q
   Europe Escape Gaming Q
 United States compLexity Gaming 0  
 Philippines Execration 2  
   Europe Escape Gaming 2
   Philippines Execration 0  

Group stage

All matches consisted of two games against the same opponent in a round robin format for each group, with two points being awarded for a 2–0 sweep, one point awarded for a 1–1 draw, and no points awarded for a 0–2 loss.[14]

Group A

Pos Team Pld W D L Pts
1 OG 7 4 3 0 11 Advanced to the upper bracket
2 Evil Geniuses 7 3 3 1 9
3 Alliance 7 3 2 2 8
4 Wings Gaming 7 3 2 2 8
5 TnC Gaming 7 3 1 3 7 Advanced to the lower bracket
6 Natus Vincere 7 2 2 3 6
7 LGD Gaming 7 1 3 3 5
8 Escape Gaming 7 0 2 5 2
Updated to match(es) played on August 5. Source: [15]

Group B

Pos Team Pld W D L Pts
1 EHOME 7 5 2 0 12 Advanced to the upper bracket
2 Digital Chaos 7 4 3 0 11
3 Newbee 7 3 2 2 8
4 MVP Phoenix 7 0 6 1 6
5 Fnatic 7 2 1 4 5 Advanced to the lower bracket
6 Team Secret 7 2 1 4 5
7 Team Liquid 7 1 3 3 5
8 Vici Gaming Reborn 7 1 2 4 4
Updated to match(es) played on August 5. Source: [15]

Main event

A main event match between LGD Gaming and Digital Chaos at the KeyArena

Upper bracket

Quarterfinals Semifinals Upper bracket finals
         
A1 Europe OG 1
B4 South Korea MVP Phoenix 2
B4 South Korea MVP Phoenix 0
A4 China Wings Gaming 2
B2 United States Digital Chaos 1
A4 China Wings Gaming 2
A4 China Wings Gaming 2
A2 United States Evil Geniuses 0
B1 China EHOME 2
A3 Europe Alliance 0
B1 China EHOME 0
A2 United States Evil Geniuses 2
A2 United States Evil Geniuses 2
B3 China Newbee 0

Lower bracket

  Round 1 (best of ones)     Round 2     Round 3
                           
        A1  Europe OG 0  
  A5  Philippines TnC Gaming 1     A5  Philippines TnC Gaming 2    
  B8  China Vici Gaming Reborn 0         A5  Philippines TnC Gaming 1
      B2  United States Digital Chaos 2
        B2  United States Digital Chaos 2    
  B6  Europe Team Secret 0     A7  China LGD Gaming 0  
  A7  China LGD Gaming 1  
  Round 1 (best of ones)     Round 2     Round 3
                           
      A3  Sweden Alliance 0  
  B5  Malaysia Fnatic 1     B5  Malaysia Fnatic 2    
  A8  Europe Escape Gaming 0         B5  Malaysia Fnatic 2
      B7  Europe Team Liquid 0
      B3  China Newbee 1    
  A6  Ukraine Natus Vincere 0     B7  Europe Team Liquid 2  
  B7  Europe Team Liquid 1  
  Round 4     Round 5     Lower bracket finals
                           
  B1  China EHOME 0  
  B2  United States Digital Chaos 2         A2  United States Evil Geniuses 1
        B2  United States Digital Chaos 2     B2  United States Digital Chaos 2
        B5  Malaysia Fnatic 0  
  B4  South Korea MVP Phoenix 0    
  B5  Malaysia Fnatic 2  

Grand Finals

The best of five Grand Finals were between Wings Gaming, the upper bracket winner, and Digital Chaos, who won the lower bracket. Wings Gaming lost the first game in the series, but subsequently won the next three games in a row to win the series and the $9 million grand prize.[13]

Grand Finals (best of five)
   
A4 China Wings Gaming 3
B2 United States Digital Chaos 1

Results

(Note: Prizes are in USD)

Place Team Prize money
1st China Wings Gaming $9,139,002
2nd United States Digital Chaos $3,427,126
3rd United States Evil Geniuses $2,180,898
4th Malaysia Fnatic $1,453,932
5th/6th China EHOME $934,671
South Korea MVP Phoenix
7th/8th European Union Team Liquid $519,262
Philippines TnC Gaming
9th–12th Sweden Alliance $311,557
European Union OG
China LGD Gaming
China Newbee
13th–16th European Union Escape Gaming $103,852
Ukraine Natus Vincere
European Union Team Secret
China Vici Gaming Reborn

Legacy

The US$20,770,460 crowdfunded prize pool surpassed the previous International's total of $18.4 million, overtaking it as the largest eSports tournament prize pool in history.[4][16][17] The venue where the event took place, the KeyArena in Seattle, was sold out, with millions of additional spectators watching the event via livestreaming platforms worldwide.[18] The tournament's opening ceremony featured Valve Corporation CEO Gabe Newell, who called the event a "high point of the year for everybody" at the company, as well as violinist Lindsey Stirling, who performed some of the game's soundtrack on stage.[19] The tournament was considered to be one of the best in eSports history, with multiple upsets and underdog teams performing well throughout.[20][21] Production values of the tournament itself were also praised, with Valve, the game's developer and event organizer, implementing technologies such as augmented reality (AR) into the live broadcast, which showed the game's playable characters on screen as if they there in person.[18]

Cinderella teams TnC Gaming and Digital Chaos, who were both projected to finish near the bottom of the final standings, exceeded expectations, with the latter eventually reaching the Grand Finals, finishing as the tournament's runner-up.[22][23] Game one of the upper bracket series between Evil Geniuses and EHOME was thought by Patrick Hancock of Destructoid to be more exciting than any traditional sporting match he had ever seen, with him comparing moments during the game to famous American football plays such as the Helmet Catch.[24] Seattle KCPQ reporter Kaci Aitchison, who co-hosted the event, thought that due to the International's large prize pools and production values, eSports had become a true spectator sport which deserved the same level of respect of traditional sports.[18]

Outside of the tournament's games, other related competitions were held, including a Dota 2-themed short film contest and a cosplay competition, with each having their own independent winners and prize pools.[25][26] In addition, two new playable characters for the game itself were revealed during the event, with the latter also featuring an accompanying martial arts performance.[27][28]

References

  1. ↑ Van Allen, Eric. "Wings Gaming takes TI6, wins $9 million and the Aegis". ESPN. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Thursten, Chris. "The International 2016 ends with a spectacular grand final". PC Gamer. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Wolf, Jacob. "Fnatic's 343: TI-sized prize pools a 'burden on your shoulders'". ESPN. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Erzberger, Tyler. "The International prize pool, a history". ESPN. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  5. ↑ Hillier, Brenna. "Dota 2: The International 2016 Battle Pass packs in so much stuff". VG247. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  6. ↑ Van Allen, Eric. "The International 6 qualifiers primer". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  7. ↑ Van Allen, Eric. "What you need to know about The International 6". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. ↑ Thursten, Chris. "Valve announce team invites for The International 2016". PC Gamer. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Van Allen, Eric. "The roster swap madness of Team Secret and Evil Geniuses". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  10. ↑ Higgins, Chris. "Has Secret's TI6 open qualifier gamble paid off?". Red Bull. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  11. ↑ Bolando, AJ. "Pinoy teams finally get US visas for P890M DOTA 2 event". philstar.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 "Dota 2 - The International". dota2.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  13. 1 2 Walker, Dylan (August 13, 2016). "Wings Gaming wins the Dota 2 International 2016, nearly $10 million in prize money". Yahoo! Esports. Yahoo!. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Tournament Rules". dota2.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  15. 1 2 "Group Stage". dota2.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  16. ↑ Savov, Vlad. "Dota 2 breaks its own record for biggest prize pool in e-sports". The Venge. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  17. ↑ Walker, Dylan. "The International 6 now boasts the largest esports prize pool of all time". esports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  18. 1 2 3 Aitchison, Kaci. "Millions of people from around the world are watching THIS game". q13fox.com. Fox. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  19. ↑ Soper, Taylor. "Valve CEO Gabe Newell kicks off huge Dota 2 eSports championship; prize pool at $20M". GeekWire. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  20. ↑ Thursten, Chris. "The International 2016 is becoming an underdog fairytale". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  21. ↑ Bright, Peter. "The International 2016: the greatest event not just in Dota 2 but in all of e-sports". Ars Technica. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  22. ↑ Thursten, Chris. "The biggest upset in the history of pro Dota 2 shocks the International 2016". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  23. ↑ Erzberger, Tyler. "TI6: Digital Chaos lives up to its name". ESPN. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  24. ↑ Hancock, Patrick. "Why a single Dota 2 match was more exciting than the Super Bowl". Destructoid. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  25. ↑ Stubbs, Mike. "$15,000 cosplay competition to take place at The International 6". MCV. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  26. ↑ Wilson, Nick. "Enter the Dota 2 Short Film Contest and bag yourself a cool $20,000 at the International". PCgamesN. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  27. ↑ Thursten, Chris. "New Dota 2 hero Underlord revealed at The International". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  28. ↑ Thursten, Chris. "Valve announce Monkey King, the first Dota 2 hero that isn't a port from DotA". PC Gamer. Retrieved 16 August 2016.

External links

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