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4 things we learned from The International 9
The International 9 was one of the most extraordinary competitions we've ever seen. Here, we take a look at four of the biggest talking points from the historic tournament.
The International 9 didn't disappoint. Dota 2 has entered a new era and TI9 will forever be remembered as the tournament where OG secured their legacy as one of the game's greatest ever teams.
The prestigious tournament came to an epic conclusion in Shanghai, where history was made in the 18,000-seat Mercedes-Benz Arena. Not only did TI9 boast the largest prize pool of any esports tournament, with over $34,000,000 up for grabs, but it also gave Dota 2 its first two-time TI champions in OG. No player had even won the tournament twice, now five of them have.
TI9 will go down as one of the most extraordinary esports tournaments of all time and here are the biggest talking points from the incredible final.
1. Welcome to the era of OG
Anathan 'ana' Pham, Topias 'Topson' Taavitsainen, Sébastien 'Ceb' Debs, Jesse 'JerAx' Vainikka and team-captain Johan 'N0tail' Sundstein have been immortalised as the only players to have ever lifted the Aegis of Champions twice. On top of that, they did it in back-to-back tournaments. The five-man squad became the first roster to reach back-to-back International finals and managed to hold their nerve and take home $15,500,000 in prizes.
It was an all-European final, as TI8 champions OG took on TI7 champions Team Liquid in perhaps the most important series of Dota 2 ever.
The opening game was a nearly 50-minute battle, as neither team would back down. The match eventually ended in Liquid's favour, but would only become a consolation when OG began growing into the series.
OG switched things up for game two, as Topson completed their draft with his signature pick of Money King. The Finn dominated the game, controlling the middle of the map before taking over the entire game and finishing with a KDA of 16–3–18.
From there, OG were in complete control and won both of the next two games in under 25 minutes. The players were looking fantastic on a variety of heroes, which left Liquid with very few answers and ana with his frightening carry Io pick. OG weathered the storm of Liquid's strong early game and found multiple team wipes to ensure their names were written on the back of the Aegis once again.
OG accomplished something Dota fans never thought they'd see, but knowing the group of players they are, you can bet they’ll want to make it three in a row in 2020.
2. The International is returning to Europe
Ahead of the clash between European teams OG and Team Liquid in the grand final, it was revealed that next year's International will return to Europe for the first time in nine years, as Sweden's capital Stockholm will host TI10.
This will only be the second TI held on European soil after the first edition of the prestigious tournament took place in Cologne, Germany back in 2011. It feels like perfect timing considering the last three Internationals have been won by European teams.
Stockholm itself has a rich history in Dota esports, as it was home to the game's original European tournaments. The tournament will be held in the Ericsson Globe, a 16,000 capacity arena, which is also part of the world's largest permanent scale model of the Solar System in which the final venue represents the sun.
3. Io can be a carry
TI9 was full of surprises, but no strategy had more fans talking than the emergence of Io as a carry. The pick was first brought out by ana in OG's group stage game against Ninjas in Pyjamas.
There was a fair bit of confusion with the pick considering Io is traditionally a support, but any doubts were erased by the end of that series, as ana dealt out tons of damage. The Australian was taking advantage of a recent buff to Io's level 15 talent skill, which pretty much doubles the damage of the five spirits that orbit around the hero.
Io went on to make a lot of appearances in the tournament and was even played by ana in the game that won the tournament for OG. However, just because carry Io is good enough to win TI9, it doesn't mean it will work in your pub games.
4. Two new heroes revealed
If you thought Io carry was going to have a big impact on your games, just wait until Dota 2 releases its two newest heroes: Snapfire and Void Spirit.
Snapfire is a Keen grandmother who's ready to wreak havoc with her arsenal of guns and trusted lizard mount. She also has a soft side, though, and many are predicting she'll be a support hero thanks to her affinity for cookies and other baked goods.
She'll be released this autumn, as will Void Spirit, the fourth of the elemental Spirit brothers. He appears to be able to control space, with an ability to teleport. Ember Spirit and Earth Spirit joined Storm Spirit in the game back in November 2013, so fans who speculated of a fourth brother have had a long wait for their theories to be confirmed.
