Dota 2 International Championship: Start time and how to watch online
A year’s worth of work, 17 teams fallen by the wayside, The International finals are upon us.
For the first time in the history of The International an all-Chinese final will take place at Key Arena between Newbee and ViCi Gaming. Neither team was expected to make it this far, but the Dota 2 Championships have been anything but predictable.
Following the 2013 International there were questions whether Chinese-Dota was still viable in the international meta game. The slow, methodical approach to farm and team fights routinely saw teams advance in the best-of-one series, but they tended to falter when asked to play in the best of three or five. It felt like the current game was world’s apart from Invictus Gaming’s win in 2012, despite being just two years removed.
Everything you need to know
Preconceptions of style and play have been shattered at this year’s International. The two remaining teams Newbee and ViCi Gaming represent an adherence to the principles of sensible farm and team fighting, but with aggressive early-game ganking much more in line with how European teams operated in last year’s championships. ViCi in particular are obtaining first blood 68 percent of the time in TI4, with Newbee being one of the most aggressive teams who played in Seattle this year.
These two teams rose from relative obscurity to reach the finals and it’s hard to predict how the best-of-five series will play out. Newbee beat ViCi 2-1 in the first round of the upper bracket, but are also on several day’s rest after qualifying for the final on Friday. That layoff could put them at a disadvantage if not they’re not fully prepared, similar to Evil Geniuses’ hangover on Sunday.
Strap yourself in for a full day of Dota 2 action, because this best-of-five series could go the distance.The winner will take home the grand prize of more than $5 million, while the runners up will split almost $2 million.
Monday coverage of The International Dota 2 Championships
The full series between Newbee and ViCi Gaming will begin streaming on Monday, July 21 at 12 p.m. ET.
ESPN3 will be showing the finals via WatchESPN, streams are also available on Twitch.TV, Dota2.com and through the Dota 2 in-game client, provided you purchased a 2014 compendium.
