This year’s International 5 for DOTA 2 has come and gone and it has been a major success with great breakthroughs in all aspects! The tournament was undoubtedly a special event beyond a scope of its $18 million prize pool.
This is where the biggest and the best DOTA 2 teams go head to head. There is a lot of fun and glory emerging out of these championships and this year’s event has created some of the most memorable and spectacular memories in 2015.
This tournament is a great place for DOTA 2 teams and players all around the world and this is where Valve showcased its much-needed personality. Evil Geniuses won the first place at The International 5 with their explosive, game-winning play at Seattle’s Key Arena.
The audience was sent into frenzy with the awesome gameplay moments and spectacular events in this year’s International. Evil Geniuses was on the back foot with Sumail down and this gave CDEC the much-needed room to mount a comeback, as an underdog team. However, an Ice Blast initiated by ppd’s Ancient Apparition set the platform for a major Echo Slam from Universe’s Earthshaker.
The entire process secured four kills and this catalyzed the process of EG’s $6.6 million victory. The Key Arena was huge with players from all over the world but the amazing DOTA 2 pins were the ones that united them all. There were six random Emoticharm packs with a set of three pins showing the corresponding DOTA 2 hero emoticons along with their stickers.
If you completed the Emoticharm sticker sheet, you were promised a special courier along with in-game golden emoticons. Every attendee received one pack and you could buy more packs for $50 each. There was also a new game mode from Valve: 10v10.
There were only 10 pros on the stage and the other 10 members were selected from the audience. A map which usually reserved for 10 members saw 20 different players battling against each other. As a result, the outcome was amazing with battles everywhere, spells being cast with absolute recklessness and a hell lot of un-heroic deaths!
Obviously, this is not going to be a serious game mode but it is definitely a fun way to blow off some steam between intense DOTA 2 matches. When n0Tail and Chuan were picking their teammates for the 10v10 match, there was a lucky fan chosen by host Kaci Aitchison and he went up on stage wearing a sloppy Pudge outfit.
To everyone’s surprise, Puppey and Aitchison later revealed this cosplayer to be Dendi and he wasn’t selected to play in the All-Star game. However, the crowd emitted a deafening blast of roars as soon as Dendi was revealed.
Even though EG won, The International 5 witnessed a heroic rise of CDEC. This team thrashed its way to the upper bracket and it wasn’t even invited to The International. This team earned its place in the Grand Finals beside other world-class teams like Team Secret, Vici Gaming, LGD Gaming, and Evil Geniuses.
CDEC created some of the most memorable moments in International history with their blistering aggressions which left most teams dumbfounded and searching for a way to counter-attack or at least halt their blasting advance! This LGD Gaming Farm team by all rights made a paste out of some of the best teams in DOTA history. In the end, it was definitely a surprise when CDEC was defeated by EG.
Many among us questioned the possibility of being able to out-draft and outplay the Chinese Juggernaut. In the meantime, Fy is possibly the best support in this year’s International, specifically with the hero Rubick.