The Shanghai Major will probably be remembered by Dota 2 [official site] fans as a master class in how not to run a tournament. But in the midst of the production omnishambles were some absolutely brilliant matches. Read on as we deliver you the highlights!

[Spoilers if you’ve not caught up, obv!]>

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Where to start with the Shanghai Major right now? I’ve been trying to pull some thoughts together after the firings and the Reddit threads and the statement from Gabe Newell over the weekend but perhaps it’s better to just run through the basic timeline for the Major’s major Dota 2 [official site] drama and just explain what the heck is going on:

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If there s one thing professional Dota 2 [official site] isn t lacking (besides lengthy pauses at the start of every game) it s tournaments; it s rare for a week to pass without some hype-casted LAN, online contest or qualifier.

The one about to start in a gigantic spaceship-shaped building in China, however, is no ordinary tournament – it s the Shanghai Major. Here’s what you need to know:

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I did spend a chunk of this morning gloating about how I was smashing Adam’s Devil Daggers times but, by and large, competitiveness is rare for me now. As I settle into my thirties, my days of jostling for frags are behind me, and I haven’t been passive-aggressive to Dota teamies in yonks. TELL THEM, PIP. Anyway. According to a recent report, this is common, and older folks seek competition in games less than younguns. It’s a flimsy report but a nice-conversation starter: how’s your competitiveness faring as you grow older?

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In mid-January of this year, Swedish Dota 2 team Alliance took top honors at the Starladder i-League Star Series tournament, which featured several of the current top Dota 2 teams, such as last year s International winners Evil Geniuses, as well as powerhouses like LGD and Team Secret.

I ll catch professional Dota 2 tournaments on most weekends, but watching Alliance take the whole thing made me happier than I d been watching the game in a long time. Not because of the prize money (which was quite large but far from the scene s highest), but because the team s triumphant return to form shows that Dota 2 stands on a more rock-solid foundation than many give it credit for.

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Valve have launched the Winter 2016 Battle Pass for Dota 2 [official site], a 5.29 virtual ticket giving you access to… new ways to get more hats for your wizards, I think? Look, I’ll be honest: I’ve played 1,498 hours of Dota 2 and I’m still confused by this. The end result is that you can get new cosmetic items by way of a great many progression tracks and statistics and gambling and… ah, go look. Basically, if you want pretty new stuff, you can get it by paying a fiver then playing a load of Dota.

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After 18 years at Valve, working on everything from Half-Life to Dota 2, writer Marc Laidlaw has confirmed that he’s retired from the company. That’s an eternity for the games industry! He wrote novels before getting into video games, and it sounds like he’s getting back to writing for himself.

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I’ve spent my afternoon watching the wildlife of the Dota 2 [official site] desert terrain. There are some newcomers who aren’t native to the vanilla map which is cool – scorpions and vultures and the like. There’s also a proliferation of beetles and I love looking at the new trees and the cacti. This isn’t an exhaustive animal catalogue – there are definitely some butterflies and fish and spiders I wanted to include but the Reborn launch Dota crashes a lot and I was getting fed up! HOWEVER here are some nice shots of little creatures going about their business :)

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N.B. I’m posting this outside the paywall from the get go because I’m hoping people will add their own suggestions in the comments and it will become a Useful Resource for those who don’t know what to play over Christmas!>

Whether you celebrate or not, chances are you’ll have a bit of extra downtime in the coming fortnight and you might be looking for games to play. For me I tend to pick multiplayer things which I can use to get a chunky bit of time with friends even though we’re all scattered around the country. If I want to be on my own I tend to go for puzzles because it means I can watch Midsomer Murders at the same time.

Here’s what I’m planning to hunker down with over while the festive season is in full swing but it would be great if you share your own plans as well…

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I do enjoy the Dota 2 [official site] patches which change so much that I have no idea how the game even plays anymore. Version 6.86 is arriving this week with The Balance of Power Update and… I’ll be awful for ages figuring out what’s even happening. It ports another hero over from the original DotA, Arc Warden, while also adding new items, tweaking balance, and reshaping the map.

The patch is currently on the test client, and I imagine it’ll launch properly on Thursday.

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