Although many of you will be glued to the League of Legends Worlds quarter finals this weekend, there's plenty to watch elsewhere in the world of competitive gaming. Get your regular fill of Dota 2 and CS:GO, check in on the Blizzard scene on the eve of BlizzCon, and don't miss some of the best Street Fighter V players in the world fighting for a shot at the Capcom Cup in the EU finals. Plus: Rocket League, Smite, and more!

League of Legends: Worlds Quarter Finals

The month of Worlds continues with the quarter finals in Chicago. You can catch favourites SKT vs. China's RNG tonight from 15:00 PDT/midnight CEST, with ROX vs. EDG at the same time tomorrow and H2K vs. ANX on Sunday. That last one's going to be a heartbreaker, as H2K are the last European team in contention and ANX are the wildcard-done-good. Only one team can advance to the semi-finals and claim the honour of being taken apart by a Korean team as per tradition. More info and the livestream can be found on LoLesports.

Dota 2: The Summit 6 qualifiers

Qualifiers for November's $100,000 Dota 2 tournament are taking place all over the world this weekend. It's a great chance to take the pulse of new lineups like Team NP and remember that Dota 2 is a videogame and not just a deep reservoir of esports drama (though Valve have got you sorted on that account.) There's play happening more or less all day over the weekend, so just check out the livestream for the latest action.

CSGO: ECS Season 2

Lots of top-tier CS:GO this weekend in both EU and NA as ECS Season 2 rolls on. There are games happening right now (here's the stream) and play will continue through the weekend. Thanks to matches taking place in both EU and NA, you should find something to watch whenever you tune in. Failing that, the full schedule is visible on Gosugamers.

Hearthstone: Americas Last Call Invitational

BlizzCon is very, very close, and the majority of the studio's games have wrapped up their qualification processes for the biggest event in the Blizzard calendar. Not so Hearthstone, which is providing players in the Americas with one last chance to qualify for the forthcoming World Championship. Tune into the official Hearthstone stream tomorrow from 09:00 PDT/18:00 CEST to catch the action.

Heroes of the Storm: Nexus Games North America

These one-off Heroes of the Storm tournaments are intended to give teams a shot at competitive play on the latest patch ahead of the Fall Championship at BlizzCon. This weekend sees the finals of the NA schedule, with games on Saturday and Sunday starting at 15:00 PDT, which is midnight CEST. Watch them on the official HotS stream.

Overwatch: MGA 2016 Championship Regional Finals

Regional finals for this international Overwatch competition began today and continue through to next week on a region by region basis. Today and tomorrow sees play in the Americas starting at 18:00 PDT (02:00 CEST the following morning.) One team from each region will earn a spot at the grand finals in London in December, with a $40,000 grand prize on the line. Here's the stream.

Rocket League: Season 2 League Play

With the Mid-Season Classic behind us, there's another two weekends of regular league play ahead in Rocket League's pro scene. NA plays on Saturday, as usual, with EU following on Sunday. Expect games throughout the day and check out Rocket League on Twitch for the livestream.

Smite: Pro League Fall Split

Group play is ongoing in the biggest event of the Smite season. Tune in from 10:00 PDT/19:00 CEST from today until Sunday to watch some of the best teams in NA go at it. As ever, you can find the stream on HiRezTV.

Capcom Pro Tour: EU Regional Finals and SoCal Regionals

A relatively modest week for the CPT this weekend with only two premier events. How will you cope? You can catch the SoCal Regionals on west coast time from today until Saturday click here for the stream schedule and here for the stream itself.

As Andi notes in this week's column, the EU Regional Finals at Milan Games Week represent many players' last shot at qualifying for this year's Capcom Cup so expect drama. Loads of top talent are attending, with the livestream starting at 03:00 and 04:00 PDT on Saturday and Sunday respectively (noon and 13:00 CEST). Find the livestream on CapcomFighters.

As part of Dota 2's latest Battle Pass, Valve are releasing a new series of documentaries covering the wizard-'em-up's thriving esports scene. Although the developer has produced a number of short videos to support The International over the last couple of years, this new series called True Sight is their most substantial documentary effort since 2013's Free To Play.

This new series will follow teams as they reshuffle in the aftermath of August's International and prepare for the $3m Boston Major in December. The first episode follows South East Asian hopefuls Fnatic and 2015 International champions EG, both in the aftermath of some significant roster changes.

Access to the series is limited to owners of the Fall Battle Pass, which costs $9.99 and includes the usual array of cosmetics, quests, cosmetics that you earn from doing quests, and so on. You'll be able to watch the first episode through Valve's own streaming platform starting at 16:00 PDT today, which is 01:00 the following morning CEST. Click here for the English language version.

If you can't make the first showing, don't fret: broadcasts will repeat every two hours for 24 hours following the first one. After that, Battle Pass owners will find the documentary available to view at any time through their Steam library.

Another packed weekend coming up as both League of Legends and all of Blizzard's games close in on their respective World Championships. That's not all, however: there's also top-level Dota 2 in China, loads of CS:GO in Europe, the culmination of the Smite season, the first big event of this season of Rocket League, and Capcom Pro Tour stops all over the world. Enjoy!

League of Legends: Worlds 2016

After a dramatic start to the group stage, this is becoming the most competitive Worlds to date. There's loads more group stage play taking place this weekend, with games starting this evening and continuing through until Monday. Catch games starting at 13:00 PDT/22:00 CEST every day. As ever, your best resource for team info and the livestream is LoLesports.

Hearthstone: Europe/Asia-Pacific Last Call Invitational

These Last Call invitationals offer one last chance for top Hearthstone players to qualify for the World Championship at Blizzcon. This weekend, the tournaments will take place in Europe on Saturday beginning at 14:00 CEST/05:00 PDT and in Asia-Pacific on Sunday starting at 21:00 PDT, which is 06:00 Monday morning in CEST. Find the livestreams for both here.

World of Warcraft: Americas Regionals

Although not given the prominance afforded to Blizzard's other esports, WoW Arena still has many fans. This weekend, the best players in the Americas will fight for the chance to represent their region at the World Championship at Blizzcon. Play begins on both days at 12:00 PDT/21:00 CEST. Here's the stream.

StarCraft II: WESG 2016 Europe & CIS Qualifier

After a run of dramatic recent upsets, now is a great time to start watching top-level StarCraft II. This weekend, players in Europe and CIS will fight for a spot at the WESG 2016 main event, with a $27,000 prize on the line. Play begins at 10:00 CEST/01:00 PDT on Saturday and 16:00 CEST/07:00 PDT on Sunday. Here's the stream.

Dota 2: Shanghai Dota 2 Open

The best Dota 2 teams in China (with a few exceptions, like TI6 champions Wings) are about to reach the end of this $90,000 tournament. There's only the lower bracket final and grand final left to play, with only four teams left in contention Newbee, CDEC, and the winner of LGD.FY vs. EHOME, which is ongoing at the time of writing. BeyondTheSummit have the English language livestream.

CSGO: The World Championships 2016

There's $100,000 to be won in this contest between national CS:GO teams. The final eight qualified nations France, Sweden, Denmark, Turkey, Singapore, Tunisia, Canada and Argentina will do battle in the Kombank Arena in Belgrade. Play begins at 10:00 CEST/01:00 PDT on both Saturday and Sunday and you can find the stream on Azubu.

CSGO: World Electronic Sports Games 2016

Meanwhile, in Kiev, loads more European CS:GO talent is going to war. There's about $75,000 on the line, and an unusual spread of teams that includes traditional powerhouses like Virtus.pro and EnVyUs alongside newly-qualified hopefuls and national teams for the Ukraine, Russia, and Norway. Games run throughout the weekend. Here's the stream.

Rocket League: Mid-Season Classic

There's $10,000 on the line as Rocket League Season 2 reaches its midway point. There's no specific start time listed, but the tournament is due to run over Saturday and Sunday. Find out more information about Rocket League's esports scene here and catch the livestream on Twitch.

Capcom Pro Tour: South East Asia Major 2016 and more

The latest CPT Premier event takes place in Singapore this weekend, joined by three Ranking events running concurrently in Dubai, Barcelona, and Raleigh, NC. In Singapore, expect top tier Guilty Gear, Street Fighter, King of Fighters and more running from 10:00 SGT, which is 04:00 CEST or 19:00 PDT the previous night. The final stages of the Street Fighter tournament are scheduled for Sunday at 10:00 CEST/01:00 PDT. Check out the Street Fighter V section on Twitch for streams of both the amateur and pro aspects of the event.

Smite: SPL Fall Group A

Qualification begins for next month's Smite Super Regionals, a vital step along the road to the Smite World Championship in January. This weekend, two teams will survive the battle for Group A a clash between Team eLevate, Sanguine Esports, Dignitas, and OrbitGG. Games started today and continue throughout the weekend starting at 17:00 CEST/08:00 PDT. Check out the livestream here.

Dota 2's latest Battle Pass has arrived, reintroducing daily and weekly challenges, weekend Battle Cups, match wagering, new cosmetics, particle effects and terrain. If that all sounds rather similar to the International Battle Pass, which concluded in late August, then, well it is. Except it's green.

This is Valve's least experimental Battle Pass to date, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. After years of tinkering with different ways to make an event out of the game's annual esports circuit, the sticker-book guessing game that was the old Compendium has transformed into a multi-faceted enhancement of the game's basic features. During Battle Pass months Dota is flat-out better: there's more to do, more ways to compete with your friends, and more rewards to earn. That $7.99/ 5.99 entry fee is starting to look more and more like a seasonal subscription to the 'full' game.

The biggest change this time around is rather subtle, and will only affect a tiny minority of players. Top-tier Dota teams that win Battle Cup events will gain access to an exclusive Champions Cup at the end of the season. Winning this will, in turn, grant them access to the Spring Major Battle Cup Qualifiers, and then they'll get to go to the Spring Major Regional Qualifiers. It's a long road, but hey you've now got the opportunity to qualify for a $3m Dota 2 tournament through the game client.

The Fall 2016 Battle Pass has an autumnal theme which is reflected in some truly lovely new terrain and, well, a whole load of green stuff. The new upgradable courier is a happy rabbit-dog thing called Wibbley and one of the new questlines unlocks a set for Razor that makes him look like his DotA All-Stars counterpart (don't tell Blizzard.)

Accompanying the Battle Pass is an overhaul of Dota 2's new player experience, folding the existing tutorials into a seamless experience accessed through the 'Learn' tag. There's also a new 'Items' page that allows you to browse every item in the game with expanded descriptions of stats and effects. This is really good stuff, explicating a lot of things that many players rely on word-of-mouth to learn for example, the invulnerability window granted by Manta Style.

Many items have also been updated with flavour text, with a few standout gags. The Enchanted Mango is, we're told, 'irresistible to amphibians' mysterious Dota designer Icefrog is reportedly fond of the fruit. Town Portal Scrolls are now described as 'what a hero truly needs' answering a question raised in Dota 2's very first trailer.

What does a hero truly need? A Town Portal Scroll. Buy a Town Portal Scroll. Why don't you have a Town Portal Scroll?

Finally, the minimap has been updated with icons helping new players locate the Side Shops and Secret Shops. As part of the game's broader push towards accessibility, this is very welcome but.... hang on a second. Take a closer look at that Secret Shop icon.

Computer, enhance!

Okay. Interesting. Computer, flip it.

Activate overlay.

M...my god.

The first event in Valve's freshly-restructured series of $3m Dota 2 tournaments has been announced. This year's Fall Major will take place in Boston, USA, from the 7th to the 10th of December. This is a big shift in both timing and geography from last year's Fall Major, which took place in Frankfurt in November.

It's being run by PGL, who coordinated the well-received Manila Major earlier this year. The unusually-punishing format is likely to raise eyebrows, however: after two days of group stages, sixteen teams will enter a single-elimination bracket with each match played best of three. This is likely necessary in order to fit the Major into three days the International lasts almost a full week, with the same number of teams. But it does mean no second chances for teams that fall short, so we won't see a repeat of OG's incredible tear through the lower bracket in Frankfurt last year.

The chosen venue, Boston's Wang Theatre, won't support the 360-degree staging that has become a staple part of official Dota 2 events over the last year. That's not necessarily a bad thing: it's a comparable space to Benaroya Hall, the comfortable and intimate venue for the International in 2012 and 2013.

Questions are raised by the decision to move the Fall Major from Europe to the USA, given that North America already hosts the International. There will only be two Majors this year compared to last year's three, so holding multiple events in the same continent potentially deprives many fans of a chance to attend an official event near them one of the original aims of the Major system.

This suggests a few different possibilities for the rest of the year. One is that the Spring Major moves to Europe, which would at least ensure that the western half of the scene was catered for. Another suggestion is that the International itself moves, perhaps to Europe, Russia, or South East Asia (China seems unlikely given the problems encountered at the Shanghai Major.) While many fans would welcome this move, the International's home in Seattle is convenient for the Bellevue-based Valve, and the company traditionally takes a very hands-on approach to its flagship event.

So here's my guess: Boston in December, Russia, Europe or South East Asia in Spring, and back to the USA for the International 2017.

Tickets for the Boston Major go on sale starting Friday October 14th.

After a slow couple of weeks, it all kicks off this weekend. The best League of Legends players in the world have arrived in the US for Worlds, a reshuffled Dota 2 scene is going to war in China, and there's top-flight CS:GO, StarCraft II, and Overwatch too: not to mention Rocket League, Hearthstone, or the Capcom Pro Tour.

League of Legends: World Championship 2016 Group Stage

The biggest event in the League of Legends calendar is underway. The Worlds group stage began yesterday in Chicago and continues through the weekend, starting at 16:00 PDT/01:00 PDT each day. Be sure to catch the first game on Saturday, when champs SK Telecom T1 take on Cloud9. Find more information and the livestream on LoLesports.

Dota 2: Mars TV 2016 Autumn Playoffs

A great tournament so far, this Mars TV league has been an opportunity to see the freshly-reshuffled Dota 2 scene in action. EG, Newbee, OG and Secret have emerged as the hottest picks coming out of the group stage and will continue to fight for a share of the $250,000 grand prize over the weekend. Play takes place on China Standard Time, so prepare for a few late nights. Saturday's games begin at 19:00 Friday night Pacific time/04:00 CEST. Sunday's games begin at 21:00 Saturday Pacific time/06:00 CEST. Here's the English language stream.

Come for the Dota, stay for the inexplicable ukuleles.

CSGO: ESL One New York 2016

It's finally time for some high-stakes, top-tier CS:GO as the best teams in the world compete for a share of $250,000 in New York. Games start at 10:00 EDT/07:00 PDT/16:00 CEST on both Saturday and Sunday with the semi-finals beginning on the latter. Find the livestream here.

Hearthstone: Asia Pacific Summer Championship

There's another coveted ticket to the 2016 Hearthstone World Championships on the line, with play running today and tomorrow. Games begin at 05:00 CEST each day, which is 20:00 PDT the evening before. HearthPwn has a rundown of the decklists here: surprise surprise, there's a lot of Shaman. Here's the official stream.

StarCraft II: 2016 KeSPA Cup

This week long ontest of world-class StarCraft II concludes with the bracket stage this weekend. Games should start around 17:00 local time on both Sunday and Monday, which is 09:00 CEST/01:00 PDT. The English steam is available via this YouTube channel.

Overwatch: Overwatch Open Grand Final

The biggest prize pot in Overwatch to date $300,000 is on the line tonight as the Overwatch Open reaches its final stages in Atlanta. Play begins at 19.00 PDT this evening, which is 04:00 Saturday morning in Europe. Expect a close-fought match as EnVyUs take on Misfits for the top spot. Here's the livestream.

Rocket League: League Play

There's another weekend of Rocket League ahead as teams in Europe and North America compete at a shot at the prizes on offer in the game's second competitive season, including the $10,000 Mid-Season Classic next weekend. Games run all day in NA on Saturday, followed by Europe on Sunday. The official Rocket League Twitch channel has the livestream.

Capcom Pro Tour: Events in Poland, Indonesia, Brazil

Loads more fighting games this weekend, from Fighting Games Challenge in Poland on Saturday to Abuget Cup in Jakarta and TRETA 2016 in Curitiba both running until Sunday. These are all Ranking events no Premier action this weekend but expect fierce competition as competitors scramble to claim the scant remaining points. Given the geographically dispersed nature of the events you're best off keeping an eye on the Street Fighter V section on Twitch for specific livestreams.

League of Legends takes the spotlight this weekend for its EU and NA Summer Finals (which just might draw the spotlight away from the recent controversies rocking the scene.) That s not your only option, however: there s plenty of fighting game tournaments taking place all over the world, Dota 2, CS:GO, and the return of PC pro Smite. Have fun!

League of Legends: 2016 NA and EU LCS Summer Finals

There's a lot of high-stakes LoL taking place over a short period of time over the next few days. On Saturday, the third place matches in both the NA and EU LCS Summer Finals will take place, with Unicorns of Love vs. H2K taking place in Europe at 08:00 PDT/17:00 CEST and Immortals vs. CounterLogic Gaming taking place in the US at 12:00 PDT/21:00 CEST. The timing for the grand finals on Sunday are the same. Find more information, and the livestream, at LoLesports.

Dota 2: World Cyber Arena EU Qualifier

You'll forgive me for not having too many precise schedule details for this one, as... well, beyond the matches that have already been played, they seem a little hard to come by. Nonetheless, there is some top-tier Dota happening this weekend even as the majority of the scene wrestles with the inevitable but still-spectacular roster drama that follows the International. This is the EU qualifier for the next WCA. The previous one was, by all accounts, a gigantic shambles that people only forgot about because the Shanghai Major was a higher profile shambles. But at least there's Dota to watch. Check Gosugamers for up to date stream and schedule info.

CSGO: ESEA Season 22, Power-LAN 2016, CyberPowerPC Summer 2016 Pro Series

There's a lot of mid-tier CS:GO taking place across the world this weekend, from North America to Denmark to Poland. On Saturday, check out the playoffs for Power-LAN 2016 starting at 02:00 PDT/11:00 CEST here's the official site for more info (it's in Danish, mind.) CyberPowerPC Summer 2016 will be running throughout the weekend, starting at 09:00 PDT/18:00 CEST on Saturday and 11:30 PDT/20:30 CEST on Sunday (more info here). Finally, ESEA Season 22 concludes on Sunday with $50,000 on the line. Tune to the livestream from 01:00 PDT/10:00 CEST.

Smite Pro League: Fall Split

PC Smite is back for another season and this weekend is your chance to get in on the ground floor. Matches began yesterday and continue through to Sunday, starting at 11:00 PDT/19:00 CEST each day in both North America and Europe. You can find out more information on the teams on the official Smite Pro League site and find the livestream here.

Capcom Pro Tour: Lots of Ranking tournaments

Look, we've got limited header space here, alright? Ranking Capcom Pro Tour tournaments this weekend range from Absolute Battle in Dallas, USA to Argentina Pro Gaming Series in Argentina to an Online Ranking Event in Europe to OzHadou Nationals 14 in Sydney to Fight in Rio: Olympia in Rio de Janeiro. As such, you can expect a decent standard of fighting game play regardless of when you tune in: check each official site, listed above, for further details. Keep an eye on Twitch s Street Fighter V section if that s the game you re after.

The Dark Rift has opened, and Vrogros the Underlord, the support hero who was revealed to the world earlier this month at The International 2016, has taken his place in the Dota 2 lineup.

Conjure waves of abyssal flame to immolate enemies held paralyzed in your spiteful grip. Feast upon the carnage of battle, gaining strength as foes perish around you, their attacks diminished by your very presence, the Dark Rift update page says. Tear a rift in reality to teleport yourself and your teammates across the map, delivering bloody retribution to any who would defy the will of Vrogros the Underlord.

I guess that's one way to put it. Described a bit more prosaically, the Underlord's abilities include Firestorm, an area-of-effect fire spell; Pit of Malice, which traps and damages enemy units; Atrophy Aura, which weakens nearby enemies and grants bonus damage to the Underlord; and his ultimate, Dark Rift, a teleport that carries the Underlord and all nearby friendly heroes to a selected friendly unit's position.

The update also brings a new post-game summary to Dota 2 that will provide detailed reports on different aspects of player and team performance that will help break down game flow and visualize critical turning points. Scoreboards, graphs, teammate stats, and other relevant information will all be at your fingertips and because statistics aren't much good if they can't be viewed over time, summaries of past matches will be saved for later viewing.

Image via the official Dota 2 Twitter account.

The International 2016 is over and Dota 2 has its sixth world champion. This phenomenal tournament showcased some of the most impressive technical skill in the history of the game, along with an unprecedented degree of balance that saw 95% of the hero pool picked or banned. Every day held surprises, and if your bracket predictions weren t in tatters by the end then congratulations: you re actually Oracle.

The International is always exciting as a fan of Dota 2, but TI6 was exceptional. The game is in an extraordinary place at the moment, from the metagame to its international competitiveness. Where else would you see every region represented in the top 4 on the world stage? Where else can young unknown talent emerge to challenge the title within the space of eleven months? Dota 2 remains unsolved after this International, a strategic puzzle with no correct solution. Watching teams try, watching many fail and one succeed, has been the highlight of my gaming year so far.

Here s what happened on the final day.

Lower bracket final: Evil Geniuses vs. Digital Chaos

Click here to see the stream.

Scrim partners and rivals, these two teams know each other inside-out and both walked a long road to reach this point. The defending champions, EG s story at TI6 is one of recovery: after a disappointing year and a late roster switch that made them ineligible for a direct invite, their composure, creativity and execution all shone through when it mattered most.

Digital Chaos arrived in the lower bracket final after the most impressive underdog run in the history of the game. They are a team of rejects and rookies: Misery and w33 from Team Secret, Resolut1on from Empire, with Saksa and Moo arriving from the lower tiers of the international scene. With players from Macedonia, Ukraine, Denmark, Romania and the USA, DC represent the span of western Dota. Almost anyone could claim them EU players, NA ownership, a CIS carry and almost everyone did, but regional flag-waving is less important than what DC achieved. Underestimated and sometimes mocked, these players bound together by circumstance, players who had to ask for teams to play with on Twitter after they got booted from their former squads, pulled out the tournament run of their lives.

But only one of them would earn a spot in the grand final. EG arguably got the better part of the draft in the first game, with meta favourite Shadow Demon and Universe s legendary Faceless Void. Their strategy was built around heroes with loads of playmaking potential, which suits EG and the way they like to play Dota. Perhaps taking some hints from Wings 2-0 defeat of EG the day before, however, DC picked up a roster with a lot of sustain: Oracle, Tidehunter, Naga Siren, and Razor with sustained magic damage from Mirana.

After a good start for EG, DC successfully exploited EG s dependence on long-cooldown ultimates and pushed fights when the defending champions couldn t reliably defend. EG looked a little shaky in places, too ceding kills they didn t need to and occasionally misplaying with those vital ultimates. Establishing a lead, DC were ultimately able to force the issue and close out the game.The second draft proceeded along familiar lines until right at the end. Facing a durable and heavily-armoured lineup from EG and without a heavy magic damage dealer, DC drafted the twin-headed dragon, Jakiro one of the six remaining heroes neither picked nor banned by this point at the International. Not only that, but they gave the hero to w33 to be played in the midlane. This was a bold decision, bordering on a running joke just look at Misery s face the moment he picks it. Even the referee is laughing.

Mid Jakiro isn t entirely without precedent, but it s definitely not part of the current metagame. The pushing power that the dragon provides paid off early for DC, stripping EG of their outer towers by the 26 minute mark. But a series of crucial pickoffs on DC heroes prevented them from closing out the game in the narrow window of time they were afforded to do so. DC had one amazing teamfight in the Dire jungle where everything went their way: EG walked in a straight line into Jakiro s phenomenal magic damage output which, coupled with a clutch Chronosphere, resulted in a teamwipe in DC s favour. But DC hadn t done enough to curtail EG.Fear on one of his signature heroes, Sven.

DC had pulled something out from deep in their pockets for this second game and it simply didn t work out. EG, however, found new confidence: particularly Fear, whose Roshan and Aegis steal with Sven around the 43 minute mark demonstrated why the hero is so closely associated with him. This was the play that broke the match open for EG, as they strode confidently through DC s defenses to force a third game.

And what a third game. I don t think anybody thought we d see a game top EG vs. EHOME, but, well expectations don t have a particularly long lifespan at this year s International.

DC picked an aggressive, melee-heavy lineup in Beastmaster, Shadow Demon, Ursa, Kunkka and Slark while EG adapted their playstyle with a five-man-push draft comprised of Elder titan, Tidehunter, Dazzle, Terrorblade and Brewmaster. DC s brawling draft scored first blood and did well in the lanes, with Sumail s Brewmaster struggling against w33 s mid Ursa.

EG refused to give any further ground to DC s aggression, however, gathering up around Terrorblade s vital Metamorphosis cooldown to push towers and take teamfights. A series of risky overextensions by DC put them further behind and placed the game in EG s hands. In order to keep their tournament hopes alive, DC resorted to rat Dota splitting the map and applying constant pressure in lanes that EG weren t defending in order to deny their opponent the ability to fully commit to a push.

It was one of the best demonstrations of macro-level strategy seen at this year s International and, more impressively, it was executed with heroes that aren t traditionally associated with the style. EG could commit big spells for kills here and there, but they struggled to hold on to map control and vision against DC s guerilla approach.

EG scored a run of successful Roshan attempts in the midgame but DC managed to prevent them from turning this into a serious advantage. Teamfights started to even out towards the late game, and DC proved able to splitpush and siege quickly as Misery s support Kunkka developed into an extra core hero. EG reassembled the deathball and stormed down mid, determined to end this series one way or another. Meanwhile, DC.Moo laid siege to the EG base alone.

The defense of DC s ancient at the 46 minute marks was one of the highlights of this entire event, with both teams throwing everything they had into one teamfight with everything on the line. Repelled once, Fear picked up a Divine Rapier on Terrorblade and prepared to hold the line in his own base. DC s split push earlier in the game gave them the advantage here, however, and Fear s own farm could be turned against him with Shadow Demon illusions joining the siege.

Avoiding heroes and going straight for the ancient, DC pulled it off: the defending champion fell, and the underdog advanced to the grand final. This was, in some ways, the most dramatic moment of the day the finals were fantastic, but two successive base races with Divine Rapiers in play are hard to beat.

The grand final: Digital Chaos vs. Wings

Wings had the shortest route to the grand final of any team, only ceding a single game in the upper bracket (to DC, in fact). Even so, they only lost that game because they pulled out a Pudge-Techies pocket strat it was more Wings loss than DC s win. Plus, this kind of creativity in the draft is exactly what got them this far. Founded in August last year, Wings made a name for themselves by having apparently no limit to their hero pool: they transcend the meta, able to play multiple styles of Dota equally well and adapt their approach to their important.

The great thing about this final is that DC had come to demonstrate similar creativity too. Mid Jakiro might not have worked, but DC are a fun team to watch because they re willing to have fun and try new ideas even when the stakes are this staggeringly high. The fact that we got a final with two teams like this is another testament to the health of the Dota scene: this was no TI4, where one strat trumped everything. This was a battle of creativity and wits to the end.

This was apparent in the first draft, as both teams threw the meta out of the window and drew from the whole pool. Wings grabbed Io and Storm Spirit early while DC went for established favourites in Timbersaw and Keeper of the Light. Wings countered with Silencer and, when DC took Faceless Void, they picked up their fan-pleasing support Pudge as a counter. DC last-picked Skywrath Mage for w33, running a traditional support as a midlaner for the second time in the day.

This time, it went much better. A very fast first blood got w33 off to a great start in lane, and this translated into DC control all over the map. Even when Wings grouped up to take w33 down, he managed to snipe Blink s Storm Spirit with his ult before conceding the kill. Wings fought back hard, however, focusing on shutting down Moo s Timbersaw a hero he was undefeated with at this point in the event. This became a skirmish match into the midgame, with a run of clutch pickoffs for both teams set up by an ongoing war for vision between the supports.

Over time, however, Pudge failed to have the impact that the hero needs to be worth picking over a more reliable Void counter like Naga Siren. Once again, weak links in the draft put Wings at a disadvantage as the game progressed, and DC itemised well against the threat of Wings other control options, particularly Global Silence. A clutch pickoff on Storm Spirit and Io opened up Wings base at the half hour mark, and DC took the lead in the first game of the best of five.

DC ceded Faceless Void to Wings in game two but picked up counters that they re very comfortable with: Mirana, Naga Siren, Shadow Demon, Razor. The surprise pick of this draft was Doom, one of Moo s favourite heroes who was chosen as a counterpick to Blink s potent Invoker. It was the supports for Wings that really came into their own in this game, however, particularly Innocence s Oracle with an aggressive skill build, he made this defensive support work as an offensive roamer.

DC.Saksa put in a strong showing on Shadow Demon and the two teams traded relatively evenly going into the midgame, but Blink recovered from a shaky first game to deliver a stunning performance as Invoker here. Snowballing into a substantial gold lead, a run of clutch Sun Strikes including one snipe on Saksa as he returned to the fountain put Wings substantially ahead. From a close-fought midgame, Wings utterly rolled DC late to take the series to a 1-1 tie.

The underperformance of Doom in game two encouraged DC to go back to Timbersaw for the third game, along with Mirana, Winter Wyvern, Sand King and Clinkz as their pocket pick. It was Wings that got the better part of the deal here, however, getting Oracle and Void again as well as Death Prophet, Kunkka, and Nyx Assassin.

This was another close laning phase, but Wings were able to exploit the pickoff power of the Nyx Assassin to slow down Resolut1on on Clinkz. This was a game of near-constant fighting, but unlike the second game the trades were much more one sided. Wings.Shadow lived the dream as Faceless Void, going on an unstoppable tear with a run of perfect Chronospheres and miracle bashes. DC managed to regain some ground late as Clinkz picked up the damage items he desperately needed, but they looked frustrated and played like their nerves were fraying as fight after fight slid in Wings direction. By the 20 minute mark, they were getting flattened.

DC fought hard as the game went late but there was no overcoming Wings gold lead as the young Chinese team simply refused to make the kinds of mistakes that would let DC back into the match. One last perfect Chronosphere at the edge of DC s base caught Resolut1on without buyback, and DC called GG.

Wings only needed one more game to win the International. DC took Mirana and Timber again despite having lost with it twice in a row, but the choice made sense: these are some of the best heroes in the game, and picks that they re particularly comfortable with. If they were going to win the series, they needed to prove that Wings hadn t entirely figured them out. DC also took Slark one of Resolut1on s best heroes as well as Night Stalker to counter Wings Keeper of the Light and Vengeful Spirit to counter Batrider.

Wings were one step ahead of them, however, recognising that DC didn t have what it takes to control Anti-Mage and grabbing him for shadow. They also picked up Axe for Faith_bian and made the surprising call to run it mid in response to DC s decision to give Slark to w33 instead of Resolut1on. Faith_bian won his lane handily, forcing awkward rotations as DC tried to find a secure position to farm from.

Early trades went DC s way despite w33 s bad start, taking advantage of Night Stalker s nocturnal presence to build map control going into the midgame. But it wasn t quite enough to control shadow s farm, and Anti-Mage steadily built a substantial gold lead. Wings might be content to play outside the meta most of the time, but making space for Anti-Mage is one of the oldest strategies in the Dota playbook: and it paid off here.

DC started to make mistakes in their haste to capitalise on their early advantage and Wings took advantage of every one. The underdogs put in one last fantastic teamfight performance at the half-hour mark, but Wings were better: iceice demonstrated once again why teams that beat Wings don t let him get Elder Titan. And when it came to it, with everything on the line, shadow delivered a game-ending, International-winning teamfight performance with Anti-Mage. Riding a 25k gold swing, Wings marched through DC s outer defenses and into a historic International victory.

Less than a year after forming their team, these young unknowns had just won more than $9m. Their victory may fit International tradition every even-numbered world championship has been won by a Chinese team but nobody saw this coming. KeyArena exploded in light, confetti, fire and applause as Wings lifted the Aegis of Champions.

Grand finals day is here. Starting at 10:00 PDT (18:00 BST/19:00 CEST), the three best Dota 2 teams in the world will go to war for the top spot. This means everything to these players, regardless of the $9m first place prize. Whoever wins, Dota history is going to be made today. Will young talent emerge from China to sweep the title away from established teams? Will the defending champions recover from a shaky year to become the first team to win two back-to-back Internationals? Or will a team that everybody overlooked for months prove their doubters wrong on the one stage that really matters? It s time to find out.

Header image via the official Dota 2 Twitter account. Spoilers below.

IF YOU WATCH ONE MATCH…

...watch DC vs. Fnatic, particularly game two.

THE MATCHES

Lower bracket: MVP Phoenix vs. Fnatic

MVP Phoenix have had another fantastic year at the International, upsetting champions and proving that teams can still bring their own style of Dota 2 and win at the highest level. Nonetheless, that limited playstyle as entertaining as MVP s all-in aggression can be holds them back from the top spot. Wings exploited it yesterday, and Fnatic exploited it today.

MVP Phoenix went all-in on aggression in the first draft, as you d expect, but Fnatic outfought them in the early game. Fnatic.Ohaiyo on Sand King had a phenomenal early game with little opposition in lane, and a series of fights went Fnatic s way as MVP struggled to get key fighting items like Mekansm online. When they did, MVP managed to claw back some space on the map: but not enough to overcome the huge gold lead that Fnatic had established.

With the help of 343 s Bounty Hunter, Fnatic just kept building that lead. When DJ s Crystal Maiden had greater net worth than QO s Slardar, MVP must have known that they were in trouble. It proved so: they fought hard but so did Fnatic, and Dota is simply a numbers game sometimes. Here, the numbers went Fnatic s way.

MVP Phoenix withdrew from their house style in the second game, drafting on-meta picks like Mirana and Faceless Void. They got first blood, too, but had their momentum curtailed by an early courier snipe from Fnatic s Riki that a MVP Phoenix should have seen coming. A double kill for Fnatic.MidOne s safelane Juggernaut under MVP s tower demonstrated just how hard Fnatic were winning these lanes, and Oracle a hero that MVP seem to overvalue both in picks and bans couldn t provide enough of a defensive boost to keep the Koreans in this match.

Even so, a great teamfight performance at the 20 minute mark kept MVP in the game as they were given the opportunity to go HAM and demonstrate the kind of form that knocked OG out of the upper bracket. MVP struggled to turn these wins into objectives, but they did extend the game. MVP picked up Roshan later in the game but were immediately punished for it, giving Fnatic the opportunity they needed to start sieging. At this point, MVP looked like they were crumbling: a run of misplays and deaths after buyback played hard into Fnatic s hands. Mushi s midlane Medusa became a battering ram that secured Fnatic a place in the top four.

Upper bracket: Wings vs. Evil Geniuses

This was a fascinating series. In a flashback to last year, a seemingly unstoppable EG came up against a hot young Chinese team and stumbled. Last year that Chinese team was CDEC: this year, it s Wings. The difference, however, is Wings startling versatility and their creativity in the draft. EG s master strategist ppd seemed utterly outmaneuvered by Wings willingness to reach outside the meta.

Wings entered the booth with a plan a really old plan. Building a teamfight lineup around Tidehunter and the main event s first Enigma is old-school Dota 2, with pushing power supported by Razor, Rubick and Timbersaw. This was experimental in terms of this event but relatively traditional in a broader sense. EG s draft suggested experimentation of a different sort: Universe not on an initiator but on Weaver; SumaiL on a mid Sand King; Zai on Io with none of the traditional Io partners. Fear on Anti-Mage suggested the EG wanted a way to split-push, but this seemed like a reactive rather than active choice.

A confident start for EG built up good momentum, with early levels on SumaiL providing good pick-off power when coupled with Zai. Yet levels and farm on Wings lineup translated directly into tankiness, and as time went on EG s ability to teamfight became less and less effective. Wings proved to be capable gankers too, willing to commit ultimates to score vital, well-coordinated kills on Fear s Anti-Mage. This was crucial because Fear represented EG s way back into the game, able to cut off creep waves and sap the momentum from Wing s lethal pushing power.

This worked for a time but it only took one mistake to collapse EG s fragile resistance. Seemingly underestimating the Tidehunter s Refresher Orb, EG were caught by a fantastic Black Hole in their base followed by a second Ravage that effectively ended the game.

Wings pivoted to the meta in the second game, picking up Elder Titan, Beastmaster, Shadow Demon, Medusa, Huskar a rogue s gallery of top picks, demonstrating what can happen when your opponent doesn t know what to expect. A late Alchemist pick by EG suggested that they planned on building an early lead and closing the game fast, and early kills from EG s aggressive trilane got them off to a good start.

Wings vision game was on point, however, with wards ensuring that Universe s Night Stalker couldn t establish the kind of global threat that he needs to in order to be effective. Wings.iceice was the star, here, proving once again why Elder Titan is such a threat against aggressive. Every Echo Stomp and Earth Splitter was on point, or so it seemed.

SumaiL s Alchemist couldn t establish the kind of lead that the hero specialises in as Wings evened out their early kill deficit. Wings teamfight coordination was phenomenal in the midgame, flirting with the edge of disaster but always coming out on top with clutch saves from Innocence s Shadow Demon ensuring that EG couldn t find the kills they needed. Comfortably sieging EG s highground at the 30 minute mark, Wings secured a 2-0 victory over the defending champions and a place in the grand final.

Lower bracket: DC vs. Fnatic

The lower bracket underdog melee reached its climax as DC and Fnatic fought for the right to face EG for that final spot in the grand final. Fnatic got creative in the first draft, drawing the main event s first Legion Commander but DC outplayed them with a Slardar pick (typically an offlaner or carry) that ended up being run as a support with a Dark Seer. This fantastic strategic decision put huge pressure on Fnatic s safelane Phantom Lancer and contributed to a quick lead for DC.

A run of clutch Mirana arrows got Fnatic back into the game, chipping away at DC s kill advantage. Then, dodging DC s aggression allowed Fnatic to pull back a bit of control over the game and it became a very close contest. They couldn t dodge the fights forever, however, and DC s draft which included Ursa, Slark and Keeper of the Light had huge potential in both skirmishes and teamfights. Smart itemisation proved vital here too, with DC building items to counter the single-target lockdown that Fnatic relied on to control snowballing heroes like Ursa.

DC s deadly frontline received fantastic support from Saksa and a series of clutch Vacuum-Wall of Replica combos from Moo s Dark Seer compounded DC s massive gold and experience lead going into the lategame. Fnatic found themselves on the receiving end of the same sort of treatment they gave MVP: they fought back hard, but were simply too far behind to close out this first game.This was Fnatic s first loss on the main stage, and with their aura of invulnerability shattered the second game presented a stiff challenge. The teams once again traded top meta picks, with Fnatic getting the deadly combination of Huskar and Io through the draft. DC responded with the main event s first Chaos Knight, a lesser-seen carry who is nonetheless considered a solid answer to Huskar.

Early aggression from DC scored first blood on Io, but a misplay led to a death on Resolut1on s Chaos Knight too. The laning phase went much better for Fnatic generally, but they gave up some of this momentum with a wasted rotation from Faceless Void and their mid Ember Spirit. Nonetheless, this was close for a long time.

Around the 17 minute mark, however, the DC teamfight machine came online and gave them the confidence to keep taking advantageous fights. The decision to give midlaner w33 Invoker paid off as he delivered one of the most impressive performances I ve ever seen on this high skill cap hero. Star power doesn t always shine when every player is this good, but w33 outplayed Fnatic comfortably in a number of crucial midgame teamfights.

He even repeated this legendary trick from the Frankfurt Major, using Invoker s Forge Spirit summons to detect an incoming smoke attack from Fnatic. Committing their Chronosphere to catch w33 was the best move Fnatic could have made at this point, but it was a desperation play that DC were able to take advantage of. Buying back the Invoker, DC punished Fnatic and rolled down mid to take a lane of barracks.

From this point the combination of Forge Spirits, Chaos Knight illusions, Shadow Demon illusions, and Beastmaster pets gave DC lots of slow-siege power. It was their teamfight prowess that gave them the midgame, but playing the meta paid off late. Fnatic were forced to try to take the fight to DC, but couldn t take enough in the trade to stop DC from pushing. Offlaner Moo died while taking down Fnatic s final barracks, and simply leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head until he respawned. He knew they d won: there was no coming back from mega creeps when Fnatic was this far behind. And he was right. Surging in to deliver the killing blow, Digital Chaos this team of misfits, rejects and relative unknowns won a place in the top three at the International.