Spoilers begin beyond IF YOU WATCH ONE MATCH , below. This was a heartbreaker of an opening day that saw longstanding champions fall and new forces rise to challenge the world s most talented teams. It s clear now that this is going to be the closest-run International in the history of the game. Discover that truth as it emerges below, and find highlights in the sidebar.

IF YOU WATCH ONE MATCH…

...watch Secret vs. LGD.

THE MATCHES

Upper bracket: MVP Phoenix vs. OG 

Although this is MVP Phoenix s second year as underdog darlings, OG were the clear favourites going into this set. They re an enormously consistent and talented team, able to adapt to the meta and build around their opponent s weaknesses. MVP Phoenix ignored considerations of this kind going into game one, drafting themselves heroes that they (and in some cases, only they) like: the crit machine Phantom Assassin, charging space cow Spirit Breaker.

Picking well-loved but off-meta heroes into a top tier team shouldn t work and, initially, it didn t. OG support Cr1t put in a star turn on Earth Spirit, one of his best heroes, while superlative midlaner Miracle established dominance as Timbersaw. But as items and levels came online for MVP it all started to slowly turn. One huge fight got them back into the game, then a phenomenal counter-play in the Roshan pit put them ahead. OG had no answer to the staggering critical hit damage being put out by MVP.QO on Phantom Assassin and OG found themselves one game from the lower bracket.

OG rallied in game two, drafting greedily around a support pair in Naga Siren and Oracle that specialised in shutting off MVP s phenomenal aggression. And it worked: Naga Siren in particular ensured that MVP Forev, who had such a strong game on Dark Seer in the first round, never got a good Chronosphere off as Faceless Void. This wasn t a one-sided game by any means, but it was far more in OG s control and they equalised the series 1-1.

Perhaps MVP s issue had been that they simply didn t have enough RNG-based heroes. Phantom Assassin and Ogre Magi returned for game three, along with an unexpected Invoker and Axe pairing. And it was Forev s Axe that defined this game in an astonishing, game-conquering performance that propelled the underpicked hero into the spotlight. Dunk after dunk came down as Forev contained Miracle s Tinker and claimed the top spot on the net worth chart, proving something that I ve always believed but can t really back up: that Axe is the best hero in the entire game, god damn it.

At thirty minutes and close to thirty kills in the hole, OG s upper bracket run ended. The team that won two Majors and their group going into the International had fallen to the Korean dream. It was a spectacular start to the day.

Upper bracket: Wings vs. Digital Chaos

Digital Chaos pulled out the second Axe of the day against Wings, part of a smart aggressive draft designed to counter Wings Drow Ranger, a favourite of the current meta. At the start, it worked: Drow struggled in the laning phase and DC had free reign of the map for the first ten minutes. But a solid counterplay by Wings evened things out shortly after, and after that both teams became more cautious about engaging one another.

DC got split up and outplayed in a major teamfight at the thirty minute mark, the beginning of a decisive momentum swing in Wings direction. This time, Axe didn t work and some fantastic play by Wings.bLink locked out the game in the young Chinese team s favour.After a cautious but relatively conventional first game, Wings set course for clown town. They picked up Pudge in the draft, a lesser-seen support (yes, he s a support, people) who they ve nonetheless run effectively before. Then they picked Techies. There was no good reason to pick Techies at this point, except that they have some synergy with Pudge and I guess if you can win with your hands tied behind your back then you re sending a message that you can win it all.

Wings did not win it all. Techies had almost no impact, given what the hero is supposed to do, and while Pudge pulled off a few good hooks he had nowhere near the impact that a good standard defensive support could have had. DC took the game, but it felt very much like Wings had given them the game.

Having presumably gotten it out of their systems, Wings departed Silly Dota for the third game. Despite having iceice s Chen counterpicked by Riki (also a support, by the way), absolutely phenomenal play in the laning stage put the Chinese team ahead. Centaur Warrunner made his tournament debut as a solid counter to Riki, and Wings picked up a big lead that let them deathball into a straightforward victory. They advance, DC drop to the lower bracket.

Lower bracket: TNC Pro Team vs. Vici Gaming Reborn 

The first of the brutal lower bracket best of ones pitched underestimated SEA team TNC against Vici Gaming Reborn, a powerful Chinese team struggling with a last-minute roster switch. VGR drafted the day s third Axe, along with Weaver, Mirana, and Storm Spirit: all heroes vulnerable to silence. TNC drafted Silencer.

Good early rotations from VGR put the game in their hands until TNC had the levels and farm they needed to bring their fight online. The game entered a passive phase with both teams trading relatively evenly, but the combination of Batrider initiations and Silencer s global silence created pressure on VGR s vulnerable core heroes. This game came down to pickoffs rather than teamfights, with a snipe on Weaver at 35 minutes opening up VGR s base to TNCs surging forces. It was the opportunity they needed. With Batrider controlling the back line, TNC.Raven s Terrorblade became a battering ram that smashed VGR s International hopes. TNC advance to face OG today.

Lower bracket: Team Secret vs. LGD

This was a clash of titans: two of the greatest drafters and captains in the history of the game, Secret s Puppey and LGD s xiao8, going head to head in one game with everything on the line. Both teams had underperformed in the group stage Secret more so but there was no clear favourite here. It was simply too close to call.

And then, after only a few quiet minutes, LGD picked up a surge of momentum unlike anything scene in the tournament so far. A spectacularly well-judged first blood on Secret.Arteezy s mid Alchemist by LGD.Maybe s Juggernaut broke the game open for him in particular, as he abandoned the farming carry role in pursuit of a map-wide reign of terror. For fifteen minutes straight, LGD dominated Secret. This game that was supposed to be so close gods colliding on a mountaintop had become a beating in a carpark.

But Secret held the line. They got a few much-needed kills, split the map, and picked up the farm they needed on Alchemist and EternalEnvy s Terorrblade. Radiance and illusion spam, reinforced by Shadow Demon, helped them withstand push after push. What looked to be a 20-minute stomp became a 45-minute slugfest, and it just kept going.

A godly turn by Secret.pieliedie on defensive support Shadow Demon was illustrative of the phenomenal good judgement that kept Secret in this game. They proved that Dota doesn t have a surrender option for a reason: that any game can be won, approached in the right way. Yet that judgement lapsed from time to time: pressure to make a play and get back on an even keel lead to mistakes, and mistakes lead to sieges that trapped Secret in their base. Despite the farm being picked up by Secret s carries, LGD s Ember Spirit and Juggernaut were getting fatter too. LGD also had their own phenomenal defensive support payer in MMY! on Winter Wyvern, whose Cold Embrace ensured that Secret couldn t turn a defense into a disaster for their opponents.

65 minutes in, LGD.Agressif made the call and picked up a Divine Rapier on Ember Spirit. This was the damage spike LGD needed, making Secret s cautious defensive positioning far less secure. A few careless deaths and buyback expenditures raised the stakes higher than the western supergroup could deal with, and finally with Envy and Arteezy dead and their final lane of barracks under threat Secret called it. They took a 20-minute dumpstering and turned it into a phenomenally tense game of Dota, but it wasn t enough. Given the team s instability over the past year, Secret s future was uncertain as they left the stage.

Lower bracket: Fnatic vs. Escape

Wildcard second-place Escape pulled out another Axe what a time to be alive in this game, and it almost bought them the momentum they needed to overcome their better-established opponents. But Fnatic had better lategame prospects in Phantom Lancer and Templar Assassin, better pushing power in Shadow Shaman, and the ability to turn any fight into a gold lead with Bounty Hunter. All of these factors conspired to put Escape, with their midgame focused draft of melee strength heroes, at a disadvantage.

As the game tipped ever more in Fnatic s favour it seemed as if nerves had gotten the better of Escape. Their drafted suggested all-in aggression what do Night Stalker, Axe and Slardar do if not dunk people but they never really committed to it, seemingly too afraid to lose the lead they built up in the early game. They lost it anyway. A cautious Axe is a sad Axe, after all, and an Axe getting two-shotted by a farmed up Templar Assassin is even sadder. Fnatic were pushing high ground at 22 minutes and Escape crumbled. Fnatic didn t have the best group stage, but this was a definite sign of life for the South East Asian team.

Lower bracket: Team Liquid vs. Na’Vi

The heartbreaker. Liquid and Na Vi are fan favourite teams for many good reasons: their playstyles, their players, their legacy. Liquid captain KuroKy and legendary Na Vi midlaner Dendi were both crucial parts of classic Na Vi, a team whose fame and popularity is unlikely to ever be surpassed. A couple of months ago Liquid would have been the clear favourite going into this matchup, but meeting like this after a rough group stage for both teams was unexpected and uncertain.

It started off very well for Na Vi. Their signature aggression came online around the map. They took trades, but they got the better deal in most cases. KuroKy s Bounter Hunter wasn t allowed to control the pace of the game as Dendi s Queen of Pain and GeneraL s Faceless Void created opportunities and capitalised on them. The first real fight was a wash, however, revealing that Liquid weren t out of it yet. Liquid struck back with a pickoff on Ditya Ra s Nature s Prophet, but Na Vi snuck Roshan. Then, KuroKy countered a Na Vi smoke play and killed their courier, opening up the map for Liquid.

Yet the fights were still very close. Once again, defensive supports became the key: Liquid.JerAx s Shadow Demon and Na Vi.SoNNeik0 s Oracle acting as rocks for each of their teams. And once again also Axe, in the hands of Liquid.MinD_ContRoL, became the hero that his team needed. Suddenly the only heroes that Na Vi could pray on became Liquid s supports, while Liquid s cores took the better half of the trade every time they fought. Culling Blade after Culling Blade shifted the advantage over to Liquid, but it was a clutch defensive Disruption at the foot of Na Vi s base by JerAx that won it. After 35 minutes, Na Vi s resolve crumbled. Dendi followed his old captain, Puppey, out of the International. Of that legendary lineup, only KuroKy remains.

The International 2016 is the biggest event in the Dota 2 calendar. Now in its sixth year, the stakes have never been higher: with an extraordinary prize pool nearing twenty million dollars, the winners of this week s tournament will earn a pot that exceeds the total career earnings of top-level players in other games.

Yet the prize itself isn t the reason you should watch this year s International. You should watch because this is one of the most exciting team esports on PC, and because every year Valve improve the production that surrounds the tournament. This is a very dynamic scene, too: Dota 2 is internationally competitive and no one region or team dominates the competitive world. Last week s dramatic group stages were full of upsets, setting us up for a dramatic main event. This year s winner could easily be a team that didn t even exist last year, or from a region that has never won an International before.

This guide is intended to help newcomers to enjoy the event, and to get returning fans up to speed if you ve not followed the competitive scene closely in the last couple of months. Over the following pages you ll find everything you need to spectate the event, along with a summary of the group stage and a beginner-friendly overview of the key heroes and items of the current metagame the pro community s collective sense of which characters and strategies are in the ascendant.

If you re looking for more information on the teams themselves, please check out last week s in-depth round-up, now updated for the main event. It s up to you how you use these resources: you can dip into the team guide when it s relevant to the game you re watching, or you can read it all to help you shape your predictions going into the playoffs. If you're looking for newcomer tips for Dota 2 in general, check out our Dota 2 beginner's guide: some of the resources listed may well help you follow the International, too.

Contents

What happened in the group stage?A beginner s guide to the TI6 metaThe teams of the International 2016

 EVENT OVERVIEW

Dates, times and places

This year s International takes place from Monday the 8th to Saturday the 13th of August at KeyArena in Seattle, USA. Play will begin at 10:00 PDT/13:00 ET/18:00 BST/19:00 CEST every day, with the longest days taking place towards the beginning of the week. The exact timing of each match is variable because Dota 2 games have no fixed length: they end when they end. There have also been unfortunate issues with delays and DDOSing at previous Internationals, so keep checking Twitch and Twitter for updates if there s a particular matchup you want to see.

From the semi finals onwards, expect to be able to gauge the start time of matches with a little more certainty. For a full schedule, check out the official International site.

Where to watch

You ve got a lot of options for watching the International online. The most straightforward are the Twitch and YouTube streams, which, well, y know. They re streams. You can also watch using Valve s own streaming site, DotaTV this is more closely integrated into the game and allows you to manipulate vital stat-tracking graphs and charts yourself. It s also less popular, so the chat is usually less of a trainwreck than you might find elsewhere (no guarantees on that front.)

You can watch the games through the Watch tab in the game client, which allows you to control the camera yourself, pick which commentary team you want to listen to, and so on. You can also load in with a group of friends, which is a great way to watch the tournament if you ve got buddies who share your interests. Doing your own ad-hoc cast of a pro game can be more fun than tuning into the official broadcast.

This year there s also the spectacular Dota VR Hub, if you re lucky enough to own a HTC Vive. This allows you to watch the games on a massive virtual screen surrounded by life-size statues of the heroes being played before leaping down into the game itself to stride the battlefield like a giant: or experience it from ground-level, as I attempted last week. It can be a little tricky to follow games closely in VR, but if you ve got the kit then you ve got to try it at least once.

The format

Six teams were invited to the International directly, at Valve s discretion. Then, a series of four International qualifiers Europe, North America, South East Asia and China provided two teams each for a total of 14. The third place teams in each region entered the wildcard, a mini-tournament that was played last week. The top two teams from the wildcard won spots in the main event, rounding out the final 16.

In the group stages, those teams were divided into two groups of 8. They then played a round robin over three days with a best-of-two format. The top four teams in each group get to begin the main event in the upper bracket, and the very best among them got to choose their first opponents. Teams that did poorly in the group stage will have to fight for their tournament lives on day one of the main event in the lower bracket.

Via the official site, here are the current standings:

The first day will see two games played in the quarter finals followed by all four best-of-ones in the lower bracket. The latter are particularly brutal, as each team and there are some fan favourites in there only has one chance to stay in the tournament. Expect upsets, pocket strategies, and surprises. Don't miss it.

The prize pool

• First place: $8,758,391
• Second place: $3,284,396
• Third place: $2,090,070
• Fourth place: $1,393,380
• Fifth and sixth place: $895,744
• Seventh and eight place: $497,636
• Ninth to twelfth place: $298,581
• Thirteenth to sixteenth place: $99,527 

Expect all of those numbers to go up over the next week, too: for every $1 that is spent on the in-game International Compendium and Battle Pass, $0.25 is added to the pot.

Last year, I measured the size of the International prize pool in killer whales. This year, the winners will be able to afford their own island in Washington state. Trump Island (no relation to The Donald) near Decatur is the perfect place to train for next year's International and will only set them back $8,750,000. If the players don't want to share, however, then their cut of the top prize is enough to get them a large island in British Columbia each.

Those who drop out of the main event early will need to settle for sharing a freehold in Fiji.

On the next page: the drama of the group stage.

 WHAT HAPPENED IN THE GROUP STAGE?

Upsets, is what. If your Compendium predictions weren t in tatters by day three of the group stage, you re Nostradamus. Tournament favourite OG did as well as expected, winning group A. Noted Chinese outfits Wings and Newbee also did well but that's where the expected results end. Wildcard team EHOME emerged as the shock winners of group B, while returning champions EG demonstrated a confident return to form that placed them second only to OG in their group. Underdogs Digital Chaos emerged as another surprise smash in group B, while Alliance and MVP Phoenix dodged the lower bracket by inches.

Wildcard second place finisher Escape Gaming was the clear loser of group A, while Vici Gaming Reborn's pre-tournament visa issues seem to have condmened them to same fate in group B. The surprisingly poor performance of hot tickets Secret, Liquid, and LGD put their place in the top-tier in question, while Na'Vi struggled to find wins consistently enough to make the cut. Through all of this, another underestimated team TNC Pro Gaming snuck ahead and only narrowly missed out on the upper bracket.

Day one

The first day began with an incredibly tense, hard-fought series between OG and LGD suggesting that the latter hadn't been held back too badly by the visa problems that necessitated a last-minute roster switch. Elsewhere, Wings got off to a shaky start against EG and Na'Vi and Escape both traded wins. Alliance cleaned up against TNC before being themselves wiped out by OG. EG and LGD picked up steam against Na'Vi and Escape respectively, but Wings fell short, surprisingly, against underdogs TNC before reclaiming some points against Escape as the remaining group A teams traded even.

In group B, Secret got off to a strong start against Vici Gaming while EHOME beat Fnatic and the rest of the group traded evenly. Secret would later trade wins with MVP Phoenix while Newbee and DC cleaned up. EG, LGD and OG emerged as the leaders of group A while Secret, EHOME, Newbee and DC shared the top spot in group B.

Day two

This was a great day for EG as they won their two sets 2-0 against Escape and TNC. The return of the classic Na'Vi-Alliance matchup went Alliance's way in both games but the Swedes later conceded two to Wings, curbing their momentum somewhat. Na'Vi bounced back with a 2-0 victory over LGD while OG beat Escape and traded evenly with Wings. Continuing on from day one, OG and EG emerged as the leaders of group A.

The real surprises of the day took place in group B, where Digital Chaos a team often overshadowed by the likes of EG, OG and Liquid cleaned up with 2-0 victories over both Secret and Newbee. Secret had a terrible day in general, losing out to both EHOME and Fnatic and plummeting down the standings. EHOME emerged as the biggest winners of the day, cleaning up in all of their sets, while MVP Phoenix, Vici Gaming Reborn, Fnatic and Liquid struggled for position in the middle. When the smoke cleared, EHOME a wildcard team was the clear leader in group B, with DC unexpectedly close behind.

Day three

Several teams knew that their position in the upper bracket was safe going into day three, while others knew that they were going to be fighting elimination in the lower bracket. The day's real drama took place among the teams in the middle, whose hopes of survival in the main event not to mention hundreds of thousands of dollars rode on a handful of games. Alliance were the big winners, here, inching close to disaster by trading 1-1 with Escape before scoring a surprise 2-0 victory over EG to earn a spot in the upper bracket.

Na'Vi were less fortunate. Their day started well with a 2-0 win over Wings, but they were outmaneuvered by OG and failed to get the points they needed to avoid the lower bracket. In group B, EHOME and DC continued to clean up, only ceding losses to each other. Meanwhile, Vici Gaming Reborn emerged as the group's clear loser, while Liquid, Secret and Fnatic all tied 5-9 overall: allowing MVP Phoenix to inch into the upper bracket despite having a negative 6-8 record.

On the next page: a glance at the new meta.

A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO THE CURRENT META 

This year s metagame is going to present a challenge to newcomers, as Dota has rarely been as varied or competitive as it is this year. Across the group stage, 101 heroes were picked out of the 110 that are available in competitive play. That s an extraordinarily high number, indicating the enormous amount of viable drafts and strategies available to a top-tier team. Even so, a couple of themes are emerging.

Momentum is tremendously important to every team s success in Dota 2. That can mean something tangible, like a gold or experience lead, or it can be subtle: psychological pressure, information about enemy movements, and so on. Teams work to build this momentum during the early part of the game, the laning phase, at which point much of the drama of a match comes from that team s success or failure at converting that momentum into objectives like towers, barracks, and Roshan.

Many of this year s top picks are contested because they re very good at building momentum for their team. Drow Ranger and Huskar are great examples of this, but for different reasons. Drow gives a passive damage boost to all of her allied ranged heroes, making it easier for characters like Invoker to win their lanes. She s also a fantastic siege unit when time comes to push towers.

A well-supported Huskar has a similar effect. This hero, once out of favour, becomes almost unkillable the closer he gets to death. If his supports can sustain him on the brink, the character is almost broken: a snowballing spear-tossing flaming ball of death that ends games very, very quickly. He s been the source of multiple upsets during the group stages.

There are plenty of other examples, many of which are unpacked below. While it s impossible to give a rundown of every character that might be picked particularly in this meta these are characters you can expect to see a lot. Where possible, I ve also included a picture of their Immortal particle effects: cosmetics that alter the way certain abilities look, which is potentially confusing for returning spectators. First, however, let s run through the items that newcomers need to be aware of.

I should stress that you needn't worry if you don't take all of this information in right away. Read it through, and return here if something confuses you later on. Dota 2 is best absorbed slowly, not crammed in all at once. The best way to learn is, as ever, by watching the games.

THE ITEMS

Town Portal Scroll

TP scrolls are a vital part of the game. These allow players to teleport to a friendly structure, saving essential travel time. These cost money and are on a fairly long cooldown, and being caught unable to teleport can be lethal. They can also be used as an escape, but the channeling process can be interrupted by crowd control effects. Look for the telltale circular ring of light.

Blink Dagger

A Blink Dagger allows any hero to teleport a short distance on a relatively low cooldown. This is essential for many initiator heroes like Tidehunter, Batrider and Sand King. You ll hear a lot about a player s blink timing this is how fast they re able to build this essential item. Blink can also be cancelled by damage, meaning that it gains a short cooldown whenever the hero holding it takes a hit.

Black King Bar

Dota 2 s most impactful defensive item, Black King Bar makes a hero immune to magic damage and most crowd control effects. It also makes them huge and gold, which is a bonus. You ll see this come out often on carries, and its arrival is often a sign that a team is ready to take fights as a unit. BKB lasts 10 seconds the first time it is used and then loses a second of its duration with every subsequent use down to 5 seconds. For this reason, you ll often hear casters lament if a player wastes their 10 second charge.

Eul s Scepter

Eul s Scepter allows a character to propel themselves or an enemy into the air atop a swirling cyclone. Heroes are immune to damage while in the air, and it can be used to interrupt channeled abilities and TP scrolls. Sometimes used defensively, it s also often used to catch fleeing heroes or set up combos with skillshots.

Force Staff and Hurricane Pike

Force Staff allows a character to thrust themselves, an ally or an enemy forward a certain distance. It has loads of defensive and offensive applications, and if you see a character suddenly boost out of danger then chances are they or one of their supports just forced them. Hurricane Pike is a new item, an upgrade to the Force Staff with an additional use: when used on an opponent, both heroes will be forced away from one another: but the Pike user will still be able to attack their opponent with unlimited range.

Armlet of Mordiggian

Often just called armlet , this item is one of the most visible momentum boosts in the game. When activated, it gives melee carries a big boost in damage and hitpoints (and purple hands) while draining their health until it is switched off. You re very likely to see a technique called armlet toggling , where a character switches their armlet on and off in between damage instances in order to continually reapply the hitpoint boost and soak up damage. This is incredibly risky, as between each toggle the hero has only a single hitpoint and the bonus health doesn t kick in straight away, but in the hands of a skilled player it s a breathtaking way to absorb obscene amounts of damage.

THE HEROES

Beastmaster

Beastmaster has had a place in the meta for a long time now, and for good reason. His ultimate, Primal Roar, is a lengthy and reliable AoE stun. He s also able to summon a scouting hawk and a boar with a nasty slow, providing his team with good general utility, pushing power, and the potential to secure pick off kills.

Elder Titan

Elder Titan is now a common pick and ban thanks to his unique disable. Echo Stomp activates after a short channeling period, applying a lengthy sleep effect to every enemy caught in its blast. Elder Titan can also project an astral duplicate of himself that casts Echo Stomp whenever he does, extending the ability s area of effect. Enemies that are asleep wake up if they take damage, but skilled players can work around this and its disruptive effect on a teamfight, as well as its power against massed pushes, accounts for the hero s new popularity.

Riki

Once simply the bane of low-level pub games, a reworked Riki has now found a home in the pro scene as a roaming support. His permanent invisibility gives him obvious potential as a scout and he provides control in fights with his silencing Smoke Screen. His new ultimate, Tricks of the Trade, removes him from the map while he invisibly strikes every enemy within a circular AoE. If you see a lot of people dying inside a big pink ring, Riki has happened.

Shadow Demon

Shadow Demon has made a triumphant return to the meta lately as a long series of buffs finally bore fruit. He provides utility to his team as a support hero with much of his power centring around Disruption. This encases an enemy or ally in an orb for several seconds, during which time they re immune to damage and completely disabled. As they emerge they re joined by two illusory duplicates under the control of Shadow Demon. Disruption has offensive potential, particularly in combination with heroes with skillshot disables like Mirana and Elder Titan. It also helps Shadow Demon s team transition into a push, as using it on a beefy ally creates illusions that can help with a siege.

Mirana

Changes to Mirana s abilities and itemisation have given her new life as a roaming carry with powerful magical burst damage. Her skillshot, Sacred Arrow, now instantly kills any creep it hits with the exception of ancients. This makes it much easier for Mirana to farm, as she can start killing high-level jungle creeps from the very start of the game. This farm is increasingly going towards items that boost her magic damage, like her new Aghanim s Scepter upgrade that causes her to trigger her Starstorm nuke constantly as long as she s near an enemy.

Io

Io has been first ban material for a long time, and this was particularly true in the group stage. He plays well into the current meta due to his ability to sustain allies with Tether and Overcharge: he s one of a number of supports that plays well with Huskar. Relocate is still a powerful ganking and map control tool, giving Io and his tethered friend the ability to suddenly appear anywhere on the map.

Drow Ranger

Much of Drow s power in this meta comes from the ranged damage boost that she grants her team, as mentioned earlier. But she has useful control options in her toolkit, too. Gust is a knockback and silence that makes her a little less vulnerable to heroes that can blink on top of her, and players have started picking up Hurricane Pike as a way of giving her increased survivability and control. She's certainly benefited from better item options after the last couple of patches.

Huskar

A Huskar pick is risky because, if anticipated and countered, he s terrible. Get the right start, however, and he s terrifying: a leaping, flaming spearman that becomes more powerful the closer he gets to death. His ultimate, Life Break, is what you re seeing when he leaps through the air at a target. This sacrifices a chunk of Huskar s health in order to rip out an equivalent chunk of his opponent, making him naturally strong against characters that rely on deep HP pools to survive. He needs the right support, however.

Dazzle

Dazzle is one of those supports. The key ability here is Shallow Grave, pictured. For as long as an ally is encased in Dazzle s column of pink light, they can t be reduced below 1 hitpoint. This has obvious synergy with Huskar s love of danger, but it s a powerful sustain tool regardless of the character that Dazzle is supporting. Expect to see a lot of the Shadow Priest at TI6.

Oracle

Oracle is one of Dota s newer supports and also one of the more confusing. The main thing you need to know is that he provides damage, control, damage mitigation and healing, and that all of these things are mixed together and different effects can be produced based on how he times his abilities. The game changer, however, is his ultimate False Promise. This purges most negative status effects from an ally while temporarily pausing all damage and healing done to them. This damage and healing isn t applied until False Promise s duration ends, and healing is doubled. In the right circumstances, this allows Oracle to guarantee that an ally survives a battle and allows them to soak up a tremendous number of nukes while they re at it.

Batrider

A perennial favourite, Batrider s ability to roam the map setting up kills for his allies with Flaming Lasso is once again relevant in the new meta. Batrider can also pump out a respectable amount of magic damage with Firefly, which allows him to fly over obstacles while leaving a trail of flame in his wake.

That s all for now! Hopefully this guide will help you get the most out of one of the year s most exciting esports events. Check PC Gamer Pro every day during the international for highlights, analysis and more.

Dota 2's new VR spectator hub is spectacular and strange. The Dota community cries out for many things: for the absentee hero Pit Lord, for a new patch, for the next round of Immortals, for their +25 MMR back, and so on. Nobody to my knowledge was crying out for the ability to stick their head fully inside a game of professional Dota 2. Nobody has petitioned for the ability to get all up in the game's business, to stalk virtual squirrels through the undergrowth and experience the life of a creep.

Well, I did. But I was joking.

Last night, I decided to watch an entire game of the International's group stage in VR. Not only that, but I forbade myself from using either the lobby, which allows you to watch the game on a relatively ordinary virtual screen, or the zoom-out function that allows you stare down at the battlefield from above like god.

No. I was going to experience this battle from the ground, like the war reporter that my lack of experience, ability, courage and level of physical fitness precludes me from being.

I am sitting on a rock in Na'Vi's fountain. The draft is ongoing, and no heroes roam the battlefield yet. It's very quiet. The shopkeeper, who is very tall, beams at me from across his anvil. I wait. I can hear the casters discussing the pick-ban phase, but without being able to see it the process doesn't hold my attention. The Radiant base is quite pleasant, actually. It reminds me of that part of a garden centre which sells faux-marble statuary to people with terrible taste.

Suddenly, Na'Vi appear in front of me. They're inert and lifeless at first, as I presume their game clients jutter through the transition from drafting menu to game proper. I wave, because it seems like the thing to do. Then they're off, rushing past me: somebody teleports out immediately in a massive flash of light. I consider who to follow and settle on Dendi's Mirana.

This... feels weird. Due to the physical limitations of the Vive my movement chiefly takes the form of short teleporting 'hops', not entire unlike Dota 2's actual Blink power. I get comfortable with it quite quickly, and I'm able to follow Dendi closely has he rushes down to midlane. There's an eerie sense of actually following somebody, which is compounded by the fact that Dendi doesn't know I'm 'there'.

I understand that players must know that they're being spectated, in some abstract sense, but I'm... there. I'm on the map with him! Na'Vi have six team members, and one of them is a me, an idiot! I feel like I'm tresspassing, like I'm about to get chucked out of the game by International security.

Shit! Na'Vi's opponents, TNC, are hidden across the river under the cover of Smoke of Deceit! I can see them because I'm technically a spectator, but Dendi can't. Does he know? Am I on his side? Should I warn him? I jump up and down and wave frantically, like a moron.

Dendi's game sense warns him to the danger, however, and TNC's strike at midlane fails. Or perhaps this was my doing? Perhaps, in some strange cosmic way, Dendi felt that somebody was trying to warn him. Perhaps every time you've thought 'I bet they're doing Roshan' or 'their supports have been missing too long' you've actually been secretly warned by a tiny invisible man.

This almost certainly isn't true, in any way, at all.

I can just about follow the battle over the creep wave in midlane. I stand on Dendi's side of the river and cheer him on as he contests for farm. From down here, creeps aren't just little bags of gold waiting to be cracked open: they're about my height. The heroes are tall, dazzlingly colourful, and very much unlike me, but I find the creeps with their bad posture and silly way of running rather relatable.

They are dying in droves.

Yeah! Early aggression from Dendi and SoNNeikO forces Kuku's Tinker under his tower, and they close in for the kill. I've become rather factional, despite having no horse in this particular wizard race, simply because it was Na'Vi's fountain that I chose to start in. I'm from the Radiant fountain, you see, and therefore fuck this Tinker guy. "Eat it, Tinker!" I jeer, thrusting my controllers back and forth like the shit weedy child that accompanies most schoolyard bullies.

I understand that the control this kill gives Dendi over his midlane is important, and I'm aware from the ambient commentary that first blood has already gone to TNC elsewhere. But my perspective is so localised that this amounts to information that I know but don't feel. My sense of the game as a whole, usually crucial to spectating Dota, is entirely absent. But I feel remarkably attached to this moon-cat-riding archer lady and her ice dragon friend.

I accompany my two new friends on a smoke gank to the Dire jungle. This is excting! I creep up the stairs, where I see TNC's Beastmaster jungling. Assuming that he's their target, I sneak closer for a look: but they're already on their way to the safelane. Very quickly, I become lost in the jungle. It's only when I see the lights of a teamfight that I know where to look.

Jesus Christ. From the ground, a Dota teamfight is chaos. I feel like I've just wandered into the middle of a football match, and I have a pressing feeling that I'm about to get into somebody's way. I can't really tell what's going on. I lose Dendi in the chaos and the fight doesn't seem to go Na'Vi's way. Lacking any kind of UI I have no way of gauging anybody's cooldowns or relative power. This fight between Beastmaster, Faceless Void and Disruptor amounts to three brightly-coloured muscular topless magic men smacking each other in a wet disco.

What a time to be alive.

I find Dendi in the Radiant offlane just in time for a fifteen minute pause. Somewhere, outside of this game I now live in, somebody in a hotel in Bellevue is having a problem with their headset. This all seems rather alien to me as I hear about it from the ground. I have time to wander a little through this frozen, grey kingdom. Here's a fun fact: water never pauses in Dota, but fire does. Makes you think.

Bored, I teleport up to the ward spot near the Radiant secret shop and have a lie down. I lie there, on the floor and/or on the ward spot, and wait. Suddenly colour returns to the sky and the pause ends. I spring to my feet, feeling compelled to shout "I'm up, I'm up!" like I've been caught napping on the job.

Near Dendi's position I discover a stacked camp in the Dire jungle. I'd always thought of camp stacking as a rather benign affair but it's quite intense in person. It's so cramped: particularly for those poor little skeletons, who seem to be having a terrible time. I wonder, for the first time in 2,500 hours of Dota 2, why neutral creeps live in camps.

There is a whole jungle out there, guys! There's a lot of space. You don't need to live like this. What are you afraid of? Who hurt you?

Then it occurs to me that they are afraid of the giant colourful magic men who come and murder them every minute, every day, forever.

Dendi murders these centaurs while I watch, silently. Then he murders some golems. Sometimes he throws an arrow sideways, and I watch it sail through the air until it murders something else. He has his Aghanim's Scepter by this point, I realise, as barrage after barrage of lunar energy brings a terrible unfeeling wrath upon the creatures of the forest. Dendi is farming well, a caster observes far above me.

Then I met a squirrel the size of a dog with a single giant triangle for a face. He can't be killed because he isn't worth any money, which is the law of the jungle and also capitalism.

Dendi dies in an engagement in midlane, I think (I'm lost.) Hiding behind a tree, I watch TNC begin their push. It's very impressive. I instinctively don't want to get in the way of Tinker's March of the Machines or Beastmaster's Necronomicon creatures. Watching a big purple goblin, a bodybuilder, a gnome in an exoskeleton, hundreds of tiny robots, a magic boar, a blue woman, and the angry purple ghost of a bird lady lay siege to a big marble tower with a face, I realise: Dota is weird.

From the steps of the Radiant base, my home, I watch her defenders sally forth. I wonder why they keep running into the March of the Machines: down there on the ground, wading into a sea of knee-high razorbots seems like a terrible idea. Nonetheless, off they go. There are jungle creatures to murder.

I find Dendi again and follow him as Na'Vi stalk under the cover of Moonlight Shadow to Dire's midlane. Somebody drops an item near this ward but I can't tell what it is because it only appears to me as a giant treasure chest and the casters don't mention it. I can see what Na'Vi are trying to set up, vaguely, but unlike them I can spy TNC's position through the trees. The angles don't look right. I attempt to express caution through Vive controller semaphore to no avail. While gesticulating I brush my arm against my office cabinet, which I briefly mistake for a person.

"Hello" I say, to the cabinet.

Na'Vi's aggression in midlane is punished. Most of the action happens on the far side of Shadow Shaman's serpent wards so I don't see much of it properly. That is true generally for most of these fights. Vantage points like stairways and rune spots help, but the precision and decision making that goes into each action is lost on me. I do however make eye contact with TNC's Eyyou midway through the fight. He is a chicken when this occurs, but the condition is temporary.

Having won the fight, TNC enter the Roshan pit. I had always imagined this place as a deep cavern, but it's actually a little small. Roshan himself is pretty impressive, but he clearly doesn't have enough space. This is like those mini 'apartments' in London that are actually somebody's refurbished garage and cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to live in. Roshan is, I suppose, a victim of globalisation, irresponsible marketeering, and insufficient rent control. He is also very presently going to become a victim of being murdered for the magic orb he keeps in his brain.

Imbued with the power of the Aegis and presumably winning a game that I find increasingly hard to follow, TNC lay siege to the Radiant base. Creep meets creep in hand to hand combat. Heroes die and buy back and charge out of the fountain only to die again. I have no idea what is going on and it is terrifying.

I find Dendi surrounded by springloaded clockwork razorbots. A horned goblin holding three eyeballs and a placid expression does yoga poses in the midst of the melee, as an orange samurai finally overcomes the blue woman that just blew up his house. There are bodies and gold coins everywhere. There are voices in the sky and they are shouting.

Na'Vi have one last shot at staying in this and it means laying claim to Roshan or at least preventing TNC from doing so. I know this because the voices in the sky are talking about it. They also say that the Roshan pit is a trap laid by TNC. I understand what this means in principle but I don't really feel it until the trap is sprung. I hang back as Na'Vi charge ahead, and watch as they're caught in a tidle wave of blue and purple magic that blindsides them completely. Dendi vanishes into the chaos.

My god, it's full of wizards.

The battle/disco/massacre at the Roshan pit clears TNC's pathway to the Radiant ancient. It's almost peaceful without Na'Vi's heroes here to oppose TNC's slow siege. Raven's Drow Ranger slays a squat little creep with every arrow, glowing a healthy shade of green as she does so. A tower crumbles at my feet.

Suddenly everybody and everything stops: Na'Vi have called GG. I can't see the words but I see it in the map itself a sudden anticlimax followed by the spectacular detonation of the Radiant ancient. Blue light rockets into the sky and cherry blossoms tumble down around me as the world itself comes to an end.

I have just spectated a game of Dota 2 and now I need a drink and a lie down and possibly a drink while lying down.

The group stages are over and the brackets for the main event are set. The teams you'll find over the following pages represent the best of international Dota, and are testament to the breadth, competitiveness and dynamism of the scene. You ll find many new names on the following pages, from players to the teams themselves. No one region or squad dominates this game, and this year s massive prize pool just shy of $20m at the time of writing could go to almost anyone. There are certainly favourites for the top spot, but it s a sign of a healthy scene when many of those favourites didn t even exist a year ago.

 THE TEAMS

 EHOME

EHOME qualified via the wildcard without dropping a series, which was in line with expectations for a team that wasn t expected to have to fight their way in through the wildcard at all. Even so, their performance wasn t flawless: they dropped a game to Execration and had to work hard for their victory against Escape. If they'd shaken the problems that dogged them since the Shanghai Major, it wasn't necessarily immediately obvious.

It is now, however. EHOME are one of the tournament's great success stories so far, following up on that wildcard performance with a stunning turn in the group stage. Winning their group 12-2, only DC and Liquid took games from them. After a humble start, EHOME could be on track to take it all.

Escape Gaming

Stop-start progress through the wildcard nonetheless carried new European team Escape through to the main event. This is a team comprised of a mix of veteran talent in qojqva, SyndereN and Era and talented newcomers in YapzOr and KheZu. KheZu in particular put in a star turn during the wildcard, keeping his team in the game with a run of fantastic initiations.

As expected, the group stage was tough on them. Finishing 2-12, they only managed to wrest wins away from Na'Vi and Alliance: teams that have also logged inconsistent performances so far. They will need to pull out something special to survive their lower bracket best-of-one against Fnatic. If they can pull together as a team and cut down on mistakes then they've got a shot, however: there's talent there, just not the polish to turn that talent into titles.

OG

This has been OG s year. Founded in 2015 as (monkey) Business, OG achieved a stunning surprise victory at the Frankfurt Major. This talented international squad has gone on to place consistently highly, winning the Manila Major a few months ago as well as ESL One Frankfurt and DreamLeague Season 5. Midlaner Miracle- has emerged from relative obscurity a year ago to become well known as one of the best players, if not the best player, in professional Dota. His virtuoso turns on heroes like Invoker and Shadow Fiend has won him and his team fans and titles.

OG are a safe bet to take it all this year, and their group stage performance backs that up: they were expected to do well, and did. In addition to their impressive track record, they re also notable for their attitude and outlook. In a scene often typified by instability, OG have managed to avoid roster drama and stress the importance of positive relationships and teamwork. The fact that they ve also translated this into success suggests that the Dota scene, in some ways, is starting to mature.

 Team Liquid 

Formerly 5Jungz, the new Liquid is a European team with a strong track record leading up to the International. Former Na'Vi and Team Secret support KuroKy is the heart of a versatile and creative squad that has only just lagged behind OG in terms of success over the last year. A win at Epicenter 2015 broke up a run of second and third-place finishes: Liquid have proven that they can do it, it simply remains to be seen whether they are doing it.

The group stages were rough on Liquid, however: rougher than anybody expected going into the event. Their run was unusually inconsistent. Liquid managed to take a game off EHOME but stumbled against DC and Secret, bested Fnatic but fell to Vici Gaming Reborn. They're simply not showing the sort of consistent form that they have done in the past.

Newbee

International 2014 champions Newbee return with an interesting and effective new lineup. They've picked up legendary support player ChuaN as well as kpii from TI5 fan darlings MVP Phoenix. They're joined by carry Hao, returning to Newbee after a stint at Vici Gaming in 2015, former EHOME support kaka, and midlaner Mu: the only Newbee member to have stuck with the organisation since their decisive victory in 2014.

Newbee begin this year's International in a strong position with a good recent track record. They proved in Nanyang last month that they can win against the best Chinese teams and they placed respectably at the Manila Major and Nanyang. Earlier in the year they pulled off a record-breaking 29 game win streak in professional play, an unprecedented tear that was only curtailed by their encounter with OG. Their games are very much worth watching, particularly for ChuaN's mastery of the support role and Hao's incredible aggression.

Newbee encountered some rough patches in the group stage, and odds are that they're not entirely happy with an 8-6 record and third place: but it's enough to keep them in the upper bracket. The dream of a second Newbee TI victory is still alive.

LGD Gaming

This year's LGD blends new and longstanding Dota talent. Stalwarts xiao8, MMY! and Maybe are joined by former CDEC carry Agressif, who achieved second place at last year's International as part of a phenomenal Cinderella run for the young Chinese team. As a squad, LGD have placed consistently highly and have become known for their tendency to encourage (and win) extremely long matches.

There's one major question mark over their prospects this year, however. Support player September was refused a visa to the United States after multiple attempts, so he's been replaced at TI6 by LGD's coach, Banana. Banana's a great player with a vast amount of experience, but a change like this is hardly ideal on the eve of the biggest event of the year. A rough 5-9 run through the group stage suggests that they are indeed struggling, despite a nail-biting series against OG that indicated that this is still a world-class team. Their best-of-one elimination match against Secret is likely to be equally tense.

 Team Secret

At one point considered the scariest western team in Dota 2, Secret were formed as a supergroup of sorts when multiple longstanding squads dissolved in 2014. Puppey, Arteezy and EternaLEnVy are some of the most recognisable personalities in the professional scene.

Secret have had a mixed year, however. Their standout success was a victory at the Shanghai Major, which followed a second place finish in Frankfurt but other than that, they've logged too many mid-table finishes for comfort. Bombing out of the Manila Major early, last-minute roster drama meant that they had to fight their way into the International via the public qualifier. Their instability and inconsistency, combined with their fame, gives Secret dark horse potential: but that potential spluttered out in the group stage. A 5-9 run on par with Liquid is worse than anybody expected, betraying an inconsistency of performance that they need to overcome if they're going to survive the lower bracket.

Secret's fans are praying for a miracle right now, and they'll be looking to Puppey to provide one. If one of Dota's most famous strategists is holding anything back, he needs to deploy it soon.

 MVP Phoenix

Dota 2 is unusually internationally competitive relative to other esports, which is demonstrated by the fact that Korea is the underdog that everybody roots for rather than the overdog that wins everything. MVP Phoenix have surfed that wave of public support since their impressive performance at the International 2015.

A number of factors including compulsory military service have forced a roster shuffle since then. New captain DuBu is joined by returning players QO and Febby as well as transfers from sister squad MVP Hot6, FoREV and MP. They've continued to do well over the last year, scoring consistent top 8 finishes including a number of wins: at Dota Pit over EG and PLG 2016 over CDEC. The arrival of high-level Korean Dota hasn't meant the end of the world for everybody else, but they are performing better and better. Their group stage performance, 6-8, was just good enough to clinch them a place in the upper bracket. They will need to work extremely hard to hold on to their lead, however, as they lost more games than any other team to make it this far.

 Natus Vincere

The original fan favourite Dota squad is on resurgent form after a few years of uncertainty in the aftermath of The International 2014. The new squad recently took the title at StarSeries Season 2, defeating Team Secret 3-1. They fell to OG at ESL One Frankfurt but nonetheless took second place. After their time in the wilderness, Na'Vi are (at least mostly) back.

Midlaner Dendi remains one of the most famous faces in the Dota scene, but more and more attention is being paid to his teammates. In particular, support and captain SoNNeikO is emerging as one of the most talented team players around. Meanwhile, offlaner GeneraL has turned niche support hero Sand King into a first-ban worth monster that demonstrates his commanding skill in the role.

This didn't quite translate into the group stage they wanted, however, as a run of poor engagements knocked them out of game after game. Na'Vi like to build up momentum early and end the game fast and seemed to struggle whenever that momentum was denied. They'll begin the tournament with a heartbreaker of an elimination match against Liquid.

 Wings Gaming

A relatively new Chinese team, Wings have rapidly emerged as one of the year's surprise success stories: even taking The Summit 5 finals 3-1 from the year's other surprise success story, OG. These are talented players that you may not be familiar with unless you've followed Chinese Dota closely over the last couple of years, but it's likely that you'll be familiar with them after this year's International.

They're tremendously versatile and aggressive, so expect some creative drafts and surprise hero picks. This dynamism is what allows Wings to threaten the championship hopes of better established teams, but their weakness is consistency. They tend to deliver a high-variance performance, which makes them exciting to watch but casts some doubt over their ability to make it the entire distance. They struggled on the first day of the group stage, ceding an unexpected loss to TNC. From that point they rallied to secure third place in their group, but their losses are enough to cast a shadow over their main event prospects.

Alliance 

Another dark horse, Alliance were the kings of the game three years ago. Their victory at The International 2013 is legendary, but they've never quite found the same form since. After a few experimental roster shifts, however, they've put that original band back together and have performed a little better since. This is still a team that can take matches off the best, but not one that you'd expect to turn out another undefeated run through the group stage.

As indeed they didn't. Known for a 'rat' playstyle that emphasises objectives and map control, Alliance have a habit of creating exciting games to watch whether they win or lose. Luckily, they managed to win more games than they lost in the group stage, securing an 8-6 finish and a place in the upper bracket that many would have expected to go to Secret, Na'Vi or Liquid. Despite dropping sets to OG and Wings, Alliance managed 2-0 victories over both EG and Na'Vi: watch the end of their first game against EG for an example of Alliance's charmed lategame in action.

Evil Geniuses

The defending champions, like their old rivals Secret, are arriving at TI6 following a period of roster drama and instability. In fact, the troubles of the two teams mirror each other closely because they keep firing and hiring each other's players. The new EG retains four out of five of the players who lifted the trophy last year, with the addition of briefly-retired support savant zai. UNiVeRsE also returns following a stint at Secret, meaning the power behind the $6m Echo Slam is back where it belongs.

EG's recent form has been hit and miss. They departed from the Manila Major extraordinarily early for a team of their caliber, and underperformed at Epicenter and StarSeries. Their last podium finish took place at The Shanghai Major. The TI6 group stage marked a return to form, however, with a performance second only to OG in their group. They took advantage of the Huskar metagame to crush a few early victories and showed themselves to be on good form overall, despite a few surprising losses along the way.

 TNC Pro Team

World-roaming American support player DeMoN joins an array of talent from the Philipines including former Mineski midlaner Kuku. This is a roster that has proven itself to be competitive within the SEA region after all, they won the SEA qualifier but whose viability on the world stage is questionable. They've not competed in many events of this scale, although DeMoN has been a fixture at the International as part of many different teams over the last couple of years.

What TNC have going for them is the fact that they're very likely to be underestimated by their opponents, and doing so can be fatal at the International. This proved to be the case in the group stage, as TNC surprised viewers with 2-0 victories over both Wings and LGD. They fell short elsewhere, however, and will begin the main event in the lower bracket: but having begun the event in relative obscurity, there's reason to believe that they could survive to cause further upsets in the lower bracket.

 Vici Gaming Reborn

Formerly Vici Gaming's second team Potential, Reborn have performed solidly lately although they're like to be seen as a weaker team than Chinese counterparts LGD and Wings. There's a lot of storied talent in their roster, however, including legendary support players fy and DDC. Midlaner Nono is newer to the scene, having only played professionally for a year.

Like LGD, Vici Gaming Reborn have been hit with visa problems. Offlaner Yang failed to secure his in time to compete in the tournament, so he'll be replaced by coach Mikasa for the duration of the tournament. Mikasa has a lot of history with the team, having filled in effectively for Nono earlier in the year at the StarLadder i-League Invitational, which VGR won. The last minute substitution does appear to have hurt VGR, however, as they came last in their group with a 4-10 record.

Digital Chaos 

DC is a team with a tremendously diverse roster, a grab bag of talent from different teams and regions. Support misery is one of the longest-serving and most versatile players in Europe, while Ukrainian carry Resolut1on joins after a long stint with Empire. w33 is a high level midlaner who became part of DC after falling victim to another Team Secret reshuffle, while Moo and pubstar Saksa are relatively new to the scene.

In that sense, Digital Chaos are a happy byproduct of the Dota 2 scene's instability: an unlikely alliance that is nonetheless capable of placing respectably at top-tier events. And they have emerged as this year's surprising underdog success story, going on a 11-3 tear that is only surpassed by the equally-surprising performance of EHOME. Almost everybody underestimated DC, but they won't any more: they're a rogue's gallery of talent and now they've provided that they've got the coordination and the ideas to translate it into consistent success. Beginning the main event in the upper bracket, they stand to go far.

Fnatic

South East Asian team Fnatic have had a consistent run of mid-table finishes at premier events over the last year, with their disappointing early exit from the Frankfurt Major eventually giving way to better results in Shanghai and Manila. This is a talented but inconsistent team that lives perennially on the fringe of the top tier.

Carry Mushi is one of the legends of the game, an extremely versatile presence with a deep hero pool. He's joined by former pubstar MidOne and veterans Ohaiyo, DJ and 343. Expect diverse picks and impressive role flexibility. If we're very lucky, we'll get to see Mushi play all five positions before the end of the tournament: although a disappointing 5-9 performance in the group stage means that they face elimination on the first day.

Keep reading PC Gamer Pro for news and highlights from the International as it happens.