The International 2016

The International 2016 (TI6) was the sixth iteration of The International, an annual Dota 2 esports world championship tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament began with the qualifier phase in June 2016, and ended after the main event at the KeyArena in Seattle in August.

The International 2016
Tournament information
SportDota 2
LocationSeattle, Washington, United States
DatesAugust 3–13, 2016
Administrator(s)Valve
Tournament
format(s)
Host(s)Valve
Venue(s)KeyArena
Participants16 teams
PurseUS$20,770,460
Final positions
ChampionsWings Gaming
1st runner-upDigital Chaos
2nd runner-upEvil Geniuses

The tournament awarded one of the biggest prize pools in esports history at over US$20 million. The best-of-five Grand Finals took place between the China-based Wings Gaming and U.S.-based Digital Chaos, with Wings Gaming taking the series 3–1, winning them over $9 million.[1] The event, seen by millions of viewers globally, was considered to be one of the greatest esports tournaments of all time, with multiple upsets and Cinderella stories throughout.[2][3]

Format
The KeyArena in Seattle, the venue where the tournament took place

As with previous years of the tournament, a corresponding battle pass for Dota 2 was released before the event, allowing the prize pool to be crowdfunded by players of the game.[4] Known as the "Compendium", 25% of revenue made by it was sent towards the tournament's prize pool, with the other 75% being used by Valve to cover production costs.[4][5]

The tournament initially began with the Americas, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia open region qualifiers in June.[6] The winners of each region then went on to the main qualifiers, which also took place in June. Winners of the regional qualifier earned an invite to the main event, while a secondary playoff bracket took place for teams in 2nd–5th place, with the winner of those also earning an invite. Six teams were directly invited without need for qualifying, which was based on consistently good results at previous Dota 2 events.[7] However, The International 2015 champion team Evil Geniuses did not receive a direct invite due to breaking Valve's rules on roster swapping after the completion of the last premier Dota 2 tournament, the Manila Major, in June.[8] They and Team Secret, who also broke the same rule, were forced to make their way through the open and main qualifiers, eventually finishing first in their respective regions, gaining an invite.[9][10] Two teams from the Philippines, TnC Gaming and Execration, had issues securing travel visas to the United States, but were eventually able to get them one week before the event due to assistance from Filipino senator Bam Aquino.[11]

The main event began in Seattle with the wild card matches on August 2, with the EHOME and Escape Gaming advancing to the round robin group stage the following day.[12] The round robin group stage consisted of two groups of eight teams, with the top four teams of each group advancing to the upper bracket of the best-of-three double elimination main event, and the bottom four advancing to the lower bracket.[12] The Grand Finals, consisting of the winners of the upper and lower brackets, took place in a best-of-five series between Wings Gaming and Digital Chaos, with the former winning the series 3–1.[12][13]

Direct invitation
Regional qualifier winners
Wild card

Group stage

All matches consisted of two games against the same opponent in a round robin format for each group, with two points being awarded for a 2–0 sweep, one point awarded for a 1–1 draw, and no points awarded for a 0–2 loss.[14]

Wild card
Round one Round two Qualified
                   
EHOME 2  
Execration 1  
  EHOME 2  
  Escape Gaming 0  
Escape Gaming 2
compLexity Gaming 1  
  EHOME Q
  Escape Gaming Q
compLexity Gaming 0  
Execration 2  
  Escape Gaming 2
  Execration 0  

Groups
Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L Pts
1 OG 7 4 3 0 11 Advanced to the upper bracket
2 Evil Geniuses 7 3 3 1 9
3 Wings Gaming 7 3 2 2 8
4 Alliance 7 3 2 2 8
5 TnC Gaming 7 3 1 3 7 Advanced to the lower bracket
6 Natus Vincere 7 2 2 3 6
7 LGD Gaming 7 1 3 3 5
8 Escape Gaming 7 0 2 5 2
Source: [15]
Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L Pts
1 EHOME 7 5 2 0 12 Advanced to the upper bracket
2 Digital Chaos 7 4 3 0 11
3 Newbee 7 3 2 2 8
4 MVP Phoenix 7 0 6 1 6
5 Fnatic 7 2 1 4 5 Advanced to the lower bracket
6 Team Secret 7 2 1 4 5
7 Team Liquid 7 1 3 3 5
8 Vici Gaming Reborn 7 1 2 4 4
Source: [15]

Main event
A main event match between LGD Gaming and Digital Chaos at the KeyArena

Upper bracket
Quarterfinals Semifinals Upper bracket finals
         
A1 OG 1
B4 MVP Phoenix 2
B4 MVP Phoenix 0
A3 Wings Gaming 2
B2 Digital Chaos 1
A3 Wings Gaming 2
A3 Wings Gaming 2
A2 Evil Geniuses 0
B1 EHOME 2
A4 Alliance 0
B1 EHOME 0
A2 Evil Geniuses 2
A2 Evil Geniuses 2
B3 Newbee 0

Lower bracket

Grand Finals

The best of five Grand Finals were between Wings Gaming, the upper bracket winner, and Digital Chaos, who won the lower bracket. Wings Gaming lost the first game in the series, but subsequently won the next three games in a row to win the tournament and $9 million grand prize.[13]

Grand Finals (best of five)
   
A3 Wings Gaming 3
B2 Digital Chaos 1

Winnings

(Note: Prizes are in USD)[16]

Place Team Prize money
1st
Wings Gaming
 $9,139,002
2nd
Digital Chaos
 $3,427,126
3rd
Evil Geniuses
 $2,180,898
4th
Fnatic
 $1,453,932
5th/6th
EHOME
 $934,671
MVP Phoenix
7th/8th
Team Liquid
 $519,262
TnC Gaming
9th–12th
Alliance
 $311,557
OG
LGD Gaming
Newbee
13th–16th
Escape Gaming
 $103,852
Natus Vincere
Team Secret
Vici Gaming Reborn

Legacy

The crowdfunded prize pool of US$20,770,460 surpassed the previous International's total of $18.4 million, overtaking it as the largest esports tournament prize pool in history until being surpassed by the following year's International.[4][17][18][19] The venue where the event took place, the KeyArena in Seattle, was sold out, with millions of additional spectators watching the event via livestreaming platforms worldwide.[20] The tournament's opening ceremony featured Valve president Gabe Newell, who called the event a "high point of the year" for everybody at the company, as well as violinist Lindsey Stirling, who performed some of the game's soundtrack on stage.[21] The tournament was considered to be one of the best in esports history, with multiple upsets and underdog teams performing well throughout.[22][23] Production values of the tournament itself were also praised, with Valve, the game's developer and event organizer, implementing technologies such as augmented reality (AR) into the live broadcast, which showed the game's playable characters on screen as if they there in person.[20]

Cinderella teams TnC Gaming and Digital Chaos, who were both projected to finish near the bottom of the final standings, exceeded expectations, with the latter eventually reaching the Grand Finals, finishing as the tournament's runner-up.[24][25] Game one of the upper bracket series between Evil Geniuses and EHOME was thought by Patrick Hancock of Destructoid to be more exciting than any traditional sporting match he had ever seen, with him comparing moments during the game to famous American football plays such as the Helmet Catch.[26] Seattle KCPQ reporter Kaci Aitchison, who co-hosted the event, thought that due to the International's large prize pools and production values, esports had become a true spectator sport which deserved the same level of respect of traditional sports.[20]

Outside of the tournament's games, other related competitions were held, including a Dota 2-themed short film contest and a cosplay competition, with each having their own independent winners and prize pools.[27][28] In addition, two new playable characters for the game itself were revealed during the event, with the latter also featuring an accompanying martial arts performance.[29][30]

References
  1. Van Allen, Eric. "Wings Gaming takes TI6, wins $9 million and the Aegis". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  2. Thursten, Chris. "The International 2016 ends with a spectacular grand final". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  3. Wolf, Jacob. "Fnatic's 343: TI-sized prize pools a 'burden on your shoulders'". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  4. Erzberger, Tyler. "The International prize pool, a history". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 29, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  5. Hillier, Brenna. "Dota 2: The International 2016 Battle Pass packs in so much stuff". VG247. Archived from the original on July 24, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  6. Van Allen, Eric. "The International 6 qualifiers primer". ESPN. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  7. Van Allen, Eric. "What you need to know about The International 6". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  8. Thursten, Chris. "Valve announce team invites for The International 2016". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  9. Van Allen, Eric. "The roster swap madness of Team Secret and Evil Geniuses". ESPN. Archived from the original on June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  10. Higgins, Chris. "Has Secret's TI6 open qualifier gamble paid off?". Red Bull. Archived from the original on July 5, 2016. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  11. Bolando, AJ. "Pinoy teams finally get US visas for P890M DOTA 2 event". philstar.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  12. "Dota 2 - The International". dota2.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  13. Walker, Dylan (August 13, 2016). "Wings Gaming wins the Dota 2 International 2016, nearly $10 million in prize money". Yahoo! esports. Yahoo!. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  14. "Tournament Rules". dota2.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  15. "Group Stage". dota2.com. Archived from the original on August 4, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  16. "Dota 2 - The International". dota2.com. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  17. Savov, Vlad. "Dota 2 breaks its own record for biggest prize pool in e-sports". The Venge. Archived from the original on July 28, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  18. Walker, Dylan. "The International 6 now boasts the largest esports prize pool of all time". esports.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  19. Khan, Imad. "Dota 2's The International 7 breaks esports prize pool record". ESPN. Archived from the original on July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  20. Aitchison, Kaci. "Millions of people from around the world are watching THIS game". q13fox.com. Fox. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  21. Soper, Taylor. "Valve CEO Gabe Newell kicks off huge Dota 2 esports championship; prize pool at $20M". GeekWire. Archived from the original on September 20, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  22. Thursten, Chris. "The International 2016 is becoming an underdog fairytale". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  23. Bright, Peter. "The International 2016: the greatest event not just in Dota 2 but in all of e-sports". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  24. Thursten, Chris. "The biggest upset in the history of pro Dota 2 shocks the International 2016". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  25. Erzberger, Tyler. "TI6: Digital Chaos lives up to its name". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  26. Hancock, Patrick. "Why a single Dota 2 match was more exciting than the Super Bowl". Destructoid. ModernMethod. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  27. Stubbs, Mike. "$15,000 cosplay competition to take place at The International 6". MCV. Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  28. Wilson, Nick. "Enter the Dota 2 Short Film Contest and bag yourself a cool $20,000 at the International". PCgamesN. Archived from the original on August 7, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2016.
  29. Thursten, Chris. "New Dota 2 hero Underlord revealed at The International". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  30. Thursten, Chris. "Valve announce Monkey King, the first Dota 2 hero that isn't a port from DotA". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.