The opening ceremony of the most-awaited Dota 2 tournament is nigh.
The path to the 2018 International was a lot tougher than in previous years. The introduction of the Dota 2 Pro Circuit meant that teams had to demonstrate long-term consistency in order to earn their spot at the event.
Many organisers wanted to be a part of the circuit and so lots of tournaments followed which meant more Dota 2 for the fans to indulge in. It all ended in June and with almost no Dota throughout the ensuing period, it’s time for the cherry on the top.
Where, when and what’s the format?
Following a six-year stint in Seattle, The International will be staged in Vancouver, Canada, this year.
Eighteen teams in total will fight for a prize fund of US$24million. Eight of the teams earned their spot being among the top-ranked DPC teams. The other 10 had to battle through tough qualifying cycles.
The combatants will be divided into two groups of nine teams each. The top four in each group will advance to the upper bracket, while those finishing fifth to eighth will drop to the lower bracket. The bottom team in each group will be eliminated from the tournament altogether.
The group matches will be played in a best-of-two format. The opening matches take place on Wednesday (15 August) with the group stage ending on Saturday (18 August).
The group stage will be followed by the main event that will last from 20-25 August 2018.
Group A
This looks the tougher of the two groups. It includes three of the top four in the outright betting, including tournament favourites PSG:LGD.
If accepted that they, Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses will live up to expectations, just one top-four spot is left up for grabs and Fnatic, OG and Mineski’s odds suggest it will be hard fought.
Here’s a team-by-team breakdown:
PSG.LGD (3rd in DPC rankings)
Best TI performance: 3rd in 2015
2017/18 DPC earnings: $1.32m
Majors won/qualified for: 2/5
Captain: fy
The Chinese powerhouse struggled for several months after TI7 but then made several roster changes which helped them hit their stride. Most notably, fy joined in September, while Chalice and xNova in December and early January finalised the roster as it currently is. The team gradually gelled and their performance peaked in May when they dominated the Majors, winning the EPICENTER XL and Changsha Major. In that period LGD overcame opposition such as Team Liquid and Virtus.pro. PSG.LGD will enter the International 2018 bearing China’s hopes to win a TI title or at least finish higher than the 4th place achieved last year.
Dafabet title odds: 3.950
Top Chinese team: 1.534
Team Liquid (2nd in DPC rankings)
Best TI performance: 1st in 2017
2017/18 DPC earnings: $1.83m
Majors won/qualified for: 1/8
Captain: KuroKy
The defending champions grabbed the most coveted prize in Dota 2 last year, but their hunger for success remained. Unlike previous TI winners, Team Liquid remained solid and kept impressive form and performance throughout the DPC cycle, finishing 2nd in the rankings. They also won the last event of the DPC – the China Supermajor in June. KuroKy and co preserved the team and made no roster changes whatsoever and now will go to TI8 with the ambition to become the first team to successfully defend the title.
Dafabet title odds: 4.670
Top European team: 1.404
Evil Geniuses (1st in open qualifier)
Best TI performance: 1st in 2015
2017/18 DPC earnings: $487k
Majors won/qualified for: 0/7
Captain: Fly
One would not expect to find a team such as EG off the favourites’ list, however, the face of North American Dota had a poor season by their standards and did not manage to secure TI qualification through the DPC rankings. Overall, EG won just one Minor (GESC Indonesia) in March – a result that cannot be a source of pride for former TI champions. This prompted changes and in early June the team suddenly dropped veteran Fear and the captain MISERY, replacing them with s4 and Fly from OG. For the short period that the team has been together, they managed to qualify for TI8 through the open qualifiers as well as win Dota 2 Summit 9 last month.
Dafabet title odds: 8.870
Top North American team: 1.763
Fnatic (1st in South-East Asia qualifier)
Best TI performance: 4th in 2016
2017/18 DPC earnings: $407k
Majors won/qualified for: 0/4
Captain: pieliedie
The Malaysia-based team had an abysmal TI7 run (finishing joint last) and, as a result, the organisation completely reformed the roster, keeping only DJ. The arrivals of EternaLEnVy and pieliedie last August were followed by Abed in November and finally UNiVeRsE in January. It took a while for the team to come to terms with these changes and their efforts were not enough to secure them a TI spot through the DPC. They corrected their mistake in the South East Asia (SEA) regional qualifiers. Fnatic can compete with the best when they have a good day and have top talent in their team, but consistency and mettle in the tough moments has been missing.
Dafabet title odds: 20.280
Top South-East Asia team: 2.670
OG (1st in European qualifier)
Best TI performance: 7th/8th in 2017
2017/18 DPC earnings: $307k
Majors won/qualified for: 0/6
Captain: N0tail
The former green team did not have it easy this season. Prior to TI7, OG were record holders in terms of Major titles with four under their belt. The disappointing 7th/8th spot at TI7 was not an improvement on the previous year, when they finished at the same spot, despite being sent off as one of the favourites. At the beginning of the current season, Resolu1ion was brought in to replace ana, but the team suffered one disappointing result after another. A bit of consolation was the MDL Macau Minor win that the team scored in December. But having few successful results, the worst was about to come. Approached by EG, s4 and the captain Fly left in June, leaving the team in mess just before TI8. Eventually OG managed to sign Topson and ana to complete an anaemic roster and win the European qualifiers, but they will certainly not enter TI8 among the favourites.
Dafabet title odds: 21.840
Top European team: 9.230
Mineski (5th in DPC rankings)
Best TI performance: 9th-12th in 2011
2017/18 DPC earnings: $774k
Majors won/qualified for: 1/7
Captain: ninjaboogie
The organisation is one of the biggest in the SEA region, but Mineski’s TI efforts so far have been short of their stature (they haven’t played since TI1). That’s changed now with the signing of legend Mushi, giving him the freedom to build his own team, proving key. The Dota 2 veteran gathered a promising roster at the beginning of the season (featuring another legend iceiceice) and no changes have been made since then. The team had ups and downs during the campaign, but they really upset the scene when they won the DAC 2018 Major, proving that they can beat anyone.
Dafabet title odds: 23.750
Top South-East Asia team: 2.090
Winstrike Team (1st in CIS qualifier)
Best TI performance: N/A (debut)
2017/18 DPC earnings: $110k
Majors won/qualified for: 0/1
Captain: Nofear
Russian team FlyToMoon came out of the blue and almost took EPICENTER XL by storm, finishing third and just losing to Team Liquid in the lower-bracket final. The players impressed fans and the community with their aggressive and entertaining style. This caught the attention of the Winstrike organisation and the team was quickly signed by them. Eventually, the team secured a TI8 spot through the CIS qualifier and will have the chance to demonstrate their fearless playing style against some of the best teams in the world for the first time.
Dafabet title odds: 49.020
Top CIS team: 10.360
VGJ.Thunder (8th in DPC rankings)
Best TI performance: N/A (debut)
2017/18 DPC earnings: $386k
Majors won/qualified for: 0/3
Captain: Fade
The other division of Vici Gaming was formed in September last year, but the team struggled to make an impact on both the domestic and international scenes in the first part of the season. VGJ.Thunder eventually managed to win Galaxy Battles II in January, but still the veteran ddc was brought in. His arrival markedly improved the team’s play and VGJ.Thunder secured three consecutive 2nd spots in DPC events, one of them being a final in the Bucharest Major, which was enough to get them 8th place in the rankings and a direct invitation to TI.
Dafabet title odds: 57.540
Top Chinese team: 16.950
Invictus Gaming (2nd in Chinese qualifier)
Best TI performance: 1st in 2012
2017/18 DPC earnings: $33k
Majors won/qualified for: 0/2
Captain: Q
The Chinese organisation that won TI2 has been absent altogether from the DPC circuit this year and the team did not win a single point. IG would often find themselves eliminated in the qualifiers prior to the event and when they did make it, the results were not impressive – Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018 (9th-12th), MDL Changsha Major (9th-10th). Three of the current players have been in the team since 2016 and were part of something of a resurgence in 2017, including a respectable 5th/6th spot at TI7. TI5 finalist Agressif and the lesser-known Srf joined in February this year with the hope of propelling the team to higher level. So far the efforts have been less than rewarding, but IG should not be written off.
Dafabet title odds: 93.510
Top Chinese team: 22.950
