The International 2016

The International 2016 (TI6) was the sixth iteration of The International, an annual Dota 2 esports championship tournament. Hosted by Valve Corporation, the game's developer, the tournament began in June 2016 with the qualifier phase and ended after the main event at the KeyArena in Seattle in August. The tournament awarded the biggest prize pool in esports history at over $20 million, surpassing the record set at the previous International, with the champion team, Wings Gaming, winning over $9 million.

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

Background and format edit

Like in previous years of the tournament, a corresponding digital compendium for Dota 2 was released before the event.[1] Known as the Battle Pass, 25% of the revenue made by it was sent towards the tournament's prize pool.[1][2] By the end of July, the crowdfunded prize pool had surpassed the previous year's total of $18.4 million, overtaking it as the largest esports tournament prize pool in history, eventually reaching over $20.7 million.[1][3][4]

The event began with open qualifiers in June, with the Americas, China, Europe, and Southeast Asia regions.[5] 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 them 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.[6] However, The International 2015 champion team Evil Geniuses did not receive a direct invite due to breaking Valve's rules on roster swapping prior to the tournament.[7] 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.[8][9] 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.[10]

The event began with the wild card matches on August 2, with the EHOME and Escape Gaming advancing to the round robin group stage the following day.[11] 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.[11] The Grand Finals, consisting of the winners of the upper and lower brackets, will take place in a best-of-five series.[11]

Teams edit

Direct invitation
Regional qualifier winners
Wild card

Bracket edit

Wild card edit

Round one Round two
    
  EHOME 2
  Execration 1
  EHOME 2
Winner's bracket
  Escape Gaming 0
  Escape Gaming 2
  compLexity Gaming 1
  Escape Gaming 2
Loser's bracket
  Execration 0
  compLexity Gaming 0
  Execration 2

Group stage edit

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.[12]

Group A edit

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 Alliance 7 3 2 2 8
4 Wings Gaming 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
Updated to match(es) played on August 5. Source: [13]

Group B edit

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
Updated to match(es) played on August 5. Source: [13]

Main event edit

The best of five Grand Finals were between Wings Gaming, the upper bracket winner, and Digital Chaos, which won the lower bracket. Wings Gaming lost the first game to Digital Chaos, before winning three games in a row to win the series.[14][15]

Bracket edit

Upper round 1Upper round 2Upper finalGrand Finals (best of five)
A1OG1
B4MVP Phoenix2
B4MVP Phoenix0
A4Wings Gaming2
B2Digital Chaos1
A4Wings Gaming2
A4Wings Gaming2
A2Evil Geniuses0
B1EHOME2
A3Alliance0
B1EHOME0
A2Evil Geniuses2
A2Evil Geniuses2
B3Newbee0
A4Wings Gaming3
B2Digital Chaos1
Lower round 1Lower round 2Lower round 3Lower round 4Lower round 5Lower final
A1OG0
B1EHOME0
A5TnC Gaming1A5TnC Gaming2
A5TnC Gaming1B2Digital Chaos2
B8Vici Gaming Reborn0
B2Digital Chaos2A2Evil Geniuses1
B2Digital Chaos2
B2Digital Chaos2B2Digital Chaos2
B6Team Secret0A7LGD Gaming0
B5Fnatic0
A7LGD Gaming1
A3Alliance0
B4MVP Phoenix0
B5Fnatic1B5Fnatic2
B5Fnatic2B5Fnatic2
A8Escape Gaming0
B7Team Liquid0
B3Newbee1
A6Natus Vincere0B7Team Liquid2
B7Team Liquid1

Results edit

(Note: Prizes are in USD)

Place Team Prize money
1 Wings Gaming $9,139,002
2 Digital Chaos $3,427,126
3 Evil Geniuses $2,180,898
4 Fnatic $1,442,000
5–6 EHOME $934,671
MVP Phoenix
7–8 Team Liquid $519,262
TnC Gaming
9–12 Alliance $311,557
OG
LGD Gaming
Newbee
13–16 Escape Gaming $103,852
Natus Vincere
Team Secret
Vici Gaming Reborn

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Erzberger, Tyler (27 July 2016). "The International prize pool, a history". ESPN. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  2. ^ Hillier, Brenna (17 May 2016). "Dota 2: The International 2016 Battle Pass packs in so much stuff". VG247. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  3. ^ Savov, Vlad (26 July 2016). "Dota 2 breaks its own record for biggest prize pool in e-sports". The Venge. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  4. ^ Walker, Dylan (27 July 2016). "The International 6 now boasts the largest esports prize pool of all time". esports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  5. ^ Van Allen, Eric (25 June 2016). "The International 6 qualifiers primer". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. ^ Van Allen, Eric (21 June 2016). "What you need to know about The International 6". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  7. ^ Thursten, Chris (20 June 2016). "Valve announce team invites for The International 2016". PC Gamer. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  8. ^ Van Allen, Eric (14 June 2016). "The roster swap madness of Team Secret and Evil Geniuses". ESPN. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  9. ^ Higgins, Chris. "Has Secret's TI6 open qualifier gamble paid off?". Red Bull. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  10. ^ Bolando, AJ. "Pinoy teams finally get US visas for P890M DOTA 2 event". philstar.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  11. ^ a b c "Dota 2 - The International". dota2.com. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  12. ^ "Tournament Rules". dota2.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Group Stage". dota2.com. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  14. ^ Van Allen, Eric (14 August 2016). "Wings Gaming takes TI6, wins $9 million and the Aegis". ESPN. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  15. ^ Walker, Dylan (August 13, 2016). "Wings Gaming wins the Dota 2 International 2016, nearly $10 million in prize money". Yahoo! Esports. Yahoo!. Retrieved August 14, 2016.

External links edit