The International 2013: review and tournament retrospective
Yuriy SheremetWe dipped in the atmosphere of 2012 last time. We remembered the first «official» The International 2012, which actually started the whole series of tournaments called The International. Today, we offer you to return in 2013 and remember one of the most emotional and epic tournaments in esports history. Have a nice reading.
The crowdfunding system of the prize pool
Something that was not expected happened in 2013. Valve announced the third tournament in The International series in 2013. That year, Valve stated that the championship would be hosted every year. The community’s happiness was impressive. But the prize pool was the thing that astonished not just fans but players.
Gabe Newell’s company presented the first Compendium in history. It has become the first prototype of the well-known Battle Pass, which can be found in almost all competitive online games. The main feature of the Compendium by Valve was that 25% of the price went to the prize pool. The overall prize pool surpassed 3 000 000 dollars in 2013 with the help of such a simple but brilliant decision. At that moment, it was unimaginable money and very few people knew what would happen in the future.
The changes in qualifiers and Sockshka’s failure
Unlike the previous year, 11 teams received invitations to the third The International. The participants, who made it directly, included: IG, TongFu, Team Liquid, Orange Esports, Alliance, Fnatic, Natus Vincere, Team Zenith, Team Dignitas, Virtus.Pro, Team DK, LGD International, MUFC. Two more teams passed Western and Eastern qualifiers. mousesports and LGD Gaming were these teams. The last slot was up for grabs in a wildcard match.
Two teams were playing in a wildcard, the second places of Eastern and Western qualifiers. Quantic Gaming and RattleSnake fought for the last slot in that match. The Chinese team won with a score of 3-1 and we remembered the «famous» stun in Beastmaster’s boar by Sockshka.
The American dream
Back in 2013, the North American Dota was not considered to be a competitive region. Poor results during the whole season lack credibility. It is not surprising that no one expected results from the teams from America at The International. But as it often happens, the dark hoarse factor was in their favor.
Team Liquid became the heroes of the year for the local public. Having passed the tough group stage, one victory was enough for the Americans to make it to the upper part of the bracket. They started their way from the loser’s bracket. There, the team beat the Malaysians from MUFC in the first round and advanced further to face a serious opponent in the face of LGD Gaming. The Americans had almost no chances but they had their character and the public’s support. Liquid managed to achieve victory over the team from the Celestial in the most difficult match and brought the celebration to the public. The chants USA still excites us.
The fortune is on the side of Natus Vincere
Na’Vi had not disappointed after the loss at The International 2012 and they gained momentum instead. With the arrival of KuroKy and Funnik, Natus Vincere started playing in a different way. The team was showing the prime play during the whole season. Na’Vi had a bootcamp in China, so they were ready for the main tournament of the year.
The start of the championship went well. They had the first place in the group and an advancement to the upper winner’s bracket, it was a nice start. But the yellow-black team faced issues in the playoffs.
The team beat Orange Esports in the first round not without problems. Na’Vi’s opponent was TongFu in the second round. This match literally «burned» the whole community. Na’Vi demonstrated the broken strategy Chen + Pudge and Hook to the fountain in the match. Due to this, Na’Vi managed to advance to the winner’s final where lost to the main opponent in the face of Alliance with a score of 0-2. In the lower bracket, to which Na’Vi stepped down, Orange Esports were their opponents again. Natus Vincere were saved by luck this time again: Orange’s player, the Malaysian KyXy crushed Aegis of Immortals, with which he annulated his advantage. Natus Vincere won that match and proceeded to the final to play the most epic match of the years.
The triumph of Alliance
Dota 2 fans found out about the team NoTidehunter in 2013. This Swedish roster was assembled by the legendary Loda who made his old dream come true: he united five Swedish players under one tag. The team entered the world of top Dota rapidly. The team came to The International 3, having 7 won championships. It was a very solid result at that moment because Dota was not divided into regions and the competition was very high. Later, the team was renamed into Alliance. This mighty tag would be remembered for long by all Dota fans.
The Swedes were the undisputed favorites of the tournament and they confirmed it. The team crushed the group stage without losing a map. The team defeated LGD with a score of 2-0. They were faced by BurNIng himself and Team DK in the second round. It was difficult for the Swedes but, having lost one map, they achieved victory after all. They beat Natus Vincere without chances in the winner’s final. Alliance went to the grand final and Na’Vi proceeded there too. Two long-time rivals faced in the historic match.
The Swedes won the first map of the grand final without problems. Na’Vi answer did not take much time: Natus Vincere made the score equal on the second map. Natus Vincere increased their advantage, having prevailed on the 3rd map with the help of Wisp who went middle. Fans were chanting but happiness was early. Night Stalker by s4 made the score even on the fourth map. Everything was decided on the fifth map of the grand final.
The last map started as well as possible for the CIS team. The brilliant moves by XBOCT on the lower bracket led to that Alliance lost the first blood and the second kill to beat Na’Vi’s carry. The other lanes were also occupied by Natus Vincere. Roshan was the reason for everything. Alliance used the moment and stole Roshan from Na’Vi. Later, Natus Vincere went to push where there was the one-million Dreamcoil. S4 stopped Puppey’s teleportation and stopped two more heroes. He made the same move in a few minutes, which allowed Alliance to break Natus Vincere’s two sides and crush the opponent’s Ancient. Alliance won and Na’Vi placed second twice in a row.
Yuriy Sheremet – Expert in mobile gaming and esports among shooters and MOBA games.
At EGamersWorld, Yuriy, as in 2020 when he joined the portal, works with content, albeit with adjustments to his area of responsibility.