The International 3 was full of memorable moments, unforgettable plays and surprises for the millions that watched the games, both live and online. The play-offs, being the purgatory of the group stage, helped the strongest and most courageous teams rise up and get their hands on the prize pool, and showed the door to the unprepared and easily frustrated. Some of the clashes will always be remembered, and this is a list of games we editors will never forget.
This particular game holds the record of the longest game in DotA 2 history, lasting more than 98 minutes. However, if one takes a look at the first 20 minutes of the encounter, DK seems to have the complete upper hand. With BurNIng selecting Lone Druid as his carry, DK were able to win most of the important early fights, but the fragility of the Spirit Bear stripped them of the courage to push far enough to seal the deal. This caused a long farming festival, causing a spectator riot with massive dislikes on DotaTV, and some not-that-flattering comments about the way the teams played. Eventually iG got too strong, and were able to win the clashes when it mattered - winning the second game of the best-of-three series.
The Chinese squad of LGD was one of the favorites of this tournament, and many put their hopes (and rares) on them. However, dropping down to the Lower Bracket against Alliance, they were placed against Team Liquid. The Americans were members of the Lower Bracket since the start of the play-offs, and had just taken down MUFC. For many, this match-up was easy for LGD - and oh boy they were wrong. Liquid had the upper hand for the majority of the early game, but LGD managed to get back on their feet with Sylar's incredible farm on Alchemist. When all the odds were in LGD's favor, A big team fight during the 49th minute turned the tides, as Bulba isolated the most important targets inside his Power Cogs to allow Korok and TC to burst them down. Liquid regained their lost confidence, and pushed for the Ancient, where Bulba hit more and more amazing hookshots to win the final fight for the Americans.
The Swedish Alliance stormed through the group stage without dropping a single game. Earning a comfortable spot in the Upper Bracket of the play-offs, they selected LGD.cn as their first opponent. They decided it is wiser to face them early, and the play-offs started with the best possible way for the spectators. LGD.cn used a semi four-protect-one strategy with Sylar on Alchemist, while Alliance chose the Keeper of the Light-Lancer combo, paired with Bulldog's loved Furion. The situation that occurred was expected - LGD were able to win the important team fights and turn Sylar into a monster. Nevertheless, Alliance had the superior pushing power, and decided to abuse it - with Boots of Travel on Loda. With LGD gaining more and more ground, Loda and Bulldog took the game on their own hands and split-pushed continuously. With the bottom tier-three going down, LGD caught Loda's Lancer to take him down in a crucial moment, and rushed to finish the game. Loda bought back and teleported with Bulldog, starting a base race. LGD, being distracted with three heroes, never had a chance - Loda and Bulldog took down the throne and won the first game.
Mushi and the boys used a very familiar line-up for their final game against Na'Vi - a four-protect-one, with Mushi on Outworld Devourer. The strategy seemed to work extremely well for the Malaysians, steamrolling Na'Vi during the early game. Then came a controversial moment that we will all remember - Orange entered the Roshan pit, took down the big rock, and Kyxy denied the Aegis of the Immortal. Following the incident, Na'Vi used their shiny Black King Bars to take down Mushi and couple of times to take a questionable win. Kyxy publicly apologized for his mistake, and many came to defend him, saying that the loss was inevitable. No matter whose fault it was that Orange lost the game, it is still an amazing match and definitely a must-watch.
One thing is certain about this game - DotA 2 has never seen anything like it. Numerous discussions can be made on it and still no verdict can be reached. This final battle between the two European giants can only be compared to legendary matches of the past. It'd be a crime to spoil the outcome for whoever has not watched it, so I will only mention this : Both teams deserved to win, and a few small details made the difference.
TongFu vs Na'Vi - Upper Bracket - Game Three
The epitome of fountain hooks, Puppey and Dendi managed to stage one of the most entertaining comebacks in the history of DotA2. The Pudge - Chen combo, used on Hao to take him out of the most important fights helped Na'Vi get their lost confidence, and XBOCT got too big to handle
Orange vs DK - Loser Braket Final - Game Three
Orange used a risky but crazy Ursa+Magnus combination for their final game against DK, and it worked like a charm. Kyxy's Reverse Polarities combined with Ursa's massive cleaves provide a really amusing finish to the best-of-three series between DK and Orange.
Zenith vs Virtus.Pro - Lower Bracket
With his post-TI2 nerf, we did not get to see Invoker much in this version of the tournament. Iceiceice decided to give Invoker fans a treat, and used the hero against Virtus.Pro. The game is full of Invoker swag that helped Zenith reach victory.
