In this article we will feature the plays that we believe made our trip with Dota 2 so much enjoyable. Some moves won't be the absolute most impressive mechanical play ever but instead there will be plays that marked the course of a tournament in the grandest stage or that made us chuckle in the middle of a high-tension matchup. This is the kind of article to show your friends that haven't been watching competitive Dota 2 all that long but also to the other 'oldschool' mates that have seen it all. Also check out the article about the first four episodes.
From KyxY’s grand theft bottle-steal in Alienware Cup 2013 to XBOCT’s amazing 1v4 double kill at TI3 Grand Final; from Ferrari’s ridiculous double-rampage at TI2 to Zenith’s clowny lvl1 Rosh fail-attempt. Million-dollar TP cancels, disgusting wombo-combos and amazing perceptive plays: they all had their place in our last four episodes of Goldie Oldies.
Episode 5: Magic in the Biggest Stage
Our episode 5 opens up with one of the most memorable plays in the game’s history. It happened during arguably the best game in the entire history of Dota 2: the final game of the Grand Final of TI3. Alliance made an aggressive trilane against a solo Alchemist, who in normal circumstances would be nothing but a sacrificial lamb for the other four heroes to develop. But that Alchemist was no other that one of the very best players in the event and he was on fire. Alliance dove him with four heroes (CK-Io-CM+Furion) for a supposedly easy kill but XBOCT played out of his mind to harness every single point of damage he could deliver, getting not only first blood but a double kill before falling. A pleasure for the eye. [match link]
The second move of the episode features a chase turned around to be turned around again. In one of the final games of TI2, iG pursued a retreating DK. They quickly ran out of steam and DK saw an entry to punish that aggression after a great two-hero shakleshot but just a few seconds away from getting three frags, Ferrari’s QoP arrived to get three kills for iG instead. A cat-and-mouse tale that happened in less than a minute. [match link]
Few will remember TI2’s Wildcard match between mouz and WE, a match that happened only because Sharky couldn’t get his passport on time. Mouz dominated the chinese team and performed a devastating but beautiful vacuum+black hole to close the first game of the series.
Later in the video we will see the Zenith’s memorable "train to freedom" in the top lane that took place in the winner bracket of the The International 2 playoffs. Loda and co creatively made a road through the trees below the tier one Dire tower to catch xiao8's Furion off-guard, successfully getting First Blood. [match link]
Next came the infamous blind requiem by Mushi in TI3. Burning thought he could bully the Malaysian star (then teammate) with his slippery weaver but Mushi would have none of it. He cast a requiem and a short-range raze on the highground to explode the annoying bug. One of the several highlights from M-God in his mind blowing performance during the entire TI3. [match link]
The last play of the episode features the final moments of the Grand Final of TI2. IG had an immense lead against the unorthodox draft of Na’Vi and looked to finish the game to claim the first Aegis of the Immortal. You could see the ukranian squad desperately fighting to keep their World Champion tittle but the chinese just overpowered them with ChuaN’s refresher TideHunter. It was one of the most memorable moments of the game, less than a minute before ChuaN himself lifted the Aegis in front of a breathless crowd in the Benaroya Hall. [match link]
Episode 6: The International Nostalgia
Our episode 6 begins with one of the true golden moments in Dota 2 history. Na’Vi was the only western hope inside the top8 of The International 2 and they advanced all the way to the winner bracket final against the undefeated Chinese juggernaut LGD. In game two the ukrainian squad unleashes their weapon X: LightOfHeaveN’s Enigma. A magnificent black hole by him closed the game in their favour that, coupled with one of TobiWan’s best cast of his career, achieved a memorable standing-ovation from the crowd. Fact for fans; the moment in the video is the clip used to make the famous sound clip "Tobiwan is metal". [match link]
In our second highlight we are transported to a familiar ground that didn’t really stick in our minds. The western qualifiers for TI3 had legendary players and tier one organizations, such as RoX and EG. In the hyped-up elimination match between them, Vanskor (back then relatively unknown outside of CIS) stole and delivered a four-man RP to crush EG and their dreams of qualifying to TI3 after a very disappointing 2013. [match link]
Our next play features EG again, this time in a moment of brilliance. An absolutely dominant iG faced EG in their first game of the winner bracket of The International 2 but they just couldn’t handle the Americans: EG broke the chinese’s back when Maelk landed a 4-man Black Hole inside iG’s base. It was the primest time of an American team in TI2, with ‘U-S-A’ chants to remember. iG then won the other games of the match and went on to take the championship, but this game and this moment will forever be EG's. [match link]
Next came a true demonstration of why Meracle was truly was the ‘King of Rats’. While VG was breaching Titan’s base in the G-League group stage, the singaporean star decided to splitpush to force a TP back from VG’s Night Stalker. All went downhill for rOtk & co as chaos emerged in the chinese ranks when Meracle didn’t only slay the vampire but also started demolishing the tier four towers. VG desperately tried to TP back but the rest of Titan allowed no one to leave. A fascinating affair to watch. [match link]
The episode's last memory features Na’Vi in TI2 once again, back to the times when YYF was called the Stone Buddha for his impressive Dark Seer and offlane capabilities. Sadly for him, Puppey and ARS-ART acknowledged none of it as Puppey’s Enchantress came to bottom lane for a seemingly impossible gank, relying on his two creeps and a level two Shadow Shaman. After a sensational body-block by Puppey’s creeps, Ars-Art managed to close the gap and land a maximum range shakle on YYF. This first blood forced a roar from the entire Benaroya Hall. For the record, this is the same game as "the Play", a scene featured in the first episode of Goldie Oldies. [match link]
Episode 7: Now you're just rubbing it in
The seventh chapter opens with one of the most comical plays ever in competitive play. The both loved and hated russian kapitan PGG completely airballed a black hole, which instantly stolen by Lacoste to wipe M5. Oy oy oy, it was definitely not the greatest play ever but it was a comedic gold. [match link]
Next came an usual combo performed by Empire. The russian squad went deep into mTw’s forest and found a great opportunity for a Song of the Siren but the real damage deal wasn’t a Ravage or a Macropyre: it was a four-man illuminate that decimated their opponents. That combined with a stolen Shockwave and Fade Bolt from Rubick turned this into probably the most explosive moment ever. One second there are four heroes, the next there are nothing but a the souls of Shadow Fiend fleeing in dispair. [match link]
Alliance and Fnatic had a rich history of exciting games and their clash on the first edition of Dream League wasn’t any different. But this time Era was playing an unkillable Huskar. He charged into four Alliance heroes and stayed with 5% HP for what seemed to be a century, regenerating, life stealing, Blinding Light and with the support of his teammates. In the end Era and his boys were able to finish all the stragglers and win the teamfight. [match link]
Poor mTw was the prey of another one of our goldies but oldies. IG was comfortably in the lead on fire when syndereN’s squad took a fight they couldn’t manage: not only was their damage minimal but Ferrari was simply way too big too handle. One of the most emblematic midders of all time had no issue in slaying mTw’s heroes one by one… six times. It was the first double-rampage in a TI. [match link]
Last in the list came another highly unusual combo in one of the most important games of 2013: the LB final between Na’Vi and Orange at TI3. XBOCT was in the receiving end of a gank by the malaysians when a spot-on ice path by Puppey stunned the 2 gankers. Funn1k swiftly vaccuumed the remaining member of Orange into it at the same time that KuroKy stole impale from Net. He threw the impale into the 3 inmovible heroes to give time for a Wall of Replica+Infest to clean the mess. [match link]
Episode 8: Peekaboo
Our last episode starts with an absurd clutch Ravage steal by Dendi against LGD at TI2. Na’Vi was looking for blood in LGD’s woods when the teamfight broke out. XBOCT landed a good chronosphere that forced a defensive ravage by Yao but the western pianist was waiting in the side lines, ready. He returned the tentacles catching the entire LGD squad who were either blown away on the spot or quickly hunted-down. Synderen’s ‘WAOWWW’ sums it up. After this game Na`Vi moved on to the grand finals of The International 2. [match link]
The Defense was the first online tournament featured in Dota 2, back when $10,000 USD was considered a premier prize-pool. In the third edition, Virtus Pro and mouz were on the spotlight. God’s team went too far looking for trouble and they were caught in a full-team black hole by a merciless paS. There was no VP left anymore four seconds after. [match link]
We all know the ‘Million Dollars Coil’. One of the most amazing turnarounds wasn’t the annihilation of several heroes under a Black Hole/Ravage/RP/Chronosphere, it was a smart coil that stopped three heroes from retreating. Na’Vi was well on their way to claim the biggest prizepool in the gaming history and to be the first team to win two Internationals when Alliance decided to push both of the sidelanes (using the infamous Nature's Prophet and Io+Chaos Knight) while Na’Vi pushed mid. The ukrainians successfully took the mid racks but s4 caught them with the pants down when they tried to defend their sides. And so the ‘Rat Doto’ became legendary. [match link]
The fourth play of the episode is one of the most clowny lvl-one rosh assaults ever attempted. The funny part wasn’t that Zenith failed to kill the rosh but that their entire plan was ruined by a treant that LGD sent into the rosh-pit. A truly hilarious moment in the main stage of the Benaroya Hall. [match link]
Another one of the funniest moments in the game was the infamous bottle steal by xy-. Natus Vincere eventually won the Alienware Cup in 2013 but the group stage went beyond abyssmal. It was a very stable lane for Dendi until he miss-micro'd the courier and left his empty bottle laying in the ground for just one second too long. The singaporean Slark didn’t hesitate for a second and pounced forward to snatch it… successfully running away with it. LD just couldn’t help himself. None of us could. [match link]
The last move from our last episode shows a pure chinese massacre. TongFu trired to take advantage with a quick Rosh whilst VG seemed busy in the top-lane. They indeed managed to finish the Rosh and claim the Aegis but only a second before the entire team were stunned by an Echo Stomp. The follow-up fissure kept them pinned on the ground long enough for the rest of VG to tear Mu’s team apart. It was gruesome. [match link]
Those were all the scenes this time around! If you crave more, you can always check out the first four episodes.
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