Dota 2 International ends

The third Dota 2 International – the biggest eSports tournament there is – is over, and the $2.87 million USD prize pool has been distributed out.

Spoilers below, obviously. If you’d prefer not to know who won, then stop reading now.

In the International’s first full five-game Grand Final, the Swedish team Alliance bested Natus Vincere (Na`Vi) 3-2, winning the Aegis of Champions trophy and a cool $2 million USD.

The last time they fought – in the final of the Winner’s Bracket, yesterday – Alliance crushed Na`Vi 2-0. This time around, things weren’t quite so one-sided.

The first match went to Alliance in a brutal 16-minute smackdown, but Na`Vi completely turned the tables in the second match, dominating the Swedish giants over the course of the next 20 minutes. From then on the contest was a lot more closely fought, right up until a phenomenal final game in which Na`Vi looked dominant… right up until Alliance fought them away from what looked like a definite Na`Vi Roshan kill.

Na`Vi pushed hard after this, but Alliance left them dithering and looking indecisive by retaliating with a split push that saw Na`Vi trade two of their barracks for one of Alliance’s, and – while still in with a chance – the final blow came soon after, with another hard push on Na`Vi’s Ancient. While Na`Vi looked like they might be able to bat this back and stay in the game, some superb Puck play by Alliance captain S4 (Gustaf Magnusson) cancelled out multiple Na`Vi TPs and left the Ancient open long enough for the rest of his team to take it down.

Happily, Na`Vi were once again gracious in defeat. This was their third Grand Final and the second time they’ve fallen at the last hurdle, and an interview with team captain Puppey (Clement Ivanov) saw him congratulating his victorious foes and expressing his continued love for the game, the fans, and the tournament itself.

And if none of this made any sense to you, you probably want to go and have a read of our ongoing Beginner’s Guide to Dota 2.