In 2024, there are two major tournaments in the competitive Dota 2 scene: The International and the Riyadh Masters. Given the prize pool of the last world championship, it is possible that for some players, the tournament in Saudi Arabia is more of a priority simply because a five million dollar prize pool cannot be ignored.

Therefore, it can be said that the vast majority of players were motivated to perform as strongly as possible. However, not everyone succeeded. The champions of the 2023 Riyadh Masters, Team Spirit, were unable to defend their title, finishing only in 7-8th place. This is largely explained by the fact that the team could not adapt to the current meta. If Dota 2 does not receive an update in the next couple of weeks, we might see different Dragons at The International.

In the absence of Team Spirit, the main favorites became the runners-up of The International 2023, Gaimin Gladiators. The multiple major champions picked up steam towards the playoffs, where they ended up losing only one map.

In the finals, Gaimin Gladiators swept Team Liquid, who have not been doing well lately. Thus, returning to their usual but tiresome second place can be seen as a step forward.

Team Falcons took third place, which is important in terms of the club ranking of the Esports World Cup, where the club is the leader by a significant margin.

Now the Dota 2 community will await The International, while the Esports World Cup will turn its attention to other disciplines.

Main image: x.com

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