Yesterday we saw Orange absolutely clean house in the losers bracket, beating the odds and making it to the losers bracket final. Two more teams were knocked out of the tournament: DK, TongFu and Invictus Gaming. The winner between Orange and Na’Vi will face Alliance in the final, which will be a huge best of five. It’s going to be an action packed day for sure. Hang out with us here at PCGamesN, where our Dota 2 expert Nick Wilson will be covering the tournament all night long.
Grand Final: Alliance vs Na’Vi – Game Five
05:15AM BST / 09:15PM PDT – ALLIANCE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
An amazing play by S4 on the Puck sealed Na’Vi’s fate. Na’Vi caught out Crystal Maiden near the Roshan pit at the same time Chaos Knight, Wisp and Nature’s Prophet barreled down top to try and end the game. This resulted in a mass teleport from all Na’Vi’s team, but Puck had other ideas.
Orbing to the high ground she used her ultimate Dream Coil right at the last second to interrupt both Enigma and Templar Assassin. With only half of Na’Vi’s team actually making it to their base, their effectiveness was splintered. Chaos Knight and Nature’s Prophet proceeded to slaughter the under powered defenders, and then focus on the ancient.
75% health. 50% health. 25% health. GG.
The crowd erupted and Alliance went wild. Going undefeated in the group stages, losing only one game in the winners bracket, they finally reap the rewards. This match will certainly go down in Dota 2 history, being one of the best finals in a competitive event. Never has an International finals gone to a fifth game.
Alliance are the 2013 International champions! -Nick
05:10AM BST / 09:10PM PDT – Feel nature’s wrath!
After five minutes of Na’Vi recomposing themselves and pushing out the top and bottom lanes, they were up for round two. They dived the base, instantly blowing up Crystal Maiden. Next to go was Rubick, followed by an explosion from Io. Batrider died in a ring of fire, while Chaos Knight was assassinated by Templar Assassin.
Na’Vi were going to win. Wrong.
While all this was happening, Nature’s Prophet had been bashing the last two remaining towers to Na’Vi’s ancient. Enigma tried to teleport back to stop him, but he just went invisible thanks to Shadow Blade. Then with his massive gold reserves, he purchased a level three Necronomicon at the enemies base.This gave him enough power to destroy one of the towers, while creeps destroyed the other.
Na’Vi are naked right now as the cold grip of defeat slowly closes in on them. They’re backed into a corner and Alliance need only go for the throat. -Nick
05:05AM BST / 09:05PM PDT – Pincer attack!
After thirty minutes of throwing punches at each other, Na’Vi make a break for the mid tier three tower and barracks. Alliance don’t look ready to fight, with Na’Vi having a fully locked and loaded Black Hole from Enigma to use. Instead they do something different.
With Nature’s Prophet in the top lane and Io + Chaos Knight at the bottom, Alliance wailed away at both of Na’Vi’s tier three towers. Meanwhile back at base, Puck did her best to delay the onslaught.
Slowly Na’Vi faltered, beginning to send Rubick and Batrider back home to try and defend. Unfortunately they met their deaths rather fast at the hands of Alliance, who had now destroyed all of Na’Vi’s barracks on both top and bot lanes. They had just successfully trades their mid barracks for two of Na’Vi’s. -Nick
04:32AM BST / 08:32PM PDT – First Blood
Wow that was close. Chaos Knight dived on the solo Alchemist bottom after scoring a successful Chaos Bolt. They managed to get Alchemist down to less than 10% health, but it wasn’t enough. He juked into the nearby forest where he managed to snag two kills on the overstretched Chaos Knight and Io.
A big blunder by Alliance. A huge start for Na’Vi. -Nick
04:30AM BST / 08:30PM PDT – The Draft
Alliance:
- Puck
- Crystal Maiden
- Chaos Knight
- Io
- Nature’s Prophet
Na’Vi:
- Enigma
- Alchemist
- Templar Assassin
- Rubick
- Batrider
Grand Final: Alliance vs Na’Vi – Game Four
04:10AM BST / 08:10PM PDT – Alliance wins game four
After that first night with Nightstalker, Na’Vi were constantly on the back foot against Alliance. Combined with the Io, Alliance owned a global ganking ultra combo that could take on anything Na’Vi could throw at them. Na’Vi were so scared at night time they rarely left the safety of their towers or even their base.
This gave Loda on Gyrocopter all the time in the world to farm up. Black King Bar, Butterfly and finally Satanic. The time came where he could demolish the entire team of Na’Vi and barely take a dent due to the lifesteal and evasion.
Na’Vi did punish an over extension from Alliance on the bottom barracks, giving them a glimmer of hope. But Alliance just recovered, took Roshan and broke the base while Na’Vi couldn’t do anything.
This is going to game five, the first time in International history. What a night. -Nick
03:40AM BST / 07:40PM PDT – First Blood
S4 on the Nightstalker got mobbed by Na’Vi, who three man ganked him mid. This is a really important pick off, as keeping a lid on Nightstalker is key to surviving that first night. -Nick
03:30AM BST / 07:30PM PDT – The Draft
Alliance:
- Nightstalker
- Crystal Maiden
- Gyrocopter
- Io
- Nature’s Prophet
Na’Vi:
- Bane
- Alchemist
- Puck
- Rubick
- Batrider
Grand Final: Alliance vs Na’Vi – Game Three
03:10AM BST / 07:10PM PDT – Na’Vi wins game three
Finally a game that wasn’t a complete stomp. It was a really close game: Na’Vi were on top at the start, but Alliance bounced right back. Admiral Bulldog showed us exactly why his win percentage on Lone Druid is as high as it is. A couple of hits from his farmed up bear was all that was needed to bring down most of Na’Vi.
It almost looked like a base race at one point. Alliance and their stacked bear took down all of the towers up to the barracks in one fell swoop at one point.
The tipping point came when Na’Vi had won a team fight, destroying all three barracks and attaining mega creeps. Alliance managed to push them out, and even go down mid towards the mid barracks of Na’Vi. Then Lone Druid bought a Divine Rapier, shortly after Io bought a Heaven’s Halberd.
It was that Heave’s Halberd that disarmed the monstrous bear, allowing Na’Vi to avoid all the damage and even kill the bear. Razor then picked up the Divine Rapier and that was game
This is it. Na’Vi are one game away from winning the whole thing, and Alliance need to level this out to keep their hope aflame. -Nick
02:30AM BST / 06:30PM PDT – First Blood
Dendi decided to lane Io mid, a risky proposition with having only zero base armour. It swung in Alliance’s favour when Lone Druid got a Entangle proc off on Io, rooting him in place and to his certain death. -Nick
02:25AM BST / 06:25PM PDT – The Draft
Alliance:
- Batrider
- Lone Druid
- Mirana
- Ogre Magi
- Lina
Na’Vi:
- Wisp
- Alchemist
- Razor
- Visage
- Rubick
Grand Final: Alliance vs Na’Vi – Game Two
02:00AM BST / 06:00PM PDT – Na’Vi wins game two
What is going on!? Now Alliance get beat in a twenty minute game. Na’Vi demonstrate why Batrider and Io should never be allowed to be picked up on the same team. It was guaranteed death as soon as Relocate and Lasso was off cooldown.
Special mention to XBOCT on Alchemist whose farm was out of this world. He had 946 gold per minute at the end, along with a Midas, Heart, Assault Cuirass and Shadow Blade. He was worth 19,000 gold, and Na’Vi’s gold lead was well into the 30,000 mark.
Na’Vi’s performance compared to last game is dramatic. They need to keep this up, but Alliance won’t make it easy. Both teams now have suffered complete domination from the other, so it’s now even ground. -Nick
01:45AM BST / 05:45PM PDT – First Blood
OK a good start for Na’Vi. First blood was scored mid against the Beastmaster, almost surviving from his Magic Stick but the Napalm stacks were too much. Nature’s Prophet immediately evened out the score killing the Io, but the extra gold from first blood will help Batrider get that vital Blink Dagger. -Nick
01:40AM BST / 05:40PM PDT – The Draft
Alliance:
- Visage
- Nature’s Prophet
- Venomancer
- Spectre
- Beastmaster
Na’Vi:
- Io
- Batrider
- Alchemist
- Bounty Hunter
- Enigma
Grand Final: Alliance vs Na’Vi – Game One
01:20AM BST / 05:20PM PDT – Alliance wins game one
I don’t know what to say. I’m actually speechless. The picks from Na’Vi were just strange. I know Vengeful Spirit and Venomancer can carry, but there are always better picks. Looking at the team cam, I can’t even tell if they’re even serious about this. They seem to be trying to play some sort of mind game with Alliance. I can’t possibly imagine why they would purposely throw the first game of the grand final.
Well either way, they have my attention. If this is all part of a huge plan, fair enough. But right now, I can’t help but think Na’Vi just handed their first game on a silver platter to Alliance.
But man, a 15 minute “gg” is not something to take lightly. -Nick
01:10AM BST / 05:10PM PDT – First Blood
First blood was obtained on the bottom lane for Alliance. Funn1K was at the mercy of a full Rocket Barrage and Io’s Spirits, who was revealed from his invisibility because of a Sentry Ward. -Nick
12:50AM BST / 04:50PM PDT – The Draft
Alliance:
- Io
- Nature’s Prophet
- Gyrocopter
- Enchantress
- Clockwerk
Na’Vi:
- Batrider
- Visage
- Venomancer
- Vengeful Spirit
- Bounty Hunter
Na’Vi vs Orange – Game Three
11:25PM BST / 03:25PM PDT – Na’Vi wins game three
What a game. It was looking horrible for Na’Vi, who were getting picked off left right and center. Puppey on Enigma was being completely picked on, getting killed and not being able to build any of his core items. This led to some one sided team fights thanks to little initiation from the side of Na’Vi.
Come the mid game, Lifestealer got back on track with items. He had a quick Abyssal Blade, which enabled him to lock down the pesky Outworld Devourer of Orange. Speaking of Outworld Destroyer, he had a 21 minute Scythe of Vyse, which is incredibly fast.
Then the coin flipped. A Roshan kill from Orange saw something peculiar. Windrunner denied the Aegis, preventing Outworld Devourer from gaining that all important extra life. That Aegis would be all they needed to breach Na’Vi’s base and possibly win.
Na’Vi used this huge mistake to treat us to a great comeback. A big fight with Orange and a massive Black Hole from Puppey decimated their team. All that was needed was demolish bottom and mid barracks. Orange bought back but Outworld couldn’t, one by one getting picked off by Na’Vi. They called the “gg”, and Na’Vi were in the final. There’s an hour break before the finals between Na’Vi and Alliance, so see you all then! -Nick
10:40PM BST / 02:40PM PDT – First Blood
A couple of close calls. Puck dodged certain death bottom. Bounty Hunter escaped with a slither of health top. But first blood game in Dire’s jungle, when Dark Seer’s Ion Shell ground down the health of Nyx Assassin, desperately trying to reach a creep camp to deny himself. The pressure is on for Na’Vi. -Nick
10:35PM BST / 02:35PM PDT – The Draft
Na’Vi:
- Lifestealer
- Puck
- Nyx Assassin
- Bounty Hunter
- Enigma
Orange:
- Dark Seer
- Outworld Devourer
- Bane
- Sand Kind
- Windrunner
- Na’Vi vs Orange – Game Two
10:10PM BST / 02:10PM PDT – Na’Vi wins game two
If that wasn’t a mirror match, I don’t know what is. Na’Vi’s combo with Puck and Lifestealer was just deadly. They did the exact same thing to Orange as Orange did to Na’Vi in the first game. A complete one sided stop.
Lifestealer free farmed bot, Puck won mid and top destroyed Orange’s tri-lane. Naga Siren also secured a couple of kills thanks to her Song of the Siren once again. Some people think that Dendi’s best hero is Pudge, but in reality it’s Puck.
Both teams seem to have fallen to the same mistake in both games: bad drafts. It will be interesting to see what each team do to address it, and whether any of them will try some desperation surprise picks to try and secure their place in the grand final. -Nick
09:50PM BST / 01:50PM PDT – First Blood
What a start! A sleep from Bane set up the stun for Leshrac from Orange, but Weaver took the sleep and enabled Naga to get out. Then Na’Vi returned the favour with a double kill for Puppey on Crystal Maiden. –Nick
09:45PM BST / 01:45PM PDT – The Draft
Na’Vi:
- Lifestealer
- Puck
- Weaver
- Naga Siren
- Crystal Maiden
Orange:
- Nature’s Prophet
- Bane
- Leshrac
- Tidehunter
- Alchemist
Na’Vi vs Orange – Game One
09:30PM BST / 01:30PM PDT – Orange wins the game
That was pretty much a stomp. Dendi ultimately got dominated mid by the Queen of Pain. Normally this would be something you could recover from, but for a Shadow Fiend it’s imperative due to needing souls for Necromastery.
The Naga Siren pick from Orange also did a hell of a lot of work. Whenever Lifestealer or Shadow Fiend used their Black King Bar, Naga could single them out with the Song of the Siren. Na’Vi need to pick a way better draft against Orange, something to take them by surprise. If they don’t, they’re walking away with third prize. -Nick
09:25PM BST / 01:25PM PDT – Na’Vi being out Orange’d
An spectacular Aegis steal from Orange’s Queen of Pain put Na’Vi on the back foot. Proceeding to destroy all the tier two towers, and the bottom/top barracks Orange are inches away from taking the first game.
Na’Vi have barely enough farm to bring this back from the brink, but it’s not looking likely. -Nick
08:55PM BST / 12:55PM PDT – First Blood
There were some close calls at the start, all centered around mid. The first blood came once Queen of Pain had hit six, and had her ultimate Sonic Wave. A Naga Siren Ensnare into a Impale from Nyx Assassin and a Sonic Wave doomed Na’Vi’s Dendi to giving away first blood. Orange are flexing their muscles. -Nick
08:45PM BST / 12:45PM PDT – The Draft
Na’Vi:
- Dark Seer
- Lifestealer
- Rubick
- Jakiro
- Queen of Pain
Orange:
- Nyx Assassin
- Nature’s Prophet
- Weaver
- Naga Siren
- Shadow Fiend
8:30PM BST / 12:30PM PDT – Pregame thoughts
This is it, the last night of The International and by the end we will have our champions. First up is Orange vs Na’Vi, and I couldn’t tell you who is going to win. Na’Vi differentially slipped up yesterday against Alliance. If we see the Orange from yesterday play the Na’Vi from yesterday, I would certainly say Orange should have the edge. But I know Na’Vi can do better, and if they do it will swing back in their favour.
As for the final, Alliance lie in wait for whoever prevails the upcoming match. Alliance have faced Orange in the group stages and beat them 2-0, but they also did the same to Na’Vi yesterday. I’m unsure who they would rather face, but the fact is the best team of the two will be the only one that goes through to meet them.
All that is guaranteed is a great night of Dota 2. We are whittled down to the best three teams of the competition. It’s going to be awesome. -Nick
Here is the result from yesterday:
Winners Bracket:
- Alliance 2-0 Na’Vi
Losers Bracket:
- Orange 2-1 DK
- TongFu 2-1 Invictus Gaming
- Orange 2-1 TongFu
The pre show is kicking off right now, tune in here to watch it. The first match will be Orange vs Na’Vi in the losers bracket final. So go get yourself ladened with snacks and drinks and settle in for the last night of the Dota 2 International 2013.