The Mysteries Behind The International Invites
Here’s one of the questions generated by Valve’s shadowy invite protocol: if Fnatic did not attend ESL One Frankfurt, would they have been invited to The International? The answer is unknowable, at least to the public, because no one knows how The International’s invites work. The question then comes with the advantage of hindsight, knowing that Fnatic placed last at Frankfurt, and assuming that they had secured an invite that wasn’t really secure. On the other side of the equation is LGD, who did not attend ESL One Frankfurt, but nonetheless received a TI invite.
It’s this kind of uncertainty where conspiracy theorists thrive. Did Valve invite LGD to pander to Dota’s Chinese audience? Was this snub punishment for the way Fnatic handled their situation with Net? Did EG and Secret disqualifying themselves push Valve to narrow their invites from 10 to 6? Or, did Valve want to really use that spot to invite old, fan favorite, Team Na’Vi?
The frustration here is that the uncertainty with TI’s invites is also paired with the structured, regional qualifiers. There’s less controversy over the invites to the regional qualifiers, because it accommodates a larger pool of competitive teams, and there isn’t a situation to point and be outraged at, such as the case with Fnatic and LGD.
We may never know the thought process that led to these final six teams. But what the community can look at for consistency is that the top 4 teams of the previous tournament (LGD was 4th) received invites for the next tournament. Only in this case it’s TI6 instead of another Major, and since TI punctuates the end of the tournament year, it’s natural to think the invites should encompass the sum of the year’s accomplishments. In this vein, there is an argument for Fnatic (and also Alliance). However, it seems like the case for a TI invite is more about how well you finish the year, rather than how good you were throughout. The controversy shouldn’t be just between Fnatic and LGD, but also between Fnatic and MVP.Phoenix, and Fnatic and Na’Vi.
Fnatic vs MVP.Phoenix
Because there are limited spots, to say that one team deserves a spot also means that another team deserves it less. MVP.Phoenix is the closest comparison for Fnatic, as the lone team invited from Southeast Asia.
Head to head, in the past nine months, MVP.Phoenix has lost head to head against Fnatic four times: in The Summit 5, Starseries, ESL One NY, and Epicenter. There is an argument for Fnatic fans here, even if all these matchups were online. But take a look at the recent results and it appears that their performances on LAN, including a couple of tournament wins, outweighed any matchup losses. MVP.Phoenix finished ahead of Fnatic at the Shanghai Major, finishing 4th, and they won Weplay and Dotapit after that. Fnatic has yet to rack any comparable tournament wins and they haven’t outperformed MVP at either the Shanghai or the Manila Major. In a perfect world, both teams would be invited, but for now, Fnatic looks to be the favorite to come out of SEA’s regional qualifiers.
Fnatic vs. Na’Vi
Fnatic has qualified or played in all three Majors, where Na’Vi has played in one Major and hasn't won a tournament in the past two years. However, Na’vi has finished strong in the events leading up to TI6’s invites, with their 2nd place finish at ESL One Frankfurt. They just ran into two of the strongest teams in the scene. In their past three premier tournaments, ESL One Frankfurt, Manila Major, and Dreamleague, they were eliminated by Team OG and Liquid.
Alliance also has a case here, by qualifying or playing in all three majors, a 1st place finish over EG at Starladder, and 1st over LGD at WCA. If Fnatic and Alliance had sustained success throughout this Majors season, Na’Vi won with a sprint towards the finish.
Parity For Dota
This was all first a conundrum, because there are too many good teams out there. If there were eight invites instead of six, then Alliance and Fnatic would be the most likely candidates. The situation now, with less invites and more qualifiers, is one that approaches parity in Dota, where one team is not significantly better than another. It’s certainly a far reaching ideal, but it’s an equality that many sports leagues aim for.
For example, the NBA has salary caps and a lottery. Each team can only spend so much money before facing serious penalties, and the worst teams have a higher chance to draft the best talent next year. In the NFL, all teams benefit from sharing revenue. The success of one team monetarily benefits others. In Dota, there are no salary caps, lotteries or player organizations. Longstanding organizations such as EG and Na’Vi have far more resources to train and recruit talent, whereas some teams in SEA have trouble finding stable internet connections.
For TI, each region gets an equal number of qualifier spots, despite the imbalance of talent between each region. Take a look at the regional qualifiers for Europe. The 4th best team there could most likely qualify if they were playing in Southeast Asia’s region. If TI were to have a qualifier for just the best 10 teams, teams from regions like NA and SEA would be consigned to obscurity.
For parity, weaker regions need more support. And for Dota, that means having the same number of qualifying slots as other regions. It’s more opportunity to train at an international level, more experience on the biggest Dota stage. It’s also more money to the region, and a step towards to creating a more stable competitive scene, with a portion of TI6’s projected $20 million prize pool going to at least four teams in a region. Revenue sharing, in a roundabout way. The reduced number of invites has created more opportunity for all regions. Whether this was by choice or incident--just like the reasons why Fnatic and Alliance were excluded from the invites--we'll most likely never find out.
I THINK IM FIRST BOYS PogChamp
Fnatic really shouldve been invited, ez 500 battlepoint prediction tho
Mushut us back
well there are no bodies to regulate esports like in real sports....so the organisers of events can basically do whatever the fk they want
since its all very much for profit....valve is under no obligation to make its systems transparent and fair...in fact the regional qualifiers themselves are more than anyone could ask for
valve could have just make it all invite if they wished.....dota 2 is ruled by valve and they can do anything they want just like any other game developer in the world
there are no regulatory bodies in esports...and i dont see that changing anytime soon because why the fk would valve or any other developer want to hand over overseeing control to another party even with some representatives
They invite teams that will generate the most hype and viewers...pretty simple really
Where's Fnatic?
it just me or there is arya stark in navi team? :/
MVP better than Fnatic and NaVi also better than Fnatic, they're showing better performance recently.
MVP and Na'vi are certainly better teams than fnatic right now, I don't know why you even mentioned alliance.
"it just me or there is arya stark in navi team? :/"
AHAHAHAHAAH XDDDDDDD it's true ^^
Valve should just do a point system.. base it on placement in the different tournaments. Premier tourneys worth more and so on down the line, teams with most points at end of year fill in available slots and they reset after TI. At least for direct invites and then maybe main qualifiers invites.
ВПЕРЁД НАВИ!!1111!
Really no crying Secrekt fanboys in the comments I am disappointed.
And people will still think that NA dota can come close to EU dota 4Head
hah what s up with Dendi on that picture
SECRET ELIMINATED 4HEAD
"whereas some teams in SEA have trouble finding stable internet connections." LMAO GG XD
gg internet connection lmao XD
DendiFace
SEA cancer doto > world Kappa
Alliance? Better see complexcity or DC than alliance
Alliance should be able to gain momentum through the qualifiers, something they've lacked in every major tournament this year.
should we start any petition to create an International legitimate e-sports organization?
as we know that Players organization is already created (statement by PPD on his Vlog)
because E-Sports should be treated like other sport, FAIR is the main purpose. and entertainment would follow.
to the 4th commend. THen where is Alliance? It is always hype to watch navi vs alliance in TI.
@Disillusioned having no union in the pro scene is a bad thing, it means they aren't being protected by regulations that could help them play better, like not having so many tournaments so close together and allowing time for rest to adjust to jet lag so that they can be on top form for major tournaments, things like that
ez Na'Vi
"whereas some teams in SEA have trouble finding stable internet connections."
its real
Rofl what a joke navi sucks all year n they come in second at esl frankfurt and get an invite.
DC deseves the invite more than Navi.
Valve chose navi so people can be interested in ti, more sales.
im an Alliance fanshit, but why should they have been invited? Did you even watch their games lately? they got stomped! if they are good enough, they will qualify, although i highly doubt it. ad finem and synderella team are way stronger imo
if EG and SECRET not change they roster, navi probably will not be invited as well and maybe they will skip TI6.
Cause regional qualifier its more dangerous for them..
And i bet VP or VEGA will win qualifier invited..
Navi should thanks to Universe.. LUL
@ElPresidenteCoconut You are no Alliance fan. You didn't belive but we qualifed and we owned synderella and ad finem.
LGD is No.4 ranking in gosugame, what's wrong with that invitation?
I like OG best
You say DC is better invite than na'vi even though they got 2-0? 😁 Use your logic dumbass haha
its based on gosugamer ranking