Dota 2 The International 2016 Results
The International 2016, also known as TI 6 by most of its viewers, is DoTA 2’s biggest professional esports tournament. This year, it hosted 16 teams in Seattle, Washington for eleven days of competition with a $20 million prize pool at stake. The extensive bracket culminated in a final showdown between Wings Gaming and Digital Chaos, with the former clutching the $10 million first place prize with 3 wins and 1 loss.
Each team played outstandingly despite their placements, but some performances were admittedly better than others. This article is a full breakdown of each team that competed in TI 6, with rosters, prize winnings, and performance overviews, listed in ascending order from the lowest bracket placements to the ultimate winner.
16. Natus Vincere (Ukraine)
Natus Vincere (ArtStyle, SoNNeikO, Ditya Ra, Dendi, GeneRaL)
Natus Vincere (known as NaVi) is a team that has been around since 2009, with many major and premier under their belt. They are quite a well-reputed and established team in the scene, having won the first ever TI tournament. Their most recent first place victory has been at the StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 2 tournament, though many of their 2016 appearances have shown them below 5th place.
Taking into account the team’s age and history of success, NaVi’s first bracket elimination was considered absolutely abysmal by many people that have kept up with the team and the professional scene. Though the team has made major comebacks in prime tournaments this year’s TI was not one of them.
TI 6 Placement: 16th
Prize Winnings: USD $103,852
15. Escape Gaming (United Kingdom)
Escape Gaming was created less than two months before their performance at TI 6. They placed in the top ten in their only major appearance.
Escape’s performance in TI 6 was to be expected. As such a new team competing against some of the best an oldest in the scene, their first bracket elimination was considered inevitable.
TI 6 Placement: 15th
Prize Winnings: USD $103,852
14. Team Secret (Europe)
Team Secret is a huge fan favorite, having been wildly popular among DoTA 2 watchers. Like many other teams competing, they were created in 2014 and have been popular ever since. They were made from former Natus Vincere, Alliance, an Fnatic players who were either kicked from their teams or left of their own volition. Their popularity inevitably comes from their amazing performances in recent competition, where they won the Shanghai Major 2016 and placed second in the Frankfurt Major 2015.
- Puppey (support, captain)
- EternaLEnVY (carry, solo middle)
- Arteezy (solo middle, carry)
- BuLba (offlaner)
- Pieliedie (support)
Their performance in TI 6 was considered a massive disappointment to their fans, who were expecting at least a top ten performance from them—some even considered them the strongest team in professional DoTA 2 with the highest chance to win.
TI 6 Placement: 14th
Prize Winnings: USD $103,852
13. Vici Gaming Reborn (China)
Vici Gaming Reborn is a popular team that is one of the newest to appear at TI, having only been formed a few short months ago in March of 2016. They consistently place well in smaller tournaments and show great potential for success on a larger scale.
Due to the fact that they are a relatively new team, some people saw Vici’s low bracket placement as something of inevitable. Many were impressed with their performance, and see great potential for them to place even higher in future major and premier tournaments.
TI 6 Placement: 13th
Prize Winnings: USD $103,852
12. Newbee (China)
Newbee is a relatively new team, having been created in 2014, around the same time as Wings Gaming. After TI 4, they took home many first prizes in the Asia region, and consistently placed in the top 3 in premier and major tournaments.
Like many teams that finished below the top ten, Newbee’s performance was disappointing to many of their diehard fans, especially in comparison to their TI 4 victory and frequent top 5 placements in tournaments.
TI 6 Placement: 12th
Prize Winnings: USD $311,557
11. Alliance (Sweden)
Alliance was formed in 2013, making it one of many teams created in that year to compete at TI 6. They have a consistent track record of excellence, having won first place in seven of their last ten premier tournament performances.
- s4 (solo middle, captain)
- Loda (carry)
- AdmiralBulldog (offlaner)
- Akke (support)
- EGM (support)
Their performance in TI 6 was a disappointment to many followers of the professional DoTA 2 circle. After such consistently high placements, such as their victory at TI 3 and World Cyber Arena 2015 , they were expected to place at least in the top four.
TI 6 Placement: 11th
Prize Winnings: USD $311,577
10. LGD Gaming (China)
Created in 2009, LGD started as a team titled “For The Dream.” After multiple serious wins, they became one of the faces of professional Chinese DoTA 2.
With their track record of gaming excellence, LGD’s poor finish at TI 6 was considered a shock to some. Even though 2016 has not been a good year to LGD so far in terms of first place finishes, the 9th-12th place bracket was not something many people expected from LGD.
TI 6 Placement: 10th
Prize Winnings: USD $311,557
9. OG (Europe)
Though created in 2015, OG skyrocketed in a fan favorite team by being comprised of players from the former (monkey) Business team. After winning one of their largest prize pools of $1,110,000 at the 2016 Manila Major, they cemented themselves in DoTA 2 infamy by becoming the first team to ever come out as first prize winners in two Valve events.
- Fly (support, captain)
- N0tail (carry, solo middle)
- Miracle- (solo middle, carry)
- MoonMeander (offlaner)
- Cr1t- (support)
For some, OG was the clear favorite to win TI 6 after their last two major wins; others saw both of those victories as coincidences. Eliminated by TNC Gaming, their series lasted at around 54 minutes per game, with OG winning initially yet becoming worn down by the end of their long game. Though the team’s performance was considered widely disappointing, solo middle player Miracle- was considered to be the standout MVP in this matchup.
TI 6 Placement: 9th
Prize Winnings: USD $311,577
8. Team Liquid (Netherlands)
Team Liquid is one of the fan favorite teams in professional DoTA 2 gameplay. Though they were founded in 2012, they did not start to reach any sort of true success until 2015, where they won their first LAN event at The Defense Season 5. Being associated with the TeamLiquid website, the team itself attracted a large fanbase, regardless of consistently subpar placements.
- KuroKy (support, captain)
- MATUMBAMAN (carry)
- FATA- (solo middle)
- MinD_ContRoL (offlaner)
- JerAx (support)
Though Team Liquid has a history of placements in this bracket, their finish here was a bit surprising, considering their recent string of successes in other major tournaments. Regardless of this, they played well, placing higher than they have at tournaments of this difficulty in the past.
TI 6 Placement: 8th
Prize Winnings: USD $519,262
7. TNC Gaming (Philippines)
Like MVP Phoenix, TNC Gaming was founded in 2013. Their first major performance debut was at the World Cyber Arena 2015 – SEA Pro Qualifiers, where they placed second overall. Compared to other teams in the professional DoTA 2 circuit, TNC Gaming has relatively low placements, with many placements below 4th place.
TNC Gaming’s performance is relatively expected in comparison to their average placements. Though not a disappointment or above what was anticipated, they played well and have the prize reward to show for it.
TI 6 Placement: 7th
Prize Winnings: USD $519,262
6. MVP Phoenix (South Korea)
MVP Phoenix is a South Korean team that was created in 2013 and had their first major tournament debut at the Nexon Sponsorship League Season 2, where they played first. This team plays consistently superb, having won first place in half of the tournaments they have competed in.
In this tournament, MVP Phoenix placed surprisingly low in comparison to their expected higher performance. With a track record of excellence, this is only the third time they have placed below the top four teams in any major or premier tournament, and only the fifth time they have not won the first place prize.
TI 6 Placement: 6th
Prize Winnings: USD $934,761
5. EHOME (China)
EHOME was founded in 2004, making it one of the oldest teams to compete in this year’s TI tournament. Their performance in premier and major tournaments is relatively consistent, with most of their placements being 6th or above.
- LaNm (support, captain)
- Iceiceice (carry)
- old chicken (solo middle)
- eLeVeN (offlane)
- Fenrir (support)
EHOME had a comparatively disappointing performance, taking into consideration their last three tournament appearances, where they took all first place prizes.
TI 6 Placement: 5th
Prize Winnings: USD $934,761
4. Fnatic (South East Asia)
Fnatic is a European DoTA 2 team that began in 2015. While Fnatic has multiple teams in different MOBAS, such as League of Legends, their DoTA 2 team is relatively new. Since their creation, they have placed consistently in Premier and Major tournaments; though their TI 6 result was not their highest placement, it was their largest prize pool winnings.
Fnatic played well in this tournament, losing to the “underdog” team of Digital Chaos. Despite one outlying performance, 3rd-5th place is their consistent finishing point in most of the tournaments they played. Fnatic was not expected to place as high as it did, taking into consideration other “fan favorite” teams that were anticipated to pull ahead. After the tournament was over, support player DJ made the decision to leave the team.
TI 6 Placement: 4th
Prize Winnings: USD $1,435,932
3. Evil Geniuses (United States)
Evil Geniuses is one of the oldest teams to exist on the professional DoTA 2 Circuit, having a foundation date set in 1999. With teams in multiple, different video games, they are known for consistently good performance. This year’s TI was no exception.
Evil Geniuses played a consistently good game, finishing third place out of all competing teams. Such a good, successful competition was expected of Evil Geniuses, and they accomplished the goal that was placed on them by many fans - finish within the Top 3 at TI 6, and hopefully bring home the top prize. The team finished first at TI 5, where they won USD $6,634,661.
TI 6 Placement: 3rd place
Prize Winnings: USD $2,180,898
2. Digital Chaos (United States)
Digital Chaos was born from unstable beginnings shortly after TI 5, making it one of the newest teams to join professional DoTA 2. It disbanded two short months after its initial formation, but was revived later by players who had been kicked from other teams, or failed in starting their own team ventures.
- MiSeRy (support, captain)
- Resolut1on (carry)
- w33 (solo middle)
- Moo (offlaner)
- Saksa (support)
Digital Chaos’ performance in TI 6 was considered an overwhelming shock for many viewers and commenters. After their roster struggles and disbandment in 2015, not many were expecting the reformed team to go very far. Their performance in earlier competitions was relatively mediocre. But Digital Chaos became the underdog story of TI 6, and many supporters were saddened by their second-place finish. Overall, TI 6 was the biggest competition and largest monetary prize award the team has ever won.
TI 6 Placement: 2nd place
Prize Winnings: USD $3,427,126
1. Wings Gaming (China)
Wings Gaming is a relatively new team on the DoTA 2 professional scene. They debuted in the TI 5 Open Chinese Qualifiers with an outstanding performance, winning first place overall; however, with multiple bottom four placements, cheating scandals, and major bracket upsets, many gaming pundits have described the team as “inconsistent” at best, “lucky” at worst. The team hopes its victory in one of DoTA 2’s highest profile tournaments will silence any cries of inconsistency and establish them as one of the game’s best professional teams.
The team brought it’s A-game to the tournament this year, with an international schedule roster they established in late August 2015. Though bLink and Faith_bian initially left in April of that same year, they returned for the fall major season.
- Innocence (support, captain)
- shadow (carry)
- bLink (solo middle)
- Faith_bian (offlaner)
- iceice (support)
Wings Gaming established itself as a team with one of the most unique playstyles in professional DoTA 2. While many teams are known for having particular team compositions that they use consistently, Wings cycled through different compositions to keep their opponents guessing. Teams going against Wings never knew right off the bat whether they would be facing a teamfighting composition, laning dominance composition, or objective pushing composition. Some believe this spontaneity gave them the advantage that pushed them to victory.
TI 6 Placement: 1st place
Prize Winnings: USD $9,139,002
Now that TI is over, we can look forward to the next premier tournament—The Summit 6. For those who are more interested in regional majors, the MPGL Southeast Asian Championship is right around the corner in early September. While you’re waiting on the competition to heat up again, check out 10 of the best DoTA 2 streamers for a bit of game-related fun!
