The first two days of The International, the week-long Dota 2 world championship tournament, are in the books. Day Two was decidedly more subdued than the first, to the point that we may or may not have dozed off at our keyboard during a few matches. But that lack of highlight reel action doesn’t mean today’s matches didn’t have a major impact on the tournament’s outcome. Evil Geniuses have been sent packing, alongside seven other squads, leaving Digital Chaos as the only North American team left in the tournament. And there’s still four days of TI7 left.
Of course, not everyone has time to sit down and watch this year’s Dota 2 world championship in its entirety. Work and school can make it difficult to watch catch every match being played at KeyArena this week. So we rounded up some of the best moments from the second day of the tournament. It wasn’t the most exciting day in International history. But there were still a handful of exciting moments, and one pretty great match, before the sun had set on Day Two of TI7.
Match of the Day
Team Empire vs Evil Geniuses - Game 2
(Skip to 10:19:40)
It wasn’t a great year for Evil Geniuses at the International. The team returned to Dota’s largest stage with one of its strongest lineups in years (and their CEO on the panel) but they still weren’t able to secure a spot in the Top 8. We hate to see Arteezy & Co. sent packing, but at least they delivered another one of TI7’s most interesting matches on their way out.
Top Plays
Secret Snatches Roshan, Liquid Snatches Aegis And Four Kills
There have obviously been much bigger Roshan fights at The International, like the $6 million Echo Slam. But Liquid’s swift retribution, after Puppey steals the Roshan kill, did make the exchange one of the top moments during Day Two.
Valve Destroys Half-Life 3 Dreams With Artifact Teaser
Valve announced a Dota card game during Day Two of The International. No, we don’t know why either. But the teaser trailer was more interesting than large swathes of today’s “action.”
TNC Drops Three With Naga Siren And Jakiro Combo
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Dota 2 is currently available for Windows and OS X. The game’s world championship tournament, The International, will continue through Aug. 12.
Be sure to check back with Player.One and follow Scott on Twitter for more Dota 2 coverage in 2017 and however long Valve continues to support Dota 2 in the years ahead.
