In these clutch moments, champions are born.
A lot of pressure sits on the shoulders of the competitors of The International. A life-changing amount of money is on the line and every move could be your last. But it’s here where legends are born and their million-dollar plays are immortalized in The International’s history. You could say that there’s been a million-dollar play made every year in The International’s 12-year history but we’ve picked out three that stand above the rest.
The 1.4 Million Dollar Dream Coil – Alliance versus Na’Vi, The International 2013
The winning play doesn’t always have to be a single instance. For Alliance’s Gustav “s4” Magnusson, it was thanks to his tricky plays that his team won the 2013 International.
Here he was controlling Puck, a hero who has an ability called Dream Coil which tethers enemy heroes to a central point. He used this multiple times in different fights to delay his opponents, giving his team time to push their advantage. This continued interference would result in Alliance making one final decisive push to close out the game.
The 6.6 Million Dollar Echo Slam – Evil Geniuses versus CDEC, The International 2015
A simple yet elegant combo so powerful it’s still spoken with reverence today. EG were already ahead in the game but it was this play that cemented their place in Dota 2 history.
CDEC was making a desperate bid at the Roshan pit, trying to take it down and get its rewards. They needed to swing the momentum back in their favor but EG was not going to let them. Peter “ppd” Dager opens the play by firing Ancient Appartion’s Ice Blast into Roashan pit to scout for CDEC. His ability hit true, revealing their location and damaging a majority of them with debilitating ice.
Then in the blink of an eye, Sahil “Universe” Aurora jumps right into the pit and uses Earthshaker’s Echo Slam. It creates a massive shockwave that deals more damage the more enemies it hits and at that point there was no escape for CDEC. This 1-2 combo crushed CDEC’s International dreams and gave EG a clear path to victory.
The 11 Million Dollar Berserker’s Call – OG versus PSG.LGD, The International 2018
This one is a little harder to parse but everyone knows this moment when they see it (or in this case, hear it). It’s 2-1 in PSG.LGD’s favor and OG were rallying back in game four. It was up to Anathan “ana” Pham’s Phantom Lancer to deal the brunt of OG’s damage but the enemy knew that as well.
A fight breaks out at mid and OG is scattered as one by one they fall. Ana uses every trick and illusion he can create to stay alive but it looks grim. Then, from out of nowhere Sebastien “Ceb” Debs comes to ana’s rescue. Using Axe’s Berserker’s Call, he forced all the remaining PSG.LGD players to attack him, falling in the process but giving ana the opportunity to clean up the fight. It would take another game before OG would raise the Aegis of Champions but there was no denying that momentum was on their side after Ceb’s clutch save.
Banner image by Freepik.
Related Stories:
Why The International’s Return To Seattle Is So Important