How to Improve The International

The International is a great tournament. The $1,600,000 prize pool in 2011 made for some entertaining high-stakes matches. As a Dota 2 fan, I am looking forward to the 2012 version. I appreciate Valve running and sponsoring such a great tournament. However there is some room for improvement. The main problems with The International are how teams are selected, the short time frame of the event, and the relative dominance of The International's prize pool. A few minor changes in the event could greatly help improve the competitive Dota 2 scene.

14 of the 16 teams for The International were invited by Valve using criteria and methods known only to them. While some of the teams selected are obvious and clearly deserved to get an invite, there was some considerable and justified debate in the Dota 2 community about the merits of some of the teams selected. Why were Darer, Evil Geniuses, and Absolute Legends given automatic invites while teams of similar quality like mTw and mousesports were relegated to a 8 team qualifier? Why was TongFu forced to win a qualifier and four other Chinese teams given automatic invites?

At the very least, the Dota 2 community would appreciate Valve explaining its rationale behind the selections.  Better still, I would urge Valve to leverage the popularity and large prize pool of The International to build year-long excitement for Dota 2. Rather than give away 14 invites in an opaque manner, why not let teams earn invites throughout the year in online and offline events? For example a four month league from January to April that promised International invites to the top two teams would lead to a variety of exciting matches. Also the four month window would promote cohesiveness among the teams and hopefully cut down on the frequent roster changes. The league would also allow Valve to set standards for online play that are sorely lacking such as teams showing up on time, proper use of stand-ins, and other assorted ills that plague online competitions.

Automatic invites to The International could also be given to established offline tournaments to enhance the prestige and importance of the event. For example, several teams that qualified for the Starladder Series in Kiev chose not to attend due to the prize pool not justifying the traveling expenses. However if the prize pool had included an International invite I expect that all the qualified teams would have gladly gone. I am not advocating for the Starladder Series to get an International invite in the prize pool--in my opinion the tournament was held too close to the International for it to work logistically--but I support the idea of bolstering LAN events with International invites. Once again Valve could use these invites to impose offline standards of play.

I enjoyed the Eastern and Western qualifiers for the last two International spots this year but the announcement and playing of the qualifiers was rushed. Some invites were announced shortly prior to the qualifier, leaving some teams that could have reasonably thought they had an automatic invite coming stuck forcing to prepare for an imminent qualifier. Some teams had boot camps scheduled for the time of the qualifiers. If Valve plans on continuing the two qualifier tournaments--which I support--the least they can do is announce months in advance when they are going to be held and to give more advanced notice whether teams will receive an automatic invite to the International or have to compete in a qualifier.

Another consideration is the financial dominance of the International prize pool. The prize pool accounts for roughly 90% of winnings earned in the past two years by Dota 2 teams. It is not healthy for a competitive scene to have a 3 day tournament so thoroughly dominate the competitive scene. The BeyondTheSummit World Tour tournament that is currently being played features 14 of the 16 teams that will appear at the International. However the prize pool is only $1,000. There is no incentive for any of the competing teams to give away any strategy or tactic that may be used in the International. I enjoy watching Na'Vi and mTw and as a fan appreciate how frequently they compete in online and offline events but wonder if they are doing themselves more harm than good by making so much of the their strategy and tactics readily available to their opponents. NaVi's $37k in winnings and four wins in 2012 events will mean very little if their opponents can gleam any information from those events and hurt Na'Vi from advancing in the International.

Organizations that can pay their players enough to turn Dota 2 into a full time job not only have the advantage of being able to play and practice Dota 2 full time, they also allow their team to train for the International in private. Rather than compete in events throughout the year and promote Dota 2, the large International prize pool encourages teams to do nothing except prepare for the International. Na'Vi will be at a disadvantage precisely because they did so much throughout the year to promote Dota 2 by competing in a variety of events.

What I am proposing is not that radical. Give roughly half the International invites away through competitive events--two in qualifiers, two in online leagues, and four in LAN events--while giving the remainder away to selected teams. Valve would not have much additional work as they can sublet the work of administering online and offline tournaments to trusted parties like they did for the qualifiers. Partnering with these tournament administrators would provide a financial boost to these parties and help strengthen the competitive Dota 2 scene. Transparent selection criteria and tournament rules would let teams know how they are being judged and encourage good behavior. The changes I am advocating would greatly help the scene by creating year long interest in Dota 2, boosting online and offline tournaments and leagues, and improve the quality of Dota 2 teams. The International is already a great three day event; now let's turn it into a year long celebration of Dota 2.