The International 2024 has wrapped with Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi, Samuel “Boxi” Svahn, and Michael “miCKe” Vu finally winning the big one with a 3-0 victory over Gaimin Gladiators.
While Evil Geniuses was long mocked for its “third-place curse,” Insania and company would have received the same treatment if they had stuck with one organization for their entire tenure. Whether it’s Alliance or Liquid, the crew made the podium many times, but never seemed to stand at the top.
Looking over the “best results” on the profile for each player is a line of silver, with second-place finishes in several majors and minors. Though this isn’t the most lucrative way to end that streak due to the disappointingly low prize pool at The International 2024, it’s as “storybook” as it gets in Dota 2 these days.
miCKe’s Nature’s Prophet pushes Team Liquid to The International 2024 championship
Game one was largely defined by Gaimin Gladiators’ team composition, with Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov’s Chaos Knight looming large over everything. The hero always threatens to dominate if he gets any farm, and that looked to be the direction the game was heading after he got Power Treads, Armlet of Mordiggian, and Orchid Malevolence by just 18 minutes.
Though dyrachyo had a largely successful early game, the mid-game teamfights consistently broke in Team Liquid’s favor. A decent XP and net worth lead for Gaimin Gladiator at the end of the laning phase swung the other way and then some. With miCKe on Nature’s Prophet, those struggles translated into objectives, with Liquid notching the victory within 30 minutes.
Liquid didn’t offer any kind of hope to Gaimin in game two of The International 2024 finals, though. A bruising core of melee strength heroes let them bully Gaimin. Once again, team fight victories translated to objectives for miCKe’s Nature’s Prophet. Though the win didn’t come as quickly, there was no doubt that Liquid would land on match point.
Game three shook out largely the same early on. Team Liquid got the better of the early game and miCKe on Nature’s Prophet meant every skirmish translated to structures. By the mid-game, all of Gaimin’s standing structures were on high ground.
Gaimin Gladiators showed that it was still a threat, though. Liquid took a confident stance, bottling up farm and threatening to take Gaimin’s Tormentor, but Gaimin fired back by taking even trades. Gaimin even got the better of a team fight despite a deep net worth deficit, but Liquid’s pressure was too much.
The combination of miCKe’s Nature’s Prophet and Neta “33” Shapira’s Visage meant that lanes were always pushed in. Liquid just kept that steady heat on until they had mega creeps, and the 3-0 victory.
Team Liquid becomes third organization to win two The International championships
The victory at The International 2024 four veteran players take their first Aegis of Champions.
Insania, miCKe, and Boxi shared silver medals for years. Michal “Nisha” Jankowski won a slew of majors with Team Secret, but fell short of winning The International with fourth, third, and second-place finishes across TI9, TI10, and TI11. William “Blitz” Lee also shared in this cathartic victory, having never won a major tournament as a coach despite placing top-four in numerous majors and The International events.
There was a degree of been there, done that for Neta “33” Shapira, though. The veteran player won The International 2022 with Tundra Esports, sharing the $8.5 million top prize with his teammates.
It’s also the second Aegis of Champions to hang in Team Liquid’s offices. The organization is a staple of the event, and won it in 2017 with Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi’s legendary lineup before the squad left to form Team Nigma.
The new pro Dota 2 calendar means Team Liquid won’t get much of a vacation. The team is slated to compete in PGL Wallachia Season 2 in less than three weeks.
