by Kia KahaThe winner of the 2017 International Dota 2 Championships, or TI7, is EU team Liquid, who in addition to the Aegis of Champions will also take home a $10.8 million prize. Their opponents, Chinese team Newbee, will receive more than $3.9 for its second place finish.
Liquid beat Newbee in a dominant 3-0 set in TI7’s final best of five series.
Both Newbee and Liquid delivered a strong performance at The International beginning in the group stages, securing their respective slots in the upper bracket of this week’s Main Event. Each were considered a favorite in the tournament before TI began, but once the main event got underway, the two teams’ paths diverged.
Newbee managed to play its way through the entirety of TI7’s upper bracket, culminating in a shocking upset against odds-on tournament favorite and fellow Chinese team LGD.Forever Young in the upper bracket final. This secured Newbee a guaranteed top two finish for TI7, and their nearly $4 million prize.
Liquid, meanwhile, dropped to the lower bracket of the tournament after the first round, and were forced to play facing elimination over the entire week. This proved a somewhat redemptive arc for the team, after a series of lower-than-expected results over the history of The International and an early exit last year. Liquid faced a number of teams in the lower bracket that were widely favored over the EU squad, including LGD. Forever Young, who sought a rematch against Newbee in the Grand Final after Friday’s loss.
Team Liquid Active Squad:
- Lasse ‘MATUMBAMAN’ Urpalainen
- Amer ‘Miracle-‘ Al-Barkawi
- Ivan ‘MinD_ContRoL’ Ivanov
- Maroun ‘GH’ Marhej
- Kuro Salehi ‘KuroKy’ Takhasomi
