Dota 2’s The International 2022 was a step in the wrong direction for most fans. With production quality taking a huge hit, multiple controversies and negligence damaged the tournament’s reputation. As a result, Valve’s TI found itself out of the competition for 2022’s Best Esports Event for a second in the tournament’s history.
Held since 2018, The Game Awards has been awarding the best esports event of the year, and The International has been a nominee every year except for 2020–it was postponed that year—and 2022.
Despite being a stable name in the awards, voters have been rather one-sided when it comes to picking the winner; League of Legends’ World Championship won it every year, with 2022 to be decided.
Though TI11 did its best to address concerns, more was needed to bring the tournament to its glory days. Dota 2 fans weren’t surprised by the news of the game’s crown jewel missing from the vote since this year’s TI was incomparable to previous years, which was also signaled via the tournament’s prize pool.
Different from previous years, TI11 struggled with its venue choices. The main event kicked off in a small conference-hall-like venue where almost 500 live fans were attending. PGL, who were handed the organizing reigns for TI11, didn’t also bother with the iconic soundproof booths and some teams were able to hear the casters early in the tournament.
TI11 only moved onto a venue big enough for the standard it set when only four teams were remaining in the competition, meaning 14 teams missed out on living the TI experience and playing in front of a massive crowd.
The latest iteration of The International may have gone down as one of the worst in Dota 2 history, but it was also a major success as it brought thousands of players back to the game on the back of Valve’s Swag Bag/Free Arcana.
