cross-posted from: https://feddit.nu/post/22278515
The International 2026
Streams
DotaTV:
Auto-spectate command:dota_spectator_auto_spectate_games 19719Coverage
Schedule
ID | Team | vs. | Team | Result | Cntdown (SGT) | PDT | EDT | GMT | CEST | AEST | Format :–|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–:|:–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: | :–: LBF | Team Yandex | vs | Team Spirit | >!0:0!< | 10:00 | 19:00 | 22:00 | 2:00 | 4:00 | 12:00 | Bo3 GF | TEAM VISION | vs | LBF winner | >!0:0!< | 13:00 | 22:00 | 1:00 | 5:00 | 7:00 | 15:00 | Bo3
Countdown times are in SGT. All times are subject to change based on the length of matches and delays.
I don’t mind a bit of a ramble!
Yeah, I think Omnislash is just a conceptually bad ultimate for pro Dota. Even this final game had that moment where if Omnislash didn’t jump into the illusions Satanic gets a double kill instead of dying and Pari would have increased their momentum instead of losing it. So you’re definitely right about the RNG being a huge problem too. I still think the fact that it’s so easy to counter is a bigger problem than RNG, though. There were way more instances that were ruined by saves and Aeon Disk/Ghost Scepter than by unlucky jumps.
Agreed with Bounty Hunter too, although in the other direction. It’s broken on a fundamental level and I don’t see how you balance it in a way that makes it appropriately good and viable. Maybe removing the damage amp from Track, but I fear that will make him a never-pick again.
Also about your last paragraph, I completely agree. The general style of play this TI was great, even with the long games, with mostly fun Dota to watch and cool team fights. Maybe a tad too few comebacks, is the only thing I was wishing for, but I also remember the rubber band patch and that wasn’t great either so 🤷♀️
The magic damage meta is so much more interesting that right-click damage. Every fight, you’re on the edge of your seat wondering if they’re going to be able to burst down the main hero, or are they going to run out of mana/spells/cooldowns. Teams have to coordinate their spells and abilities which just makes for much more interesting analysis. It’s just much cooler than watching HP bars steadily tick down from right clicks.
You’re definitely right about all the saves in the game making heroes like Jugg unviable. The game has evolved a lot over the years with a lot more itemization, and the game continues to get better and better, but it’s also made many of the original heroes feel pretty unloved. A lot of the new mechanics in the game haven’t been backported to them. Look at Muerta for example - a viable carry because her ultimate goes through ghost scepter (right?) and she has a better built-in farming mechanic too. So yeah, Jugg does need a little more in his kit, but you could probably say the same about a lot of the old heroes too (especially carry ones).