Dota 2’s Longest Match Ends in a Thriller on The International Main Stage
The match between Entity and Royal Never Give Up at The International turned out to be one of the longest matches in the history of Dota 2. Lasting a staggering 107 minutes, both teams were on the brink of elimination from TI11.
Entity came into the match with an early-game-focused draft, leading fans to believe that they would quickly secure the win. However, the European team showed no urgency to end the match. Entity’s position four player, Vladislav “Kataomi`” Semenov, shared their emotions and experience during the match with escorenews.com, highlighting the instinctive nature of Dota 2.
Kataomi mentioned that Entity was not prepared to end the game swiftly and admitted they should have banned Underlord, as it disrupted their fast lineup with Lycan and Visage. As the match dragged on, Kataomi even started building carry items on his Tiny to provide additional damage for the team. “They just gave me Aghanim’s Blessing after Roshan, and I started building into a carry,” said Kataomi. Converting Tiny into a carry turned out to be advantageous for Entity, as the Lycan/Visage lineup struggled to deal with RNG’s Terrorblade.
Although Entity appeared composed on camera, Kataomi revealed that the team’s emotions were spiraling out of control after the 30-minute mark. “It started becoming emotional,” Kataomi said. “We continuously reminded each other to calm down and focus.” Throughout the entire match, the word “focus” was frequently mentioned in their team communications.
Despite the high emotions, Entity managed to avoid making costly mistakes and advanced to the second round of the lower bracket. They will now face Team Liquid on Oct. 22, 12am CT.
– Dota 2, esports, The International, Entity, Royal Never Give Up, longest match, elimination match, tournament, emotions, carry items, Tiny, Lycan, Visage, Underlord, RNG Terrorblade, Team Liquid