Chinese team Wings Gaming has won the Dota 2 International tournament, taking home over $9.1 million of the crowdfunded $20.8 million prize pool.
Wings had a largely uncontested run through the tournament, routing big-name teams like Evil Geniuses 2-0. They lost only two rounds during the main event, both to European/American team Digital Chaos, who they faced in the first round of the tournament's upper bracket and in the grand finals.
Their performance and victory at the tournament comes as something as a surprise, as they had only two large tournament victories under their belt before the tournament (ESL One Manila and The Summit 5), emerging into the professional Dota 2 spotlight as recently as April of this year.
Our Take
Wings displayed not only incredible cohesion as a team, but an unprecedented variety of character picks. They've put the Chinese professional scene back on top and proven top teams don't have to be confined by trends when it comes to hero selection. Their matches were a delight to watch.