- The International 11 will have a week-long break before the finals
- N0tail and Ceb share their thoughts on the matter
- Fans theorize why the break is needed in the first place
As The International 11’s finals draw closer, Dota 2 veterans N0tail and Ceb shared some interesting insights about the event’s long break
TI11’s Week-Long Break
We are well into the biggest Dota 2 event of the year, The International 11, and it has already been an event consisting of firsts. It was the first time Valve skipped the TI opening ceremony, and it’s also the first time we have a break between the main stage playoffs and the grand finals weekend.
While this might come as a blessing to some teams as it will provide a good opportunity for them to rest and regroup, not everyone agrees that a break this long is a great idea. Team OG‘s N0tail and Ceb had some interesting insights about this during the latest episode of their Monkey Business Show.
Both of them discussed the entirety of The International 11 with the veteran caster duo Sunsfan and Synderen. The four of them talked about the main stage matches and focused on how the grand finals are going to play out. The top four teams still left standing are Team Secret, Team Liquid, Team Aster, and Tundra Esports. At this point, N0tail and Ceb had a few very important things to say about the upcoming performance of these teams.
What Did n0tail and Ceb Have to Say?
With a week-long break, the top four teams could experiment and learn new strategies, which would be meta-changing, the two Dota 2 veterans said. each of the teams could go through replays and identify where improvements to current strategies could be made. With the aid of the support staff, players can develop new counter-plays to currently popular strategies.
But this could also be bad for said teams as any momentum they had built up until now will have to be maintained throughout the week-long break. Furthermore, TI11’s venue will shift from the Suntec Singapore Convention Center to the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
It is also unknown why this break exists in the first place, but there are two popular fan theories. The first one says it’s because of the Justin Bieber concert that was supposed to take place at the same venue on October 25, but it eventually got postponed. Meanwhile, according to the second theory, the venue did not allow for prolonged booking, necessitating the shift.
Regardless of what the actual reason is, we should be treated to some top-tier Dota as the four teams go into the grand finals.
