SirActionSlacks on The International: “It should be something we can all rally around.”

The Dota 2 community has changed a bit. I know you’ll say this sounds silly and wrong, but I genuinely believe it’s become happier. Before, we were constantly demanding: “Hey, we want this! Give us that! Why is this happening? Where’s the Battle Pass?” But now it’s different. Now it’s just: “We’re happy to watch the pros. We’re grateful.” Before, it was an endless “Give us more, more, more.” And now: “Please don’t leave. We love you. We’re happy.” And that’s pretty sweet.

I don’t think the community itself has changed much. But the professional scene—the esports players themselves—have changed. Gone are the days of “Oh my God, SumaiL, Miracle-”—the era of the lone superstar. Now everything revolves around the team, I guess. It’s a little unusual, but yeah.

Southeast Asia has always had crazy fans. Take ESL One Manila, for example—it was absolute madness. You might not believe it, but I genuinely believe the best crowd is yet to come. If we ever have an event in South America, it’ll be absolutely incredible. I think it’ll happen someday.

I think TI’s legacy is a little broken—and not just because of the prize pool. Because the prize pool isn’t that important. It’s about prestige—being the best in a way no one else can be. And it’s also about the spectator experience. We’ve strayed a bit from the idea that the main tournament of the year is a spectacle—something people want to travel to see in person, to be a part of. And now it’s just… Well, there it is. There are a lot of tournaments going on right now, and The International needs to be something different. It needs to be something we can rally around. When we lost the Battle Pass and the prize pool—that’s just money.

What matters to me are the different regions, the different corners of the Dota 2 world. They come together and, no matter what, show who’s the best. And it seems to me that the fewer invites we give to South America… I understand that everyone in Western Europe is very good, but TI is about the whole world coming together to find the next great team. And I feel that the further we stray from that, the further we stray from our soul.