One week after TI, players and teams are already making changes to prepare for next season's Dota Pro Circuit.

Four heroes remained ignored throughout the whole tournament. Ignored heroes are to be expected even in long tournaments like the International and only four of them is an indicator of a great meta and high levels of diversity, but all of us would definitely be happier if we could claim that in our game every single hero is viable.

Dust is slowly settling after what many consider to be the best esports event in the history of esports. The International 2018 delivered in all aspects: wide meta, great storylines and, most importantly, some of the most intense and close games we’ve ever seen.

In a gripping series that came down to the wire, OG came back from a 1-2 game deficit to become TI8’s champions. They’ll take home a cool $11.2 million, the largest prize in esports history.

Liquid eliminated Team Secret in an emotional sweep, OG continues their redemption tour to secure a top 2 finish, EG survives the lower bracket and will face the last Chinese hope, PSG.LGD, on the final day. Finally, Valve announced a new hero, Grimstroke, who is now available to play.

Three North American teams in top8 is an achievement for the region and a testament to all the hard work and talent that went into making the region so competitive. But today... Today all three would be tested against some of the most decorated teams and players in the history of Dota.

Upper bracket grudge match between OG and Evil Geniuses, Resolut1on vs. Iceberg in an elimination match and the two biggest powerhouses of the East and the West meeting in the upper bracket—The International 2018 keeps on delivering.

There were few surprises in another day filled with 2-0 sweeps. Both OG and EG look sharp as they head into their marquee matchup for game 3. Virtus.Pro rebounds after a tough loss against PSG.LGD, and Optic Gaming survives another round.

Two upper bracket matches and four bo1 eliminations—the first day of the main event is always brutal, but it never fails to deliver some of the most exciting Dota. Teams are coming out of their groups and for the first time in the tournament we get a chance to see some of the matchups we waited so long for.

Trying to understand TI8 Meta is problematic, to say the least. On one hand the game is still incredibly focused on the laning stage. On the other—most teams attempt to deviate in one way or another, trying to slightly outgreed their opponent on one of their lanes.