Boston Major Results and Reaction: OG Dreaming Green with Third Dota 2 Major Win
The implosion of European Dota 2 at TI6 was difficult to watch in many ways, but the saddest part was watching the complete collapse of OG. The team that credited the "Power of Friendship" for their success washed out of the tournament early and nearly disbanded in its aftermath.
Only two of the five supposed BFFs stuck around after things went sideways. Rather than disband the team entirely, however, Johan "N0tail" Sundstein and Tal "Fly" Aizik rebuilt with three high-profile free agents and quickly established themselves as a high-end contender at MDL Autumn, and showed they're a legitimate force by taking second at The Summit 6.
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At the Boston Major, though, they retook their place as the best Dota 2 team in the world.
| Place | Team (s) | Payout |
| 1 | OG | $1 million |
| 2 | Ad Finem | $500,000 |
| 3-4 | Evil Geniuses, Digital Chaos | $250,000 |
| 5-8 | Virtus Pro, Team NP, WG.Unity, LGD.FY | $125,000 |
| 9-16 | iGV, Wings, coL, MVP, Faceless, EHOME, Newbee, LGD | $62,500 |
While there was initially some doubt about their standing in the tournament due to their relatively soft schedule—defeating MVP Phoenix and WG.Unity in the first two rounds—their semifinals victory over the surging Evil Geniuses answered any questions about how they held up against top-end teams. They sealed the game with a 3-1 win over a white-hot Ad Finem in an absurdly exciting series, highlighted by a third game that is being regarded as one of the single most entertaining back-and-forth battles in Dota history.
It was an amazing run for OG, and adds to the team's reputation as one of the winningest in the game. OG becomes the first team ever to win three Valve-sanctioned events while players Fly and N0tail become the only players to ever win three Valve-sanctioned tournaments (the other two being the Frankfurt Major and Manila Major). Gustav "s4" Magnusson, meanwhile, becomes the seventh player to win two (his first being The International 2013 with Alliance).
Whether they can continue that going forward is difficult to determine. The top of the competitive Dota 2 scene is incredibly competitive right now, and the release of the 7.00 patch will likely shake things up in a serious way. Right now, though, OG deserves to be called the best in the business.
Ad Finem Turn in Star-Making Performance
While they may not have won, and may not have looked spectacular in the finals, Ad Finem turned in what can only be looked at as a star-making performance at the Boston Major.
On Day 2, opposite a formidable Newbee squad, the Greeks rallied to score the most impressive comeback effort of the tournament and, along the way, earned the love of Bostonian fans.
Their heart-on-sleeves reactions to big plays were regularly featured during the broadcasts and their entertaining interviews, highlighted by Giorgos "SsaSpartan" Giannakopoulos doing a backflip and kip-up, charmed the crowd and turned them into the biggest babyfaces of the show.
Personality has long been more important than results when it comes to scoring fans in Dota 2. Just look at Natus Vincere, who remain one of Dota 2’s most popular teams solely on the presence of Danil "Dendi" Ishutin!
Ad Finem has character in spades, and if they can stick around, keep on appearing in prominent events and keep making solid runs? The sky is the limit.
Team NP is Doing Everything Right
The Boston Major was a fun show with loads of high-level Dota 2, and while the crowd loved it, few things got people jumping out of their seats. There were hoops at the big plays, there were hollers at the gaffes and there were groans over boring drafts...but there wasn't too much in the way of actual "fan favorite" players or teams.
One of the few exceptions to this outside Ad Finem was Team NP. The new Canadian squad had the crowd behind them in a way few others did and, even in defeat, have incredible upside as a team.
Every time founder Jacky "EternaLEnVy" Mao was shown on screen, the crowd erupted. Every time they made a big play, there was a more excited pop than anything the other teams could inspire. Most impressively, EHOME got outright booed during their series against NP, something rarely seen at Dota 2 events.
That's an enormous accomplishment for a very new team, and while they had an inauspicious exit from the tournament, getting steamrolled by Digital Chaos, the future is bright for them. They have the brand, they have the players, and the players are winning events as they gel into their roles.
They have everything in place to become an enduring team. Hopefully they remain intact after this.
Machine Successfully Fills Big Shoes
Alex "Machine" Richardson had a most unenviable task at the Boston Major. After two years of work as a CS:GO broadcaster for ESL, he was given the tall order of replacing Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner as the host of the Boston Major analysts' desk in his first ever gig in Dota 2.
It was a big stage and a bright spotlight for his debut, but if there were any nerves or jitters, he covered them up well. While his lack of expert knowledge in the game occasionally showed, and while he was on the receiving end of a few hard jabs from Kevin "Purge" Godec, it was generally excellent work from the newcomer.
While it kind of stinks that Chaloner isn't front-and-center in major Dota 2 events, Machine proved that he is up to the task, and showed that his reputation as one of the best CS:GO casters is well-earned.
A Bad Week for Chinese Dota
China has long owned the deepest talent pool in Dota 2. It fields more high-level competitive teams than any other region, and The Internationals’ Aegis of Champions has gone to Chinese groups three out of six times. From top to bottom, they are indisputably the best overall region in the world.
That made the complete annihilation of Chinese Dota 2 teams at the Boston Major something of a shock.
Starting with Wings Gaming being defeated by Evil Geniuses in the first match of the tournament, Chinese teams had been systematically eliminated by the end of the quarterfinals. Even then, the only way that Chinese teams found a way to make it past the first round was by facing one another, with LGD Forever Young advancing into the second round at the expense of their sister team, LGD Gaming, only to fall to Ad Finem the next day.
That isn’t necessarily indicative of the region being on the decline. Multiple Chinese teams were ravaged by visa issues, and the tournament’s format was far from reflective of the actual hierarchy of the teams that competed.
Still, it’s hard not to wonder which groups will remain intact by the time the Kiev Major rolls around.
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