The International 2014 was the fourth annual edition of The International, an eSports Dota 2 championship tournament, which took place at the KeyArena in Seattle. Hosted by Valve Corporation, the tournament began on July 8 with the Playoffs phase and closed on July 21 with the Grand Final. The 2014 edition of The International featured nineteen Dota 2 professional gaming teams that competed for a Grand Prize of over US$5.0 million. Overall, US$10.93 million were awarded at the event, making it the largest eSports event by prize money until it was topped by the next International.

The championship used a double-elimination tournament. The current format put teams against each other on a best-of-three basis, with winners and losers moving onto two brackets (Upper and Lower) for the knockout stage. The Grand Final was decided on a best-of-five match.

All previously-winning teams were invited to the event. Defending champions Alliance were eliminated on Phase Two of the Playoffs, while 2011 and 2012 winners Natus Vincere and Invictus Gaming were eliminated during the Lower Bracket's Round One. The tournament was broadcast on streaming platform Twitch.tv as well as ESPN3. ESPN2 broadcast a preview of the Grand Final, which was disputed between Chinese teams ViCi Gaming and NewBee. The latter won 3-1, becoming the second Chinese team to win the tournament after Invictus Gaming. It was the first Grand Final that was between two teams from Asia, as well as the first time Natus Vincere was not a participant.

...
Wikipedia