Chinese team Newbee sets the tone going into day two of The International Dota 2 championships

After their dominating performance in phase three and their impressive sweep of yesterday's opening day of The International's main event, the narrative of the Dota 2 world championship has become "can anyone beat Newbee?"

Newbee exited phase two of TI4 with a losing record of 7-8, but it was enough to secure a chance at the main event. Since phase three started last Sunday, something finally clicked, and Newbee has won five consecutive series, rarely dropping even a game. Yesterday, they defeated the two best teams coming out of the initial round of the tournament, ViCi and Evil Geniuses. Newbee's final game yesterday against the latter yesterday was so one-sided that fans started leaving the venue early.

Now, Newbee have secured one of two spots in Monday's grand finals, competing for a first place prize of approximately $5 million USD — making it the biggest prize in the history of competitive gaming. As Newbee has secured at least a second place finish in TI4, they'll take home a minimum of $1.46 million USD.

Today, the rest of the bracket process begins in earnest as Cloud 9 faces off against fan-favorite Na'Vi. Na'vi conceded in game one after 33 minutes.