Dota 2’s newest character is one whose existence fans have speculated on for years: Void Spirit, who joins his three elemental spirit brothers in the game this fall.
Void Spirit’s skills aren’t known; he was only shown in a teaser video before materializing on stage at The International 2019 in Shanghai. He wields a bladed staff radiating some kind of dark energy, and appears to be capable of teleporting his way around the map.
Void Spirit joins Snapfire, announced yesterday, as new heroes for Valve’s globally popular MOBA. Snapfire is of a decidedly wackier aesthetic than Void Spirit; she’s a blunderbuss-toting, dragon-riding, cookie-baking grandma. “He’s edgy enough for people who said Snapfire was too cartoony,” one Redditor said of Void Spirit.
There have been three Spirit heroes in Dota 2 since Ember Spirit and Earth Spirit joined brother Storm Spirit in November 2013. Their elemental nature led fans to speculate a fourth was lurking out there, somewhere; it appears this one comes from and controls an astral plane that allows him to travel anywhere, so long as he paces slowly with his hands clasped behind his back, deep in contemplation.
The International 2019, awarding esports largest single-event prize pool (thanks to the sale of a Battle Pass) that reached $34,103,341 before the tournament got underway on Tuesday. That’s almost $10 million more than last year’s purse. In day five action, Team Liquid defeated Team Secret 2-0 in the lower bracket’s fifth round. PSG.LGD and OG advanced from the Upper Bracket with 2-0 and 2-1 victories over Vici Gaming and Evil Geniuses, respectively (and both were subsequently swept out of the lower bracket).
The finals begin tonight at 10 p.m. EDT, with PSG.LGD and Team Liquid facing off in a best-of-three, and OG getting the winner in a five-game grand final starting at 2 a.m. EDT on Sunday.
