2017 was a year of firsts for The International Dota 2 Championships (TI). It was the first time a defending champion didn’t participate. It was the first time fan-favorite team Na'Vi failed to qualify or garner a direct invitation from Valve. By the end, it was also the first International with a clean, 3-0 victory across the best-of-five grand finals.

It is said that Dota 2's "meta"—the call-and-response tactics that govern how players react to each other, especially at the pro level—has never been more stable. But it's clear that the expectations regarding who wins, who loses, and which players you'd even recognize on The International main stage are very much in flux. With that instability, however, there was plenty of room for new teams and players to carve paths at this year's event, and it has been a good year for that new blood.

This year's victor, for example, was Team Liquid. Once a mostly North American brand, the team transitioned into a truly "international" lineup in 2015. Captained by Na'Vi alum Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi, Liquid was something of a dark horse (appropriate, given that that's their logo) in a year that seemed ready to be dominated by China.

Doubts about Liquid’s chances fell a bit when the team drilled its way through the tournament Group Stage, finishing the round second to Chinese squad LGD.Forever Young (aka, LFY) in total games won. Liquid Captain Kuroky might be a TI veteran, having attended every Dota 2 championship since its inception, but it was his more fresh-faced teammates that stood out in-game.

Maroun "GH" Merhej and Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov were the real breakout stars this year. They beautifully adapted to the aforementioned meta, which this year greatly rewarded scouting and taking control of difficult high ground. While both players have been on the Dota 2 scene for years (you don't win a $10.8 million first place prize without practice), neither competed on an International-level team before Liquid. MinD_ContRoL played for a squad literally (and appropriately) called "Basically Unknown" between 2014 and 2015.

The success of his team isn't meant to undercut KuroKy's own impact. His drafts—the selection of which five heroes his team picked and banned at the start of every match—were nearly flawless toward the end. That's more than can be said for reactionary teams like North American darlings Evil Geniuses. They, and others like them, fell into the trap of primarily trying to counter their opponents, rather than selecting an independently solid lineup.

As a result, Evil Geniuses placed in the 9th-12th category, a disappointment after finishing in the top three for three years straight and winning outright once in the process. It's probably not a coincidence that this is also EG's first International since 2013 without master drafter and tyrannical captain Peter "PPD" Dager at the helm. The team also lost famously long-tenured player Clinton "Fear" Loomis to health issues late last year.

The new team dynamic

EG's new captain, Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen, has done well for himself but has yet to achieve the champion status of his predecessor and even several of his teammates. Maybe it was just too late for EG to predict Dota’s new winningest team dynamic, where clutches of less-famous or outright new players led into battle by veteran captains find success.

Team Liquid wasn't the only team with fresh faces and a veteran captain to steal hearts and minds at The International this year. Second and third placers Newbee and LFY had similar rosters.

Only LFY team captain Leong "DDC" Fat-meng had ever broken top three at The International before, though mid-lane player Xie "Super" Junhao took fourth that same year. The rest of the team, however, looked a lot like most of Team Liquid. They've been around but failed to make serious waves at their occasional appearances in major tournaments. Yet they dominated the Group Stage and took home a bigger chunk of the almost $25 million prize pool than LGD's "primary" squad, LGD Gaming.

Newbee didn't do quite as well as LFY in the Group Stage but managed an undefeated run through the subsequent upper bracket. Their captain, Zeng "Faith" Hongda, has been to every International, just like KuroKy. Unlike Liquid's captain, however, Faith won on team Invictus Gaming back in 2012. None of the rest of Newbee's roster, despite sharing a name with the 2014 champions, had ever placed higher than 7th or 8th. Two of the players had never qualified for TI at all.

Intentionally or not, teams of fresh faces built around nuggets of the old guard finally found success over the usual suspects this year. Combined, the top three earned more than 70 percent of this year's prize money using the same basic structure. This was either completely expected or completely surprising, depending on how quickly you think the favorite stars and underdogs of The International are likely to rotate out each season.

What comes next?

There are always exceptions that prove the rule, though. The latest iteration of Team Secret, still helmed by International champion Clement "Puppey" Ivanov, only won two games at the main event this year before tumbling out of the lower bracket. That might imply that chemistry and comfortableness with one's teammates have a role to play, too. Team Secret swaps members in and out frequently, even by the unsettled standards of pro Dota. Just two days after this year's tournament, two more members of the team parted ways.

Of course, Liquid's lack of success just might be a matter of not being the right kind of players at the right time. Newbee's 2014 championship lineup epitomized this. The squad had a death grip on that year's so-called "Deathball" meta. It showed in their swift victory as much as it did when developer Valve quickly patched the tactic out of existence. A team that's on top one minute can find itself entirely in the cold the next, depending on what's deemed too overpowered to stick around.

Liquid showed solid strength with a variety of heroes, but there were some exceptional standouts. GH exploited Keeper of the Light, who can heal and damage opponents in a massive blast during in-game daytime, to an extent most pros had yet to realize was possible. MinD_ContRoL, meanwhile, brought viewers back to the "Rat Dota" days of The International 2013. He used the teleporting Nature's Prophet to flank enemy structures whenever, say, Newbee committed its players to a direct fight.

If Valve determines these are just a couple of many valid strategies, we likely won't see them nerfed into oblivion. More than that, though, it would be a sign that Dota's "stable" meta is opening the way for new and relatively unknown players. The more play styles the game can support, the more teams and teammates who use them will have a chance to shine. Then, long-time vets like KuroKy can help guide and focus them.

If this is just a fluke of the game—if it's just another Deathball or last vestige of Rat Dota—we'll know soon. Valve isn't shy about making massive overhauls to its favorite MOBA. Balanced or not, more changes are coming soon regardless. Hopefully, when the dust finally settles, there will be as much room for new stars to make history as there was at this year's International.