Team Liquid, HEROIC and Gaimin Gladiators Embrace the Circus as TI13 Kicks Off

Dota 2

September 4, 2024

Marcus Wong

It’s not every day that we get to see Quinn “Quinn” Callahan donning a magician’s tailcoat for a circus-themed TI13 video.

That’s something you’ll only see at The International 2024 (TI13) as Dota 2 teams embrace the circus theme this year to commemorate the start of the tournament. While last year’s painted glass theme was elegant, the circus theme this year was different, blissful, and comedic.

Gaimin Gladiators’ Dota Circus video (Image credit: Gaimin Gladiators)

The Circus Theme at TI13

The earlier trailer of TI13’s announcement wasn’t much of an indicator of this year’s Internationals’ theme. Now that the teams are embracing it, it’s all making sense now that the dimly-lit circus lights are part of the circus theme, likely because of the recent release of The Ringmaster.

For the teams, it was a good opportunity to make social media content. Gaimin Gladiators‘ video, titled “Gaimin Gladiators Dota Circus” served as a fun player showcase, featuring each player in fun, comedic representations and puns. It’s mostly light banters, but it ended with a teaser about the reveal of a “clown” on September 4, the first day of TI13.

Ladies and Gentleman!! 📣

Welcome to the GG DOTA CIRCUS! 🎪
Meet our very unique and extravagant crew!

They are impressive harmless creatures… I think.
A circus like no other really! You’ll find out why soon enough.#AgainstAllOdds | #ti13 pic.twitter.com/dGbGAMFWoW

— GG | Gaimin Gladiators ⚔️ (@GaiminGladiator) September 3, 2024

Team Liquid’s video, titled “Welcome to the Show“, felt more like a rendition of the iconic Dota 2 Shopkeeper‘s voice narrative from the first Dota 2 trailer. It reused iconic catchphrases, such as “What does a hero truly need?”

Meanwhile, HEROIC made a video interview with a donkey courier, to ask it questions and predict which team will win TI13. Considering this is the Esports org’s first TI debut, this is impressive.

im not joking – we asked ponies about TI, here’s what they said pic.twitter.com/uMgJ0IyX4I

— HEROIC Dota 2 (@heroicdota2) September 4, 2024

Are we getting more circus content at TI13?

Well, only time will tell. Teams making TI content isn’t typical, so perhaps TI13 might just turn out better than we anticipated. However, a good reason to dish out circus-themed content during TI13 is to promote their brand, since Valve banned in-game advertisements in TI13 matches.

Additionally, since the much-celebrated “Late Game” talkshow is not happening this year, it will be interesting to see what replaces it. That aside, the least we can hope for is for the hosts and talent team to wear clown costumes to make up for the underwhelming TI13 experience.