# Spectate Esports

> Real-time pro Dota 2 esports platform. Live match scores, timestamped Twitch VODs, hero drafts, gold advantage graphs, player stats, tournament brackets, and AI match summaries. Covers Tier 1 international events: DreamLeague, ESL One, PGL, BLAST, WePlay, The International.

Spectate Esports (https://spectateesports.live) is a Dota 2 esports intelligence platform serving professional match data in real time. It aggregates live scores from PandaScore, match statistics and draft data from OpenDota, video-on-demand links from Twitch, and news from Steam, Liquipedia, and editorial sources. Every completed match includes a direct Twitch VOD link timestamped to game start, the full hero pick-and-ban sequence, a per-minute gold advantage graph, end-game player stats (kills, deaths, assists, net worth, items), and an AI-generated match summary. The platform covers only Tier 1 professional Dota 2 matches.

## Main Pages

- [Home](https://spectateesports.live/): Live match scores with series progress, upcoming scheduled matches, and completed results. Automatically updates every 2 minutes. Shows current game scores, active streams (Twitch/YouTube), and series format (BO1/BO3/BO5). During active tournament coverage, surfaces the latest editorial article as a story card above the live matches section.
- [Tournaments](https://spectateesports.live/tournaments): All active, upcoming, and recently completed Tier 1 Dota 2 tournaments. Shows prize pools, team counts, date ranges, and tournament status.
- [News](https://spectateesports.live/news): Aggregated Dota 2 esports headlines from Steam Community, Liquipedia (roster transfers), editorial sources (PCGamesN, Dot Esports), and Currents API. Updated every 30 minutes.
- [Calendar](https://spectateesports.live/calendar): Subscribe to .ics calendar feeds for specific teams or entire tournaments. Compatible with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook.
- [About](https://spectateesports.live/about): Site description, data sources, methodology, and contact information.
- [Release Notes](https://spectateesports.live/release-notes): Feature changelog and version history.

## Tournament Pages

Each tournament at /tournament/{id} includes:
- Team rosters with player names, nationalities, and regional affiliations (WEU/EEU/CN/SEA/NA/SA)
- Group stage standings (W-L records, seedings)
- Playoff bracket (upper/lower bracket, round labels: Grand Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal)
- Hero pick/ban frequency statistics across all tournament games
- AI-generated tournament summary
- Full match schedule with dates and times

## Match Pages

Each match at /match/{team-a}-vs-{team-b}-{tournament}-{matchId} includes:
- Direct Twitch VOD link timestamped to exact game start
- Hero draft in pick/ban order with player assignments
- Per-minute gold advantage graph (radiant vs dire gold lead over time)
- End-game player statistics: kills, deaths, assists, net worth, items, GPM
- AI match summary: draft analysis, strategy breakdown, MVP, key moments
- Series context: BO format, series score, game number within the series

## Data Coverage

### Tier 1 Tournaments Covered
- DreamLeague (ESL Gaming / DreamHack) — premier international LAN circuit
- ESL One — international LAN events (Birmingham, Kuala Lumpur, etc.)
- PGL — major international LAN organizer (PGL Wallachia, PGL Lausanne)
- BLAST — international circuit (BLAST Slam, BLAST Bounty)
- WePlay — international esports organizer (WePlay Esport)
- The International (TI) — Valve's annual Dota 2 world championship, largest prize pool in esports history ($40M+)
- Riyadh Masters — Saudi Arabia-based super tournament
- Beyond The Summit (BTS) — boutique production studio events

### TI Champions
- OG — 2× TI champion (2018, 2019). First back-to-back TI winners.
- Team Liquid — 2× TI champion (2017, 2024). First org to win TI with two different rosters.
- Team Spirit — 2× TI champion (2021, 2023). Second team after OG to win multiple TIs.
- Team Falcons — TI14 champion (2025). Entered Dota 2 in 2023; Saudi Arabia-based.
- Tundra Esports — TI11 champion (2022). Won without dropping a series in the main event.
- Evil Geniuses — TI5 champion (2015). First North American org to win TI. Dota 2 division disbanded November 2023.

### Active Tier 1 Organizations (non-champions)
- BetBoom Team — Russian EEU org, est. 2022. BLAST Slam I winners (2024).
- Nigma Galaxy — Founded 2019 by four members of TL's TI7 winning roster.
- Virtus.pro — Russian EEU org in Dota 2 since 2012. Won five majors in 2017–2018.
- Xtreme Gaming — Chinese org, TI14 runners-up (2025).

## Dota 2 Glossary

- **Dota 2**: A multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Valve Corporation. Two teams of 5 players compete to destroy the opponent's Ancient structure.
- **Draft / Pick-Ban**: The pre-game hero selection phase. Teams alternate banning heroes from the pool and picking heroes for their lineup. Strategy and counterpicks are central to professional play.
- **BO1/BO3/BO5**: Series format. Best-of-1 (single game decides winner), Best-of-3 (first to 2 wins), Best-of-5 (first to 3 wins). BO2 (best-of-2, scored as 1-1 draw possible) also exists in group stages.
- **VOD**: Video on Demand — a recorded broadcast of a match, typically hosted on Twitch. Spectate Esports provides direct VOD links timestamped to game start.
- **GPM**: Gold Per Minute — a key economy metric measuring a player's gold income rate. Carries (position 1 players) typically have the highest GPM.
- **Radiant / Dire**: The two factions in Dota 2. Radiant = light side (bottom-left of map), Dire = dark side (top-right).
- **Roshan**: A powerful neutral boss on the map. Killing Roshan grants the Aegis of the Immortal (prevents death once) to the killing team's designated carry player.
- **Rampage**: Killing 5 enemy heroes within approximately 40 seconds. The highest kill streak achievement in Dota 2.
- **Divine Rapier**: A high-risk high-reward item (item ID 133) that grants massive attack damage but drops on the ground when the carrier dies. Teams purchasing it signal desperation or a decisive push.
- **Gold Swing**: A large shift in gold advantage between teams. Spectate Esports tracks swings of 20,000+ gold as a notable match event.
- **Mega Creeps**: Empowered lane creeps that spawn when all barracks of one team are destroyed. Extremely difficult to defend against without team coordination.
- **Tier 1 Tournaments**: Elite professional Dota 2 events with prize pools typically $500K–$40M. Organized by Valve partners (ESL, PGL, BLAST, WePlay) or Valve directly (The International).
- **Series Score**: The count of individual games won within a series. In a BO3, a 2-0 score means the winner won both games consecutively.
- **TI (The International)**: Dota 2's annual world championship organized by Valve. The largest prize pool in esports history. Teams qualify through regional leagues, direct invites, and regional qualifiers.
- **DPC (Dota Pro Circuit)**: Valve's official competitive circuit, used as the primary qualification pathway for The International from 2017 to 2023. Discontinued after TI12; current qualification uses tournament circuit points directly.
- **Carry (Position 1)**: A late-game scaling hero role that farms gold early to become powerful late. Highest GPM player on each team.
- **Midlaner (Position 2)**: Solo mid-lane hero, typically a playmaking or tempo-setting role.
- **Offlaner (Position 3)**: The "hard lane" solo hero, often a tanky or initiating role.
- **Support (Position 4/5)**: Utility and vision-oriented roles. Position 5 is the "hard support" who sacrifices farm for team utility.
- **Bracket Stage**: Playoff format using single or double elimination brackets. Upper Bracket winners have advantage; Lower Bracket losers are eliminated.
- **Group Stage**: Swiss system or round-robin format used in the early stage of tournaments to determine playoff seedings.
- **Aegis of the Immortal**: The item obtained by killing Roshan. Grants one free death (respawn in place) to the carrier.
- **Buyback**: Spending gold to immediately respawn after death. A critical decision point in late-game team fights.
- **Net Worth**: Total gold value of a player's items plus their bank gold. A key metric for assessing player economy and team advantages.

## Team Pages

Dedicated pages for each Tier 1 Dota 2 organization at /teams/{slug}. Each page covers organization history, TI championship record, iconic players, and a Liquipedia link for current rosters. All pages include SportsTeam schema.org structured data. Source: Liquipedia.

- [Teams Index](https://spectateesports.live/teams): All 10 organizations
- [OG](https://spectateesports.live/teams/og): 2× TI champion (2018, 2019). Iconic players: N0tail, Fly, ana, Topson, Ceb.
- [Team Liquid](https://spectateesports.live/teams/team-liquid): 2× TI champion (2017, 2024). Iconic players: KuroKy, Miracle-, MATUMBAMAN, GH, MinD_ContRoL.
- [Team Spirit](https://spectateesports.live/teams/team-spirit): 2× TI champion (2021, 2023). Iconic players: Yatoro, Collapse, TORONTOTOKYO, Miposhka, Mira.
- [Team Falcons](https://spectateesports.live/teams/team-falcons): TI14 champion (2025). Iconic players: skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t-, Sneyking.
- [Tundra Esports](https://spectateesports.live/teams/tundra-esports): TI11 champion (2022). Iconic players: skiter, Nine, 33, Saksa, Sneyking.
- [Evil Geniuses](https://spectateesports.live/teams/evil-geniuses): TI5 champion (2015), disbanded November 2023. Iconic players: Fear, SumaiL, UNiVeRsE, ppd, Arteezy.
- [Nigma Galaxy](https://spectateesports.live/teams/nigma-galaxy): Founded 2019 by four TI7 champions. Iconic players: Miracle-, KuroKy, GH, MinD_ContRoL, w33.
- [BetBoom Team](https://spectateesports.live/teams/betboom-team): Russian EEU org est. 2022. Iconic players: save-, gpk, TORONTOTOKYO, Nightfall, SoNNeikO.
- [Virtus.pro](https://spectateesports.live/teams/virtus-pro): Russian org in Dota 2 since 2012. Iconic players: No[o]ne, RAMZES666, Solo, 9pasha, RodjER.
- [Xtreme Gaming](https://spectateesports.live/teams/xtreme-gaming): Chinese org, TI14 runners-up. Iconic players: Ame, Xm, XinQ, Xxs.

Note: Team pages cover organizational history only. For current player rosters, see https://liquipedia.net/dota2/Portal:Teams

## Glossary Pages

Dedicated pages for each Dota 2 term at /glossary/{term-id}. Each page includes the term name, short definition, full definition, and related terms. All pages include DefinedTerm schema.org structured data.

- [Glossary Index](https://spectateesports.live/glossary): All 25 terms listed
- [Draft](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/draft): Hero pick-and-ban phase
- [GPM](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/gpm): Gold Per Minute metric
- [Roshan](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/roshan): Neutral boss objective
- [Rampage](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/rampage): 5-kill streak achievement
- [Divine Rapier](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/divine-rapier): High-risk high-damage item
- [Aegis of the Immortal](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/aegis): Roshan drop that prevents death
- [Mega Creeps](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/mega-creeps): Empowered creeps after all barracks fall
- [Buyback](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/buyback): Gold-cost immediate respawn mechanic
- [Net Worth](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/net-worth): Team economy metric tracked in gold graphs
- [First Blood](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/first-blood): First hero kill of the game
- [Smoke of Deceit](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/smoke-of-deceit): Team invisibility consumable for ganks
- [Ancient](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/ancient): Main win-condition structure
- [Barracks](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/barracks): Lane structures that unlock Mega Creeps when destroyed
- [BKB](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/bkb): Black King Bar — magic immunity item
- [TP Scroll](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/tp-scroll): Town Portal Scroll — teleportation consumable
- [Courier](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/courier): Item delivery unit
- [Carry](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/carry): Position 1 late-game scaling role
- [Support](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/support): Position 4/5 utility and vision roles
- [Offlane](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/offlane): Position 3 hard-lane solo role
- [Mid Lane](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/mid-lane): Position 2 center-lane solo role
- [Last Hit](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/last-hit): Creep kill mechanic for gold
- [Deny](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/deny): Allied creep kill mechanic to block enemy gold
- [Teamfight](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/teamfight): Multi-hero engagement over objectives
- [Bounty Rune](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/bounty-rune): Gold-granting map rune spawning every 3 minutes
- [True Sight](https://spectateesports.live/glossary/true-sight): Invisibility detection mechanic

## Editorial Articles

Spectate Esports publishes original editorial coverage of Tier 1 Dota 2 tournaments — daily analysis, team narratives, match previews, and storyline breakdowns.

- [Articles Index](https://spectateesports.live/articles): All published articles
- [BLAST Slam VII Coverage](https://spectateesports.live/articles?tournament=blast-slam-vii): Daily coverage of BLAST Slam VII (May 26–June 7, 2026, Copenhagen, $1,000,000 prize pool)

### BLAST Slam VII — Published Articles

- [The Old Guard Is Gone. Copenhagen Belongs to Someone New.](https://spectateesports.live/articles/blast-slam-vii-copenhagen-playoffs-preview) — May 30, 2026. Copenhagen playoff preview. LCQ result: Yandex and Aurora advance; Spirit, OG, Liquid, and Tundra eliminated. Copenhagen field: LGD Gaming and PARIVISION receive UB Semifinal byes; Team Falcons vs Team Yandex and BetBoom Team vs Aurora in UB Quarterfinals. Storylines: LGD's improbable debut (South American roster, Chinese org, won group 8-3), Falcons (TI14 world champions) facing LCQ survivor Yandex in the opening match, BetBoom (BLAST Slam I 2024 champions) seeking to reclaim the trophy.
- [Six Teams, Two Copenhagen Spots: Inside the BLAST Slam VII Last Chance Qualifier](https://spectateesports.live/articles/blast-slam-vii-lcq-preview) — May 29, 2026. LCQ preview. Final group stage standings: LGD Gaming 1st (8-3), PARIVISION 2nd (8-3), BetBoom 3rd (8-3), Falcons 4th (7-4). LCQ bracket: Spirit vs OG, Aurora vs Tundra (R1); Yandex and Liquid in R2. Result: Yandex and Aurora advanced; Spirit, OG, Liquid, and Tundra eliminated.

### BLAST Slam VII — Tournament Facts

- **Dates**: May 26 – June 7, 2026
- **Location**: Online group stage (May 26–29) + BLAST Studios Copenhagen, Denmark (June 4–7)
- **Prize pool**: $1,000,000
- **Format**: Bo1 round-robin group stage (12 teams) → Last Chance Qualifier (May 30, 6 teams, 2 advance) → Double-elimination playoffs (6 teams, Bo3/Bo5 grand final)
- **Teams**: Team Falcons (defending world champions), Team Yandex, PARIVISION (DreamLeague S29 winners), Team Liquid (BLAST Slam VI winners), Team Spirit, LGD Gaming, OG Esports, Tundra Esports, BetBoom Team, HEROIC, Aurora Gaming, GLYPH (SEA qualifier)

## Data Sources & Methodology

- **Match results and statistics**: OpenDota API (open source, community-maintained database of all Dota 2 matches). Typically indexes completed matches 30–90 minutes after a series ends.
- **Live scores and tournament structure**: PandaScore API (commercial esports data provider). Provides real-time game scores, tournament brackets, rosters, and stream links. Cached every 2 minutes.
- **VOD links**: Twitch Helix API. Stream channel matched via PandaScore stream metadata; VOD timestamp derived from match start time cross-referenced with Twitch broadcast history.
- **News**: Steam Community RSS (official Valve announcements), Liquipedia MediaWiki API (roster/transfer news parsed from Portal:Transfers), PCGamesN and Dot Esports (editorial RSS feeds), Currents API (aggregated esports coverage). Cached 30 minutes.
- **AI summaries**: Anthropic Claude Haiku for per-match summaries; Claude Sonnet for tournament summaries and analytics queries.
- **Calendar feeds**: .ics format (iCalendar) generated server-side from PandaScore match schedules. Served at persistent URLs for calendar app subscriptions.

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- Sitemap: https://spectateesports.live/sitemap.xml
- Live matches (JSON): https://spectateesports.live/api/live-matches
- Upcoming matches (JSON): https://spectateesports.live/api/upcoming-matches
- Tournament list (JSON): https://spectateesports.live/api/tournaments?mode=series
- News articles (JSON): https://spectateesports.live/api/news
- News feed (RSS 2.0): https://spectateesports.live/api/news?format=rss
- All-tournament calendar (.ics): https://spectateesports.live/api/tournaments?mode=calendar-all
- AI entity data (JSON): https://spectateesports.live/api/tournaments?mode=llms-data — Structured entity graph for AI systems: live/upcoming/completed tournaments, Tier 1 organizers, data sources, all 25 glossary terms with definitions, and all machine-readable endpoint URLs. Cached 1 hour.

## Optional

- [llms-full.txt](https://spectateesports.live/llms-full.txt): Extended version of this file with team history, full hero list, API response schemas, and historical tournament data.