Those are all factors, and brainwashing is also a problem. But beyond that, Trumpism is to a certain extent the logical conclusion of the American culture. He represents a perverted yet unabashed and clear representation of the American Dream - at least the illusion of Trump does.

The me-first thinking, the worship of capitalism, the shameless revelry in gaudy displays of tasteless wealth - it's all there. It's completely unsurprising to me that someone like him would appeal to a lot of Americans. There are a lot of people who idolise and wish they themselves could be like the image he projects.

OP, why did you editorialise the title? Much like the other commenter I was initially offended on Uematsu's behalf, but after clicking the link I noticed the original headline was:

How Final Fantasy maestro Nobuo Uematsu legitimised video game music

Mix of poor quality players, injuries and sloppy handling of games/late collapses. Having to/choosing to play Michael Keane so much is not doing them any favours either. I do think they'll survive in the end, though, buy we'll see. They don't have the advantage of three other astronomically poor teams in the bottom this season, unlike last time.

Compounded, I'm sure, by an often full diaper. Must be quite the bouquet.

I think Valve is completely hands-off when it comes to pro Dota now. They single-handedly organised the first five Internationals, after which they slowly and gradually started offloading more and more responsibilities onto PGL. That's why it's been a slow process, TI6 for example (considered by many the best TI of all time) was still mostly a Valve event.

Dota 2 probably isn't high on the list of their profit sources but I hope they'll still give a moderate amount of care to it.

I don't think profitability is a major factor, to be honest. Valve gets enough money from Steam to do whatever they want, and they've demonstrated many times over that they're not primarily motivated by making money when it comes down to what projects they choose to undertake - or not undertake, for that matter.

I think they used to be really passionate about Dota, and that passion is just not there to the same extent anymore. Valve employees are allowed to do pretty much whatever they want, and over the years I assume the amount of people who want to be involved with Pro Dota has dwindled.

There still seem to be enough people around that still care about the game itself, at least. It's still getting updates and new content, so there's that.

I didn't watch all the matches or see all the goals, but from what I've seen it's hard to look past Duran's screamer against Everton. I'm not usually one to go for the long range efforts, but it's rare to see that type of swerve.

UPCOMING

Assassin's Creed Shadows

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Go home Polygon, you're drunk.

I'm happy Liquid won, I think the old HoN trio deserve it, I think Nisha really deserves it and 33 is of course a great player too. I'm glad the Liquid redemption story vs GG gave us at least one memorable story and moment from this TI, which otherwise has felt fairly bland.

I've touched on it before but TI losing its magic is very sad to me. It's been in decline for a few years already, but it's more obvious now than it ever has been that Valve's investment in Dota is just not what it once was. This was the first TI Valve was fully hands-off with - from now on its 100% a PGL product and I think it shows.

I miss True Sight, it's one of the best things related to TI. I miss seeing more of the games in front of a crowd (they even seemed to filter out the crowd noise?). I miss the Lategame with Pyrion Flax aftershow. I miss player profiles and video archive snippets (patience from Zhou!). I miss the All-Star games, despite them being goofy and sometimes terrible.

TI is just another LAN event now, and that's such a shame when you think about the heights of what it once was.

Which is an extremely important distinction. "I'm sorry you were offended" is not a true apology, and everyone should be aware of this whether regarding Trump or other bullies you may encounter in your life.

Reminder that he is a malignant narcissist, and is biologically incapable of accepting blame, responsibility or personal faults. As per the Narcissist's Prayer:

That didn't happen.

And if it did, it wasn't that bad.

And if it was, that's not a big deal.

And if it is, that's not my fault.

And if it was, I didn't mean it.

And if I did, you deserved it.

It's an underappreciated fact that art direction trumps graphical fidelity, and it's not close. Grim Fandango for example is old as dirt but still holds up remarkably well thanks to its unique look and strong art direction, despite being challenged polygonally and resolution-wise etc. There are many other examples.

Would have preferred a regular livestream with all donations going to the Gaza cause rather than a paywalled stream.