Nobody saw that coming.
TI11 Playoffs kicked off today (October 20) and following two series, the live broadcast welcomed someone the Dota 2 scene had long missed- James "2gd" Harding. After almost 8 years since he last hosted for The International, 2gd makes his return to the hosting desk at TI11.
Right after the Team Secret vs PSG.LGD series on day one of TI11 Playoffs, the audience saw the entrance of 2gd - who approached the panel desk and sipped his 'whiskey' then said:
"It's a good year. Welcome back to The International, I'm your host James "2gd" Harding - sorry I'm not Sheever. We've had problems with.. no wait, wrong time," 2gd joked. "My adrenaline is killing me I haven't been on camera for 8 years since I hosted The International and I'm very excited to be back. If you wonder where I was.. it was low priority. Not sure who reported me but I'm here now."
The spectators roared in excitement, welcoming the old-school host after a long absence from the Dota 2 scene. Some talents and orgs also celebrated his return!
Here is a clip of 2gd at the panel of TI11.
Now who is 2gd and why did he disappear from Dota 2?
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Who is James "2gd" Harding?
James "2gd" is an English personality who hosted three consecutive TIs before: TI2, TI3, and TI4. He is well-known for being brazen and oftentimes irreverent during hosting which some find entertaining but also borderline disrespectful.
However, the biggest story surrounding 2gd is during the 2016 Shanghai Major, which was the last time he ever hosted a Dota 2 event (until today!). Shanghai Major was arguably the worst Valve Dota 2 Major of all time which saw horrendous production flaws that are talked about until this very day.
A day after the tournament began, Valve abruptly fired 2gd and Valve CEO, Gabe Newell himself posted on Reddit to clarify why: "James is an ass and we won't be working with him again."
Source: Reddit
2gd then posted his side of the story, suspecting that Valve fired him due to bad blood with a Valve employee and it erupted during the Shanghai Major. Since then, 2gd stopped appearing as a broadcast talent.
Almost seven years later, 2gd is back at the front of TI11. There are a lot of questions regarding what happened between 2gd and Valve and why he is back on the panel this time. Nobody knows. But right now, the nostalgia feels great!
