Game 3 featured a lighter, crowd-driven draft with humans winning and the AI’s chances estimated at around 2.9 percent, offering a morale boost.

Observers noted the AI’s relentless aggression, decisive timing, and rapid execution (including frame-perfect courier actions), challenging for humans to counter.

In the opening clash, the AI seized an early lead through precise teamwork and coordination, forcing the human team to surrender at about the 21-minute mark.

By the 20th minute, OpenAI’s heroes had snowballed, with Game 2 ending at 24 minutes as AI dominance shifted crowd sentiment away from the human side.

The second match remained competitive early, as humans exposed minor AI weaknesses, yet the AI still surged to victory at roughly the 24-minute mark.

Fogged suggested that if given the chance, the bots could beat pro teams at The International 2018, underscoring optimism about AI’s strategic potential.

Experts discussed broader implications, including using AI as a training tool for pro teams and ongoing work to improve AI in hero/item adaptation and counter-strategies.

OpenAI hosted a live San Francisco event where OpenAI Five faced five professional Dota 2 players in a high-profile exhibition.

OpenAI Five, a neural-network–driven Dota 2 AI, competed in a 5v5 showcase against top human players in 2018.

OpenAI framed the Dota 2 project as part of a larger mission to advance artificial general intelligence by tackling complex, dynamic environments.

Staff described the effort as progressing toward AGI through self-learning in a challenging setting like Dota 2.

The human squad consisted of Blitz, Cap, Merlini, MoonMeander, and Fogged, all renowned high-level players with cautious optimism facing the AI.