December 5, 2021 It’s Day 5 and PSG.LGD finally face off against their TI8 rivals, OG (formerly Monkey Business), in one of the most anticipated matches of the International Dota 2 Championships in Shanghai. Luckily, esports researcher and MIT professor T. L. Taylor joins us to discuss our experiences both inside the stadium during an intense match full of cheers and jeers and then outside during an equally intense session of bartering for blind boxes, swag bags, and secret shop spoils. From one of the most memorable matches of the tournament to tournament memorabilia, in this episode T. L. helps us make sense of the monkey business.

T. L. Taylor, Raising the Stakes: E-Sports and the Professionalization of Computer Gaming, Watch Me Play: Twitch and the Rise of Game Live Streaming, The International Day 5, PSG.LGD vs. OG, World Cyber Games (WCG), Professional Gaming League (PGL), 云玩家 yún wánjiā (cloud player), Nick Taylor, Dreamhack, Demoscene, Sleep No More, Pauline Hanson quote, 旗袍 qípáo, Anti Defamation League, "Free to Play? Hate, Harassment, and Positive Social Experiences in Online Games", Dotakins Blind Boxes, Squishy Keychain Blind Bags, Shanghai Media Group (SGM), Imba TV, We Love Fine/For Fans By Fans/Good Smile, Dota Buff, Sabina “Lawliepop” Hemmi, AnyKey, Morgan Romine, Electronic Sports League (ESL)