Dota 2
Dota 2
Team Spirit tops Secret, heads to TI10 finals against PSG.LGD
Steven Rondina
Team Spirit is headed to The International 2021 finals while Team Secret will be left watching on. The Russian underdog run continues to roll as Team Spirit secures a shot at the Aegis of Champions. They’ll face tournament favorites PSG.LGD in the grand finals to determine the team who wins the $18.2 million top prize. Team Secret exits the tournament in third place with a prize of $3.6 million. Though …
Dota 2
The International 10 finals betting picks and analysis
William Davis
Of the 18 greatest Dota 2 teams in the world, only three remain in contention for the biggest prize pool in esports history. Only two matches are left to be played at The International 10. The lower bracket finals will determine which team deserves a second chance at the $18 million grand prize. The winner of that match will then face PSG.LGD in the best-of-five grand finals. This match is …
Dota 2
Season 2 trailer for DOTA: Dragon’s Blood drops at TI10
William Davis
Fans of the DOTA: Dragon’s Blood got their first taste of the show’s second season during The International 2021 with a new trailer. Right after a nailbiter series between Team Secret and PSG.LGD, Valve gave fans a first look at the second season of DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. Netflix previously confirmed a second season of the Dota 2 anime, but this is the first look fans have gotten at the new …
Dota 2
PSG.LGD secures first TI10 finals spot with win over Team Secret
Steven Rondina
PSG.LGD is the first team headed to the grand finals of The International 2021. The tournament favorite lived up to expectations in the upper bracket finals, taking down a surging Team Secret in 2-0 fashion. While it’s hardly a surprise that PSG.LGD played as well as it did, the team’s ability to handily dispatch an elite opponent cemented elite status in the finals regardless of the opponent. Game one was …
Marci revealed as Dota 2’s next new hero at TI10
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve missed the boat earlier this year, but the company is finally giving fan-favorite DOTA: Dragon’s Blood character Marci her due. After The International 2021’s upper bracket finals match between PSG.LGD and Team Secret, Valve showed a trailer to promote the second season of DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. While that would’ve been worthy of excitement all on its own, another trailer was seamlessly added, showing Marci fighting a bunch of Dire-side …
Health issues at TI10 affect multiple casters and hosts
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
While the in-game action at The International 2021 has been great, things outside of the game continue to be shaky. Valve has confirmed that two positive test results came in among people working or competing at TI10. The individuals were identified and quarantined with contact tracing following from there. During the broadcast, commentators and analysts all wore masks but remained fairly close to one another as they worked. Valve did …
OG Ceb to retire from Dota 2 after seventh-place run at TI10
William Davis
Dota 2
Nothing lasts forever, not even the richest roster in pro Dota 2 history. OG offlaner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs has announced his intention to retire from competitive Dota 2. The surprise announcement comes after OG took an unexpected early exit from The International 10. Ceb is now the third member of OG’s two-time TI championship roster to bow out from esports. After two victories at The International, Ceb will retire as …
OG eliminated from TI10 after wild plays go wrong
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota 2
After two back-to-back The International trophies, OG lost the chance to win a third this year. The team was eliminated in the main event’s lower bracket, after losing to Team Spirit 2-0. This followed an upper bracket loss to European rivals Team Secret. Fans had big expectations for OG heading into TI10, but a couple of things seemed to go wrong. OG’s offlaner Sébastien “Ceb” Debs had an emergency eye …
Evil Geniuses out of TI10 after 2-1 loss to Vici Gaming
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses is headed home in what will likely be viewed as a huge disappointment for one of the tournament favorites. North America’s final team took a 2-1 lower bracket defeat to Vici Gaming. That sends the team home with a shared ninth-place finish and a $800,400 check. The series opened with a sprint of a game that saw Evil Geniuses get on the board first. Things were even into …
OG knocks out Quincy Crew, SumaiL beats YawaR at TI10
William Davis
Dota 2
OG has triumphed over Quincy Crew to remain in contention at The International 10. The two-time defending champion defeated the North American challenger in a competitive 2-0 series. The match featured a notable showdown between safe lanes. Quincy Crew carry Yawar “YawaR” Hassan is the older brother of OG carry Syed “SumaiL” Hassan. After this dramatic victory, OG will advance through the lower bracket to face Team Spirit. Quincy Crew …
iceiceice reveals biggest difference between NA & Chinese Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses has long had the ability to attract elite Dota 2 players, but the 2020 signing of Daryl Koh “iceiceice” Pei Xiang was a bit of a surprise. iceiceice joined Evil Geniuses as its starting offlaner in November 2020, replacing Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev. So how did that signing come to pass? WIN.gg spoke with Evil Geniuses to get a rundown on how the team came to be and what …
OG talks prize money, TI drafts, and Topson’s chad status at TI10
William Davis
Dota 2
Even after two The International championships, OG is still the most playful team in Dota 2. WIN.gg had the opportunity to speak with 2021 lineup of OG at TI10. After suffering an early loss in the upper bracket to Team Secret, OG is fighting for the three-peat from the lower bracket. Through the press conference, OG answered questions about the $40 million prize pool, the legacy of carry Io, and …
Team Secret crushes OG to kick off TI10 playoffs
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Team Secret flew under the radar during The International 2021 group stage but may actually be a contender for the Aegis judging from its playoffs win over OG. Team Secret debuted in the playoffs with a victory over OG. While things were looking dicey for a time, Secret showed that it has the skills and the fearlessness to thrash the two-time championship organization. While Johan “N0tail” Sundstein and company entered …
The International 10 playoffs betting picks and analysis
William Davis
Dota 2
The best Dota 2 team in the world is about to win $18 million, but they’re not the only ones profiting from The International 10. The International 10 group stage is the second-best Dota 2 betting opportunity of 2021. The absolute best will be the playoffs stage. Every match at TI10 is extremely high stakes. A $40 million prize pool will produce truly show-stopping plays and daring drafts. Almost every …
TI10 Secret Shop opens with new exclusive Dota 2 merch
William Davis
Dota 2
Valve has finally revealed the official merchandise line for The International 10. The International 10 Secret Shop is now available online for Dota 2 fans around the world. This year’s collection includes several community contributions presented on clothing, water bottles, pins, and more. Valve has also created a small collection of official TI10 sportswear, including a full tracksuit. There are two different TI10 Secret Shops, one for the United States …
Thunder Predator becomes 1st team eliminated from TI10
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Thunder Predator is the first team eliminated from The International 2021. The South American squad couldn’t survive the third day of groups and will be heading home from TI10 as a result. After starting the group stage with a 0-10 record, the team was put into a do-or-die match against Team Aster where it needed a 2-0 sweep in order to stay alive in the tournament. Thunder Predator lost the …
Few games have proven to have the resilient popularity enjoyed by Dota 2. The multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA for short, has been among the biggest and most successful projects released by gaming giant Valve, and it continues to enjoy great popularity to this day.
That popularity has endured despite a great number of changes that have been made to both the game itself and to the communities surrounding it. The competitive title’s history reaches all the way back to another game created and published by another developer, but with Valve now leading the way, Dota 2 seems primed to last well into the future.
From Blizzard to Valve, Dota 2 continues to evolve
While know today as one of Valve’s key game properties, Dota 2 has its origins in a real-time strategy game developed and published by famed video game company Blizzard. One of the franchises that keyed Blizzard’s success and reputational growth in the games industry is WarCraft, which today is best-known for the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) World of Warcraft.
But prior to the success of World of Warcraft, the high-fantasy franchise was experienced through a series of RTS games. The third main title in that series, WarCraft 3, provided players not only with a great experience right out of the box, but also with the opportunity to heavily modify the game and its functions, and to play modified versions of the experience as custom games online with other players.
The most popular of these custom game modes was arguably Defense of the Ancients, or DotA for short. This custom game mode saw two teams of players face off against each other with strong individual champion characters, as opposed to building out complex home bases and developing broad armies of diverse units.
It was an entirely different way to play the game, and it proved so popular that would eventually give birth to an entirely new genre of video games: the MOBA genre.
The continuation of the original DotA became Dota 2, a project developed under the guidance of famed developer and publisher Valve. Flush with success from online marketplace Steam and its own franchises including Half-Life and Portal, Valve was more than willing to invest in this new and innovative game type.
The International sets Dota 2 apart
While there have been many other competitive games created and released since, including other popular MOBAs such as Riot Games’ League of Legends, Dota 2 has stood apart for remaining true to its roots and for massive competitive events like The International. First held in 2011 for the purpose of bringing together disparate competitive teams from all around the world with more than $1 million on the line, the esports tournament quickly grew into the biggest such event of each calendar year.
One of the main drivers behind that immense growth was the upwards trajectory of the tournament’s prize pool. Partially funded by Dota 2 players and esports fans, the prize pool for The International began increasing in 2013 and eventually ballooned to a massive total of over $40 million by the time 2021 rolled around. For the groups of players and coaches who climbed this mountain and won its top prize, it was a truly life-changing event.
For varied reasons, Valve eventually soured on running the event itself and on the idea of having so much money filtered into one specific event. Prize winnings were dropped significantly in 2022, and even further for the 2023 and 2024 events. But despite the prizes on hand no longer being quite so astronomical, The International still boasts a prize in the low millions, and it remains the biggest event on the Dota 2 competitive calendar and arguably on the greater esports calendar across all games.
Dota 2
Dota 2
Dota 2
Dota 2
