Dota 2
Esports Betting
PGL Wallachia Season 7 preview: Stand-ins and predictions
Owen Harsono
PGL Wallachia Season 7 is set to be one of the most interesting events of the year, as multiple high-profile teams are forced to bring in stand-ins. Here’s everything you need to know about PGL Wallachia Season 7, including our predictions. Dates: 7 March 2026 – 15 March 2026 Prize Pool: $1,000,000 Participants: 16 Venue: PGL Studio, Bucharest, Romania (LAN) 16 teams will duke it out at PGL Wallachia Season …
Esports Betting
Team Liquid vs Aurora predictions: DreamLeague S28 Lower Bracket Final
Owen Harsono
Team Liquid will face off against Aurora in the lower bracket final of DreamLeague Season 28, with the winner booking a date with Tundra Esports in the grand final. Here are our predictions for the Team Liquid vs Aurora DreamLeague Season 28 match. Tournament: DreamLeague Season 28 Stage: Playoffs (Lower Bracket Final) Game: Dota 2 Format: Best of 3 Betting tip: Team Liquid and Aurora have already faced off twice …
Kick
Kick streamer Matthewdota’s 2026 net worth revealed
Khizar Mundia
Already famous for his pro Dota 2 career, Farith “Matthewdota” Puente’s net worth is substantial and it can also be explained by his new Kick streaming career that catapulted him to greater recognition. Esports players, current and retired, make up a significant portion of gaming-focused streamers, and that number is actively growing on Kick. Former Overwatch player Felix “xQc” Lengyel is one of the platform’s figureheads, and others such as …
Dota 2
These are the best Dota 2 streamers to watch on Twitch
M Alzamora
Dota 2 remains one of the best and most popular esports in the world, and the iconic MOBA is also one of the most-watched categories on Twitch with some great streamers consistently putting out new content for the game. And for those interested in betting on the game, these top livestreamers will go a long way in helping you to better understand the game and how to bet on it. …
Esports Betting
DreamLeague Season 27: Best odds and betting favorites
Steven Rondina
DreamLeague Season 27 is the last big Dota 2 tournament of 2025, but who are the betting favorites to win, and which teams have the best odds to take advantage of? Though Christmas is coming soon, Dota 2’s biggest stars are still busy. DreamLeague is bringing together all the top teams for a $1 million online tournament to close out the year. Picking the winners for Dota 2 tournaments has …
Dota 2
The biggest esports winners of September 2025
Steven Rondina
The September esports calendar was dominated by a handful of huge events in prominent titles. Dota 2, Rocket League, and Fortnite all crowned new world champions. Valorant kicked off its own season-ending tournament, while the contenders for the League of Legends World Championship September was a big month of action in a few different major esports titles, though this also made for a light schedule. Other tournaments largely got out …
Dota 2
When’s the end date for Crownfall in Dota 2?
William Davis
Crownfall has been one of the best Dota 2 events of all time, but with Act 4 drawing to a close, what date marks the end of the celebration? Crownfall was an experiment for Dota 2 events, and by most accounts, it was a success. The four-events-in-one idea featured tons of fun content both in-game and out, with tons of skins to collect and minigames to grind. They weren’t all …
Dota 2
Here’s what happened to KuroKy, and what’s next for Nigma
Steven Rondina
Nigma Galaxy has returned to form and become one of the top teams in Dota 2 esports, but fans might be wondering what happened to Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi. For two years, Nigma Galaxy was among the best Dota 2 teams in the game. The fan-favorite squad led by KuroKy and his former Team Liquid cohorts maintained a strong presence in the European regional scene and qualified for multiple majors …
True Sight is gone, but ESL has the next best thing
William Davis
Dota 2
The wait for the new True Sight commemorating The International 2022 may never end, but a tournament host has stepped in to fill the void in fans’ hearts. True Sight remains one of the most acclaimed esports documentary series ever created. The series ran sporadically until a grand finale for The International 2021, but Valve appears to have officially axed the series after rumors of its cancellation. This is a …
The best Christmas gifts for Dota 2 fans
William Davis
Dota 2
Christmas is right around the corner, and any Dota 2 fan would love a gift commemorating their favorite video game. With over 120 characters and two decades of history, Dota 2 remains one of the most popular games on the planet. Valve’s competitive MOBA draws in millions of players every day, and the competitive scene is still going strong in 2024. For people with a Dota 2 fan in their …
Juggernaut may get a persona soon, here’s why
William Davis
Dota 2
Juggernaut is one of Dota 2’s most beloved carry heroes, and his fantastic arcana may soon be joined by a persona. Personas are Dota 2’s way of visually reworking heroes while keeping their gameplay intact. The first was a complete remix for Anti-Mage that turned him into his own student named Wei. Since then, players have seen Pudge become a plushie, Dragon’s Blood characters cosplay as themselves, and Phantom Assassin …
With Kez, how many heroes are in Dota 2?
William Davis
Dota 2
One of Dota 2’s claims to fame is its massive roster of heroes, but just how many are there to pick from? Thanks to more than two decades of continued development, Dota 2 boasts one of the biggest character select screens in all of gaming. Valve’s competitive MOBA continues to grow in 2024 with two additional heroes, Ringmaster and Kez. While the latter was originally teased at The International 2023, …
Parker benched after throwing: Dota 2 drama explained
William Davis
Dota 2
Heroic star David “Parker” Nicho Flores has benched after an apparent throw in a qualifier match, but that’s just where the drama starts. Dota 2 fans are no stranger to pro player egos, but the latest incident featuring Heroic’s carry player is an extreme example. During the qualifier for ESL Bangkok, carry Parker appeared to intentionally lose the match during a major team fight. Shortly after the game, Heroic announced …
Deadlock leaked as Valve’s hero shooter inspired by Dota 2
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
A trusted video game leaker has shared Valve’s next game, and it sounds very familiar. Joining Overwatch 2 and Marvel Rivals as the latest hero shooters, Valve is allegedly bringing us Deadlock, a third-person hero shooter that has players battling in teams of six versus six. It won’t be your average hero shooter, however, if leaks are to be believed. Related | Players hopeful after Valve adds Overwatch to expose …
BLAST entering Dota 2 esports with five tournaments
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
BLAST has just announced that it’s entering the Dota 2 esports scene with five competitive events in 2024 and beyond. BLAST is an esports entertainment company that has successful esports series like the Fortnite Champion Series, Rocket League Championship Series, and more. Now, BLAST wants to add Dota 2 to its growing list of esports titles. There have been five announced BLAST tournaments for the 2024 and 2025 series for …
Dota 2 Crownfall update: What’s new?
Fariha Bhatti
Dota 2
Dota 2’s Crownfall update has arrived and while some players may be disappointed by the lack of a new hero, the event itself is quite impressive. First announced in February, Crownfall is a highly anticipated update that promises tons of new additions to the game. Players had expected Ringmaster to arrive with this update, but that’s not the case. Instead, Crownfall brings a four-part in-game lore event, Arcanas, treasures, coins, and more. Dota 2 Crownfall update is based on …
1win accuses ESL One Birmingham of favoring OG after Visa issues
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
1win has responded with shocking information after the Dota 2 team was disqualified from ESL One Birmingham over Visa issues. On April 9, ESL One Birmingham shared an official team update after 1win was unable to field an eligible roster in time for the tournament due to Visa issues. Even more shocking to fans, the next EEU team that qualified for that slot were also unable to attend over Visa …
Dota 2 players react to Crownfall delay
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
The Crownfall update is arriving later than expected to Dota 2. Dota 2 players have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of a massive update called Crownfall. Unfortunately, it looks like Crownfall’s release date is much later than previously planned. With the announcement of Crownfall came a lot of excitement from Dota 2 players. They started speculating when the big update would come, prompting Valve to explain that it wasn’t coming …
The top Dota 2 heroes dominating the meta in 7.35b
William Davis
Dota 2
7.35b is a very fun patch. All the new toys added in the Frostivus update have finally found homes, from Khanda and Clinkz to Unwavering Condition and Medusa, the new balance patch has added a ton of new combos. However, when it comes to grinding out MMR, a few heroes have risen to the top of the win rate charts. If you’re looking to build expertise on the meta and …
Next Dota 2 battle pass, Frostivus event teased by Valve
William Davis
Dota 2
The long-awaited battle pass is finally headed to Dota 2, and Valve has already left clues on its release date. Patch 7.34e is finally here, and Valve likely anticipated some disappointment with the tiny letter patch. The developer hopes to make up for it with some hints for future Dota 2 updates, including both the next seasonal event, Frostivus, and the return of new arcanas in a battle pass. Both …
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.
Esports Betting
BLAST Slam 6 outrights preview: Best picks and predictions
By
Steven Rondina
Esports Betting
Team Spirit vs Parivision: DreamLeague 27 finals day betting odds, tips
By
Steven Rondina
