Dota 2
Dota 2
“I’m just a man,” Spirit talks Yatoro GOAT status at TI 2023
William Davis
Team Spirit is back for another bombastic run at TI 2023, but the players are as cool, calm, and collected as ever. Despite not landing a single top-four finish at any DPC Majors, Team Spirit is still the winningest Dota 2 team of the year thanks to championships at Riyadh Masters and DreamLeague 21. Now the squad looks to once again claim the biggest trophy of them all in the …
Dota 2
Gaimin Gladiators threatens shaved heads at TI 2023
William Davis
Gaimin Gladiators is still the favorite despite an early fall to the lower bracket at TI 2023. The team of the year is looking to close off a perfect DPC season by claiming the Aegis of Champions in Seattle. However, a loss to Talon in the group stage deciding match has set the team back. WIN.gg got to catch up with the triple-major champion at The International to learn how …
Dota 2
Breakout squad nouns talks coach love and role swaps at TI 2023
William Davis
nouns wasn’t a popular pick to make the playoffs of TI 2023, but now the squad is five series away from a potential championship. Shopify Rebellion was thought to be North America’s best hope at The International, but with just eight teams remaining, nouns is the sole representative of the region. The squad is charging into the final stretch with the home-field advantage and is sure to be a favorite …
Dota 2
Who is Joel? The chat meme taking over The International
William Davis
Dota 2 fans tuning in to watch The International 2023 may be surprised and confused by the chat’s celebration of someone, or something, named Joel. The International always brings a new meta, new builds, and new memes for the Dota 2 community to enjoy. TI 2023 is no exception, and the chat memes are heating up in preparation for the final weekend. Between sarcastic questions about Shopify Rebellion and fake …
Dota 2
How is the low prize pool actually affecting TI 12?
William Davis
TI 12 is in full swing, but does the startingly low prize pool take away from the excitement? Dota 2 is going through some strange times. While massive gameplay patches and free cosmetics are fantastic for the casual player base, the competitive side has been going through it. The cancellation of the Dota Pro Circuit and the relatively tiny TI prize pool signal a major shift in how professional Dota …
Dota 2
How much does the TI 2023 Aegis statue cost?
William Davis
The real-life Aegis reward has returned in the TI 2023 Compendium, but what’s the absolute minimum amount it will cost you? One of Dota 2’s many time-honored traditions is the chance for fans to earn their very own Aegis of Champions as a reward for supporting The International. 2023 is no different, and Valve has already revealed what the newest tiny trophy will look like. In fact, this year’s souvenir …
Dota 2
How many TI 2023 Compendium levels can you earn for free?
William Davis
The TI 2023 Compendium has given Dota 2 fans another chance to score an Aegis statue, but can you get enough levels for free? The community reception for the new International Battle Pass replacement has been mixed, to say the least. The removal of cosmetics and a smaller pool of rewards will likely result in a minuscule prize pool, though there are still quite a few in-game souvenirs to pick …
Dota 2
TI 2023 Compendium launches with new rewards
William Davis
TI 2023 is fast approaching, and Dota 2 fans can finally celebrate with the in-game compendium. While the days of an arcana and immortal-stocked battle pass are over, Dota 2 fans still have plenty to celebrate with today’s update. The International 2023 Celebration Update, which was released on September 27, 2023, has added in-game support for the year’s biggest esports event with plenty of ways for players to get involved. …
SumaiL lawsuit against Evil Geniuses to move to trial
William Davis
Dota 2
After years of legal troubles, the lawsuit between Dota 2 star Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan and his former sponsor Evil Geniuses is finally going to trial. Earlier in 2023, it was revealed that SumaiL had been embroiled in legal troubles with his former esports organization Evil Geniuses. The dispute over converted shares has now reached a fever pitch and there is allegedly a court date for the issue to go to …
Quinn proves behavior score is broken, and Valve responds
William Davis
Dota 2
Three-time major champion Quinn Callahan may have finally met his match in the new Dota 2 behavior score system. Valve has taken many steps to make Dota 2 a less toxic game, but devious players will always find a way to abuse it. In the case of Gaimin Gladiators mid laner Quinn, that means being unfairly targeted for doing literally nothing at all. After more than a dozen matches with …
Dota 2 starts massive smurf ban wave, are you guilty?
William Davis
Dota 2
A smurf ban wave has left 90,000 Dota 2 accounts in the dust and Valve isn’t stopping there. The smurf ban wave was revealed in an official Dota 2 blog post in early September of 2023. Valve claims that more than 90,000 smurf accounts were affected by the wave, with all of them being permanently banned from matchmaking. In traditional Valve fashion, all of those accounts’ items are now locked …
The results of the TI 2023 regional qualifers
William Davis
Dota 2
The regional qualifiers of TI 2023 have finished, and the results are in for which teams scored a last-minute trip to Seattle. Regional qualifiers for The International are some of the most electrifying events in all of Dota 2. While the events themselves don’t have any prize pool at all, they grant emergency access to the most prestigious event in the game. After weeks of preparation, the winners of each …
Dota 2 introduces new conduct system, here’s how it work
William Davis
Dota 2
The old conduct system of Dota 2 has been replaced with something much more complex, and it could mean getting barred from ranked matchmaking. Dota 2 is one of the most toxic gaming communities in the world, and many fans are just barely willing to put up with it. However, Valve is constantly making an effort to improve things. This year’s fall update included one of the most comprehensive overhauls …
How neutral denies work in Dota 2 and how to abuse it
William Davis
Dota 2
Neutral denies are one of the most misunderstood mechanics in Dota 2, but they can be game-winning plays if pulled off properly. Dota 2 is full of complicated mechanics. From hundreds of unique interactions to thousands of unexpected synergies, there’s always something to get you out of a difficult spot. In the case of neutral denies, this unintended mechanic allows players to purposefully die to jungle creeps. But why would …
How to get free skins for Dota 2’s 10th anniversary
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 just added a ton of anniversary skins to celebrate ten years, so here’s how to get them. Dota 2 has changed a lot in the last ten years, enough that a time-traveling gamer may not even recognize it. All along the way, millions of players and Valve itself have driven the game forward. Now, the company is paying it back to the community with a new set of …
How to play Witch Doctor, the best hero in Dota 2 7.34
William Davis
Dota 2
After months of boring carry domination, the best hero of Dota 2 7.34 is a fan-favorite position five. Considering all of the massive changes added in 7.33, Dota 2 fans didn’t expect too much out of 7.34. However, Valve has gone above and beyond to deliver a sizable patch for The International 2023. Standout changes have flipped the meta on its head, and while now-universal Invoker is getting the most …
The new best heroes of Dota 2 7.34
William Davis
Dota 2
Dota 2 patch 7.34 is finally here, and as with any big patch, the mantle of best heroes must be passed on. A new patch means tons of things to experiment with and explore in Dota 2. From the exciting new Shard reworks to upgraded abilities, the meta could be turned completely upside down. This patch is especially important since it will be the balance update for The International 2023. …
Dota 2 finally has a punishment for breaking items
William Davis
Dota 2
Watching your carry breaking their items is one of the most disheartening things in all of Dota 2, but now there’s finally a punishment for it. The Dota 2 community is, despite the efforts of its best players, statistically toxic. From voice chat abuse to intentional feeding, it can feel like the worst members of the community never get their comeuppance. However, Valve has secretly added a new system to …
TI 2023 prize pool could be the lowest in years
William Davis
Dota 2
The International is famous for its ridiculous prize pool, but 2023 may put up the smallest prize yet. 2023 is a transformative year for Dota 2. Gaimin Gladiators has swept every major for the first time in history, and the New Frontiers update is the biggest shakeup since the transition to 7.00. However, another major change may be bad news for the highest competitive level of the game. Based on …
Team Spirit wins Riyadh Masters, earns $5 million grand prize
William Davis
Dota 2
In a repeat of their success at The International 10, Team Spirit came in clutch to win one of the biggest prize pools of all time at Riyadh Masters. With the prize pool for TI likely to drop even further this year, Riyadh Masters could be the biggest purse for Dota 2 in 2023. With $15 million on the line, the best Dota 2 teams in the world pulled out …
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.
