Dota 2
Dota 2
Spectre wins Arcana Vote in the TI10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
The winner of the Arcana Vote in The International 10 Battle Pass has been revealed. The next hero to receive an arcana skin in Dota 2 is Spectre. The ghostly super-carry beat out Faceless Void in the final vote by a margin of 27,475,258 to 24,948,538, or 52.4% to 47.6%. The purple cores beat out every other Dota 2 hero, with Witch Doctor and Sniper also reaching the semifinals. There …
Dota 2
N0tail claps back at Team Secret after smack talk towards OG
Steven Rondina
The OG vs. Team Secret rivalry is getting better every day. During ESL One Germany, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein was asked about the social media shade Team Secret has been sending his way over the last few months. N0tail was generally dismissive of the matter and basically said that the record between the two teams speaks for itself. “I would say there’s always been a build-up every year…especially after [The International …
Dota 2
TI10 final prize pool clears $40 million minutes before closing
Steven Rondina
The International 10 Battle Pass is officially closed. After 137 days, the TI10 Battle Pass generated an enormous sum of cash, boosting the postponed event’s prize pool to $40,004,772. This shatters the previous record set by The International 2019, which had a prize pool of $34,330,068. That prize pool comes despite constant controversy around the battle pass among Dota 2 fans. Though the battle pass season is typically a highlight …
Dota 2
Forev joins Team Adroit as stand-in after stint with Fnatic
Fariha Bhatti
Filipino organization Adroit Esports has announced that it has parted ways with offlaner Prince Vince “Bensoy” Enriquez. He will be momentarily replaced by veteran Lee “Forev” Sang-don, who will serve as a stand-in. “Today, we will be releasing Prince Vince “Bensoy” Enriquez. We thank him for his time and dedication given to the team. We wish him good luck in his future endeavors. To fill in the void of the …
Dota 2
4AM cuts Dota 2 veteran Sylar after just 24 hours to sign Eurus
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 veteran Liu “Sylar” Jiajun seemed to be poised for an excellent 2020-2021 season with a new team. That lasted for just 24 hours. One day after announcing its inaugural Dota 2 lineup, Four Angry Men has dropped its carry player. This comes after other players on the lineup took a pay cut in order to cover the transfer fee of previously rumored carry player Zhang “Eurus” Chengjun. As …
Dota 2
4AM officially reveals new Dota 2 team with Somnus, fy, Yang
Steven Rondina
After months of rumors and speculation, Four Angry Men has officially unveiled its inaugural Dota 2 roster. The organization best known for its PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds squad has put together a super team of Chinese Dota 2 stars. Though the lineup for the team has been rumored for months, but 4AM’s debut lineup wound up being a bit different than what was expected. The debut Four Angry Men roster will be: …
Dota 2
Former FlyToMoon player Flow succumbs to cancer at age 25
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 pro Alexander “Flow” Sazonov has passed away. According to Russian caster Vitalii Nikolaevich “v1lat” Volochai, the offlaner succumbed to cancer after a prolonged battle with the disease. He was 25 years old. The news was revealed by v1lat on Twitter. Rest in peace, Flow! Ты боролся до конца, но эта зараза оказалась таки сильнее…#fuckcancer — Vitalii Volochai (@v1lat) September 30, 2020 Maincast confirmed the news not long …
Dota 2
TNC Predator kicks March despite success in SEA region
Steven Rondina
TNC Predator had a very successful Dota 2 season, but that isn’t stopping the team from making some serious changes. The organization announced the departure of captain Park “March” Tae-won. This is the latest big move in what has been an active shuffle period for the Southeast Asian region, and the first major change to TNC’s lineup this year. “We would like to thank Park Tae-won for his efforts in …
EternaLEnVy says SumaiL is still the best Dota 2 player in NA
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
What’s Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao’s favorite food? What’s the meaning behind his nickname? Which does he love more between Dota 2 and anime? And who does he think are the best Dota 2 players in the world? These questions and many others were answered when the popular player sat down for a silly interview with Kim “Febby” Yong-min. Some of the queries were hearty fun while others were decidedly NSFW, but …
Dota Plus hasn’t been updated for one full year, is it dead?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve is willing to take users’ money when it comes to Dota Plus, but the company isn’t especially keen on giving back. September 26, 2020 marks the one year anniversary of the last Dota Plus content update. This has many crying foul when it comes to Valve’s handling of the subscription service, and further strengthens Dota 2 fans’ skepticism regarding Valve’s commitment to the MOBA. The Dota Plus Autumn Update …
NiP vs. Vikin.gg BTS Pro Series playoffs betting odds, analysis
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Though it’s been overshadowed by the OGA Dota PIT League Season 3, BTS Pro Series’ Europe and CIS tournament has also delivered the goods for fans. The group stage has wrapped up and the playoffs are set to kick off this weekend. The second upper bracket match sees Vikin.gg and Ninjas in Pyjamas face off. This is a relatively fresh matchup despite both teams being very active of late, and …
Virtus.pro deactivates Dota 2 team ahead of ESL One Germany
Fariha Bhatti
Dota 2
After a string of poor results, Virtus.pro is looking to rebuild its Dota 2 division. The Russian organization announced that it will be skipping ESL One Germany 2020 as a result. The news comes only a couple of days after rumours surfaced that Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev would be re-joining the team, while Danil “gpk” Skutin joined sister team VP.Prodigy. It is currently unknown how drastic Virtus Pro’s roster revamp will …
KuroKy misses OGA Dota PIT Season 3 with injury, return unsure
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi will not be returning to Team Nigma’s starting roster quite yet. The team announced on Twitter that its captain remains out of commission due to ongoing medical issues. As a result, coach Roman “rmN-” Paley will continue filling in the No. 5 spot for the OGA Dota PIT Season 3 event. Our Captain is still recovering????@NigmaKuroKy is still going through his treatment and @rmN_dota will be …
The numbers say these are the best pro players in Dota 2 today
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Tracking the best Dota 2 players in the world is a difficult endeavor. But using a new algortihm, we can help. There are six regions that operate in unison almost year-round, with 2020 seeing them compete in a nonstop grind of regional leagues. There’s just too much Dota 2 for any one person to keep up with, never even mind sorting through who the best individual players are. That’s why …
Na’Vi releases 3 players, looks to rebuild for next DPC season
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Natus Vincere’s 2019-2020 Dota 2 team has been generally disappointing and that has the organization clearing the slate once again. The organization has announced the release of most of its Dota 2 roster. Carry Vladyslav “Crystallize” Krystanek, mid laner Nikita “young G” Bochko, and off laner Pavel “9pasha” Khvastunov have all been released from the team. This leaves the organization with just two players in supports Alexander “Immersion” Hmelevskoy and …
OG star and TI champ Topson announces birth of his first child
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
A two-time The International champion is now a one-time father. Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen announced the birth of his first child on social media. The OG mid laner and his girlfriend Mawar Remy welcomed a daughter into the world. It’s a girl, Mawar and I couldn’t be happier and the birth went smooth. I love her so much already ???? pic.twitter.com/rKy7N5CTjH — Topias Taavitsainen (@TopsonDota) September 18, 2020 The news …
The numbers say that these are the 10 top-ranked teams in Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The first installment of the official WIN.gg Dota 2 rankings is here. Dota 2’s pro scene has been moving from a handful of international live events to a long grind of online regional leagues. That has made for a top 10 that pays homage to the top dogs from each region during this time. Omega League essentially served as the end to the 2019-2020 Dota 2 season, and it’s worth …
Immortal Treasure 3 arrives in TI10 Battle Pass, date extended
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
At long last, the Immortal Treasure 3 has arrived in The International 10 Battle Pass. The long-awaited loot crate is the last major component of the TI10 Battle Pass with the 2020 Trove Carafe likely cancelled. Fans have been clamoring for the item for weeks, with Valve slow to deliver due to struggles with its development output. The Immortal Treasure 3 includes common treasures for Lich, Oracle, Clockwerk, Pugna, Treant …
Fnatic splits with iceiceice, drops eyyou after just one week
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The massive roster shuffle that’s sweeping China’s Dota 2 secene has seemingly reached the shores of the Southeast Asia region. Fnatic has announced a major change to its Dota 2 roster, splitting from Daryl Koh “iceiceice” Pei Xiang after two years due to the expiration of his contract. With that change, Fnatic is also dropping newly added captain Nico “eyyou” Barcelon after just one week. As part of our Dota …
New Chinese all-star team formed by PUBG org Four Angry Men
Fariha Bhatti
Dota 2
After months of speculation, Chinese organization Four Angry Men has finally revealed its star-studded Dota 2 roster. The organization best known for its PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds team has been at the center of rumors since announcing its plans to expand into Dota 2 in early June. The roster includes former Vici Gaming players Zhang “Eurus” Chengjun and Zhou “Yang” Haiyang, former PSG.LGD captain Xu “fy” Linsen and mid laner Lu “Somnus” …
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.
