Dota 2
Dota 2
Valve gives update on TI10 being canceled, how DPC will return
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 is in the worst place it ever has been, and Valve is finally willing to talk about it. Valve released a blog post entitled “Update on Competitive Scene” that provided more information on the indefinite postponement of The International 10, the cancellation of the Dota Pro Circuit, and the future of the competitive scene. Though it does little to answer the fan outcry that has become increasingly loud …
Dota 2
Bloodseeker surges after zai’s epic Omega League performance
Steven Rondina
Team Secret is a trendsetter in Dota 2 and fans have gotten a great example of that over the last couple of weeks. During the Omega League Europe Immortal group stage, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg raised eyebrows by locking in Bloodseeker. The hero has been struggling for relevance since being reworked in version 7.27b, but that didn’t stop zai from using him twice as Secret scored quick victories over OG. Dota …
Dota 2
Omega League Americas division sees match fixing accusations
Steven Rondina
Match fixing is one of the biggest problems facing the Dota 2 pro scene right now, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. The Omega League Americas Ancient division is nearing its conclusion and one of the finalists is being accused of a number of shady dealings. A Redditor compiled a list of accusations against xixihaha, the team set to play against business associates in the finals of the …
Dota 2
Team Secret vs. Evil Geniuses Omega League playoffs betting analysis
Nina Forneloza
Team Secret and Evil Geniuses will face off in the upper bracket in the OMEGA League playoffs. It’s a matchup that hasn’t been seen since January at the DreamLeague Season 12 major, and it’s one fans ought to look forward to. Both teams looked rock solid in the group stage, so who will prevail here? Team Secret has consistently proven that it is the strongest Dota 2 team in the …
Dota 2
Everyone’s angry at Valve after Dota Pro Circuit and TI10 delays
Steven Rondina
Fans and pundits are officially done with Valve’s handling of the pro Dota 2 scene. A regular voice on important topics in Dota 2, caster Kyle Freedman spoke out on Valve’s poor handling of the Dota Pro Circuit and The International 10. During an Omega League broadcast, he questioned how Dota 2 wasn’t fully operational when all other notable esports, and even traditional sports leagues including the NBA, are back …
Dota 2
Virtus.pro beats Evil Geniuses to make Omega League playoffs
Steven Rondina
Virtus.pro sneaked into the Omega League Europe Immortal division playoffs with a critical win over Evil Geniuses. The Russian squad had an even record heading into its final match of the round robin group stage, and needed to defeat North America’s best in order to earn a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. They did so with a hard-fought 2-1 series victory. The series kicked off with a brutal throw by …
Dota 2
Puppey has Team Secret looking like the best team at Omega League
Steven Rondina
Team Secret has remained perfect in the Omega League Europe Immortal division group stage. That’s not much of a surprise, but what did come as a surprise was how easily the team pulled that perfection off. After advancing to 4-0, Secret closed out its round robin with a match against OG. While the expectation was a competitive affair between two of Europe’s best teams, it was instead an absolute stomp …
Dota 2
Valve cancels TI10 Battle Pass Trove Carafe 2020
Steven Rondina
With just a few weeks left in its lifespan, Valve is now pruning down on the benefits of The International 10 Battle Pass. A Dota 2 developer took to Reddit and delivered the bad news that the Trove Carafe 2020 will likely not be arriving as a part of the TI10 Battle Pass. Alongside that, he stated that other parts of the battle pass may not actually arrive as previously …
Omega League EU Divine sees HellRaisers, Cyber Legacy dominate
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The Omega League Europe Immortal division has been getting the majority of the attention at the Dota 2 event, but the Europe Divine division features some great teams has also been interesting. The most interesting of those teams competing has been Cyber Legacy lineup. The squad of CIS veterans made its debut at the event and demolished the competition in the group stage with a 5-0 run. After taking 2-1 …
Quincy Crew, beastcoast headline Omega League Americas playoffs
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The group stage to the Omega League Americas Divine division has wrapped up and the event’s top teams are largely moving forward. Quincy Crew, 4 Zoomers, Thunder Predator, and beastcoast have secured upper bracket starts in the playoffs. There will also be a play-in stage to determine the two teams that will compete in the lower bracket. The scheduled matchups for the Omega League Americas Divine division include: Play-In: business …
Spectre gets nerfed into the dirt with Dota 2 patch 7.27d
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
After rapid fire patches in early July Valve gave Dota 2 a chance to settle, the meta has started to grow a bit stale, and the company has responded by delivering a big shakeup. Dota 2 update 7.27d is now live. As per usual, the patch delivers nerfs to some of the most powerful heroes in each meta while also giving a bit of a boost to those who are …
The International 10 breaks prize pool record set by TI9
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 10’s prize pool has been growing at an unprecedented rate since the launch of the TI10 Battle Pass, and it has hit yet another major milestone. The TI10 prize pool has officially cleared the $34,330,068 mark, which was the final prize pool amount for The International 2019. With that, The International 10 now has the largest prize pool in esports history. The news comes as little surprise to …
19 new heroes potentially discovered in hidden Dota 2 files
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Data mining is a big part of the news cycle for a number of popular video games, but it hasn’t really been a major phenomenon in Dota 2. Until now. A Reddit user went waist deep into Dota 2’s files and made an incredible discovery. Hidden within Dota 2 are 19 unreleased heroes that have been built to varying levels of completion. Some have little more than a code name …
Valve updates indefinite delay for TI10 and Dota Pro Circuit
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 10 is going to be one of the biggest events in esports history, but nobody knows when it’s going to happen. After an extended silence, Valve gave an update on the status of TI10 and the return of the Dota Pro Circuit. Unfortunately, the update is that there is no immediate update. The news was revealed on Twitter: In following how the pandemic has been developing globally, the …
Dota 2 mod brings League of Legends champions into the game
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Ever wanted to play as League of Legends champions Ashe, Veigar, or Annie in Dota 2? Well fear not, a mod has been created to satisfy that very desire! Dota 2 but League Heroes is exactly what it sounds like. The custom game mode takes a group of League of Legends champions and drops them into Dota 2, utilizing Dota 2’s game engine, mechanics, and items. Players can play a …
Aster parts ways with Fade and Sccc, adds ex-Royal Never Give Up stars
Fariha Bhatti
Dota 2
Chinese organization Team Aster has announced some massive changes to its starting roster. Dota 2 legend and Aster co-founder Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei revealed that the team has parted ways with renowned carry player Song “Sccc” Chun, mid-laner Kee Chyuan “ChYuan” Ng and captain Pan “Fade” Yi. Replacing the trio are Liu “白学家” Yuhao, Du “Monet” Peng, and Jiang “天命” An. Replacing Sccc in Aster’s lineup is Royal Never Give Up …
Omega League Asia division sees surprise victory for 496 Gaming
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
In a surprise turn, a Vietnamese team dominated the Omega League Asia Divine Division. Besting a number of formidable foes from both China and Southeast Asia, 496 Gaming walked away with a $14,000 top prize. This was a huge win for the little-known team. ⚡️@496_dota are the Champions of the OMEGA League Asia Divine Division⚡️Congratulations on your well-deserved title!Read more: https://t.co/cYWk4AjxYq#OMEGAdota @DOTA2 #WePlayOMEGA pic.twitter.com/h7TmTO0OqK — WePlay! Dota2 | #WePlayOMEGA (@WePlayDota2_) …
Dota 2 streamer Attacker has officially joined Team Nigma
Jared Wynne
Dota 2
Team Nigma has announced the signing of Mohammed “Attacker” Almheiri as the team’s first official streaming personality. Although the signing might come as a surprise considering the recent streaming controversy involving Gorgc and OG, it looks as though Nigma have different things in mind with Attacker. The team has been promoting Dota 2 in the MENA region, most notably through the Rising Stars tournament that boasted a $10,000 prize pool. …
MATUMBAMAN schools NiP with mid Lycan in Omega League
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The ending of the “Zoo Meta” seemingly meant the end of Lycan’s relevance in professional Dota 2, but Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen must not have read those patch notes. In Team Secret’s second match of the Omega League Europe Immortal Division, the star player ran wild on Ninjas in Pyjamas using the split pushing specialist. Though Michał “Nisha” Jankowski has been getting most of Secret’s reps in the mid lane, …
Fans are already upset with new Pudge arcana in TI10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The fourth premium skin of The International 10 Battle Pass has arrived. The Toy Butcher hero persona for Pudge has been added to Dota 2. The skin joins previously released arcanas for Queen of Pain and Wraith King. It also comes following the launch of the controversial Anti-Mage hero persona. As with other hero persona skins, the Toy Butcher reimagines Pudge’s character while keeping his in-game skills and abilities 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.
