Dota 2
Dota 2
SumaiL kicked from OG roster as Ceb returns to action
Steven Rondina
OG put together one of the most star-studded Dota 2 rosters of all time, but it did not stick together for very long. The organization has announced that it is removing Syed “SumaiL” Hassan from its Dota 2 roster. Taking his spot on the team on a full-time basis is former coach Sébastien “Ceb” Debs. The news was announced on OG’s official website. OG will be competing with the following …
Dota 2
Valve issuing bans to TI10 Battle Pass guild cheaters
Nina Forneloza
Players are finding plenty of new ways to guarantee they receive free BP from their TI10 Battle Pass, and Valve isn’t especially keen on that. The return of guilds to Dota 2 became the best way way to boost one’s Battle Pass quickly, replacing the previous daily hero challenge and weekly challenge systems with guild contracts. Another option for free BP that is theoretically separate from guilds is the wagering …
Dota 2
The International 10 prize pool surges past $30 million
Steven Rondina
The International 10 Battle Pass continues raising millions of dollars for the tournament. The prize pool of TI10 has officially cleared the $30 million mark in just over 60 days. This continues the roaring pace of the prize pool’s growth, fueled by the incredible popularity of Dota 2’s battle pass. This happens just a bit beyond the halfway point of the TI10 Battle Pass’ life span, positioning TI10 to blow …
Dota 2
Immortal Treasure 2 arrives for The International 10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
The Immortal Treasure 2 has finally arrived in The International 10 Battle Pass. The long-awaited case has landed in Dota 2, bringing with it a new set of fancy skins for Dota 2 fans with high-level battle passes. The Immortal Treasure II includes common skins for Sven, Magnus, Slardar, Troll Warlord, Witch Doctor, and Silencer. The rare skin is a new one for Jakiro, which alters the hero’s wings. This …
Valve co-founder Gabe Newell is stranded in New Zealand
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve has been doing some big things in recent months, launching The International 10 Battle Pass and shipping a number of large updates to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. But company co-founder Gabe Newell hasn’t been around for any of it. His absence isn’t actually by choice. The famous face of Valve has been stuck in New Zealand since March. After shipping Half-Life: Alyx, Newell and others took what was meant to …
Winstrike resets Dota 2 roster before Omega League qualifiers
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Winstrike Team’s Dota 2 woes continue on with yet another big roster shake-up. The organization has announced the benchings of Stanislav “чикиряу” Yarosevich, Sergey “[T]SA” Timchenko, and Dmitriy “kickeed” Pilyaev. They are set to be replaced by Kamil “agressive child” Biktimirov, Maxim “re1bl” Afanasyev, and Andrey “Dukalis” Kuropatkin. The team also added Danial “yamich” Lazebny on loan from Khan. The sole remaining player from the previous Winsrike roster is Vladislav …
Are T1 and Forev about to do something big in Dota 2?
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
There aren’t many esports organizations that have a truly reputable and global brand, but T1 is definitely one of them. The SK Telecom T1 League of Legends team achieved a level of success that few have been able to come close to, dominating the international scene for years. Alongside that was SKT sponsoring top StarCraft 2 players such as Park “Dark” Ryung-woo, Lee “INnoVation” Shin Hyung, and Eo “soO” Yun-su, …
Evil Geniuses’ Cr1t- set to join Ninjas in Pyjamas as stand-in
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Ninjas in Pyjamas is still playing short-handed in Dota 2 right now, but the team has a very special guest set to compete on its roster. During the OGA Dota PIT League Season 2, NiP will be utilizing the talents of Andreas Franck “Cr1t-” Nielsen. The organization announced on its website that it will be having the Evil Geniuses support player stepping in as a replacement for the recently released …
OG looks to continue expansion outside Dota 2, eyes Peru and Asia
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
OG has a top Dota 2 team and a top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team, but that isn’t the end of the organization’s ambitions. Newly minted OG CEO JMR Luna sat down with The Esports Observer and discussed the industry. Included in the talk was his future plans for the organization, with a focus on further expansion both in terms of the games it competes in and where its players come …
Nerfs to Winter Wyvern, Disruptor in Aghanim’s Labyrinth anger fans
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
In an unsurprising turn of events, Dota 2 fans are mad about something in The International 10 Battle Pass. This time, the controversy surrounds the limited-time game mode Aghanim’s Labyrinth. While the game is intensely difficult to clear even in low-level play, Valve saw fit to make things even harder by nerfing several of the heroes in the game. The update changes a number of facets to each of the …
RodjER splits from HellRaisers ahead of Omega League qualifiers
Jared Wynne
Dota 2
Hellraisers has announced that it will be parting ways with veteran Russian Dota 2 support player Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan. “I’m grateful to my teammates and organization for everything we’ve been through. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to agree on certain things Dota-wise. I wish the guys luck and patience. I also want to thank you, our fans, for your support. It was always a pleasure to read your positive comments.”, RodjER …
Bloodseeker gets huge buffs after 7.27 rework drops win rate by 20%
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 update 7.27b delivered loads of changes to heroes, something that not everyone benefited from equally. Just two days later, update 7.27c has dropped. This delivers desperately needed changes to the heroes that were reworked in 7.27b, as well as changes to some other heroes. 7.27b brought reworks to Razor, Clinkz, and Bloodseeker, and all three heroes saw their win rates either spike or plummet. This resulted in extensive …
These are the best moments from Arteezy’s wild Twitch streams
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
With Evil Geniuses taking a break from competition, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev has been much more active on Twitch of late. That has treated fans of the star carry player to a good bit of fun over the last few days. Though Arteezy doesn’t really set out to be a comedy act while streaming, he’s delivered more than a few laughs. The biggest came during a game as Juggernaut, where he …
Vici Gaming vs. Sparking Arrow Gaming DPL-CDA League betting analysis
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
DPL-CDA Professional League is in its second season, and once again boasts top teams from the Chinese region. 10 teams are on the battlefield for a chunk of the $186,000 prize pool. This week marks the last lap of the tournament. Vici Gaming remains atop the rankings with 13 games won. Meanwhile, Sparking Arrow Gaming sits in the middle of the crop. The scores are not far from each other, …
OG, Secret, Liquid, and more join together to form Omega League
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 10 being indefinitely postponed has left a huge void in the Dota 2 pro scene calendar this season, but a number of enduring organizations are looking to fill the gap. Team Liquid, OG, and Team Nigma are among the teams coming together to create the Omega League. The new competitive event features a $550,000 prize pool, will involve European, CIS, and North American teams, and will run from …
Bloodseeker and Clinkz get huge reworks in Dota 2 patch 7.27b
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 update 7.27b was always meant to be a big update, and Valve did not disappoint. Following the sweeping changes to items, the economy, and the jungle in version 7.27, version 7.27b changed the vast majority of heroes in the game and gave reworks to three different heroes. It also changed a number of different items, particularly regarding the ability to disassemble them. The biggest change to a hero …
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
