Dota 2
Dota 2
Dota 2 player count dips despite the launch of TI10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
May was a huge month for Dota 2, with a load of pro games to watch and the launch of The International 10 Battle Pass. It’s generally a great time to be a Dota 2 player, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that more people are playing Dota 2. After three consecutive months of gains, Dota 2’s player base actually dropped in May. According to Steam Charts, Dota 2 had an …
Dota 2
Valve just increased the rewards for every TI10 Battle Pass owner
Steven Rondina
Valve has heard fans’ outcry regarding The International 10 Battle Pass, and it has responded. The publisher rolled out a small Dota 2 update that increased the BP rewards for several different aspects of the battle pass. This follows several days of fans griping that Valve was making it more difficult to earn levels and premium rewards without spending significant amounts of cash. In particular, the latest Dota 2 update …
Dota 2
MbS has reportedly spent over $6,000 on TI10 Batle Pass
Olivia Richman
One of the biggest spenders in Dota 2 is Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, according to reports. Since the International 2020 Battle Pass arrived two weeks late, the Saudi Crown Prince has spent over $6,000 on his account that has the handle Purrrrrfect Devil Angel Yukeo. WIN.gg could not independently verify whether the account belongs to MbS. The battle pass attached to the evel 14,430 in just four days, which …
Dota 2
Why is OG still struggling with stars Topson and SumaiL?
Steven Rondina
OG arguably has the most talented Dota 2 roster in the world and stands as the reigning The International champions. So how come they’re losing so much right now? That’s the question that fans of the team are asking these days as the squad has hit the skids over recent months. Despite competing with its full roster, thanks to Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen and Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng being back …
Dota 2
Dendi’s B8 drops two players after 26-game losing streak
Jared Wynne
The last couple of months have not been kind to Danil “Dendi” Ishutin. Dota 2’s most popular player has had a hard time adjusting to life after Natus Vincere, with his B8 organization going on a record-breaking, 24-game losing streak earlier this year. Due to the team’s consistently poor form, Swedish carry player Steve “Xcalibur” Ye and Serbian support Nikola “LeBronDota” Popovic have been released from the roster. Xcalibur addressed …
Dota 2
TI10 Battle Pass drives prize pool over $10 million in 3 days
Steven Rondina
The International 10 Battle Pass has already hit another milestone. The prize pool for TI10 has cleared the $10 million mark. This came less than 72 hours after the TI10 Battle Pass’ launch, with this milestone being reached faster than any other previous installment. The success of the TI10 Battle Pass in its first few days is music to the ears of both Valve and pro Dota 2 players. Though …
Dota 2
Quincy Crew reveals new Dota 2 roster after Biver goes on hiatus
Jared Wynne
Quincy Crew’s Malthe “Biver” Winther has announced that he will be taking a break from the competitive Dota 2 scene. The Dane cites both fatigue and lack of motivation as the driving factors behind this decision. In his official TwitLonger statement, Biver said that he plans to return but will be taking a break for an indefinite length of time. “In the last month or so, I’ve been dealing with …
Dota 2
Dota 2 caster harassed by players using TI10 Battle Pass’ guilds
Steven Rondina
The guild system in Dota 2 is a fun addition to the game, bringing with it a new twist on the daily hero challenge system and new ways to find party members. It also brings with it new moderation issues that Valve may not ever properly address. Dota 2 caster Michelle “Moxxi” Song took to Twitter to discuss a negative experience she had stemming from the new guild system. During …
The best way to play the new Sideshop in the TI10 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
One of the most surprising additions to Dota 2 in this year’s battle pass, and one of the most poorly explained, is the new Sideshop mini-game. Sideshop might look familiar for those who played Dota Auto Chess or the various knockoffs it inspired, such as Dota Underlords or Teamfight Tactics, but it’s going to be a mystery to everyone else. Even for those who actually play auto-battlers, there’s no real …
TI10 Battle Pass already breaking records after one day
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
The International 10 Battle Pass has broken the 24-hour sales record. Once again, the Dota 2 community proved its loyalty and passion for the game. The TI10 Battle Pass generated $32.6 million in 24 hours, and consequently bumped TI10’s prize pool to $8.1 million. First 24 Hours — TI9 shattered pretty much every record but somehow the Dota community manages to shatter even that crazy record with another new one. …
Alliance completes roster by adding Gambit Esports’ fng
Jared Wynne
Dota 2
After standing in Alliance for the past month, Belarusian support and Gambit Esports captain Artsiom “fng” Barshak has officially joined the Swedish team on a 2-month loan. Artsiom will be playing his usual hard support role for Alliance, but it still remains unclear if he will be taking over captaining duties from current in-game leader Gustav “s4” Magnusson. fng has been one of the CIS region’s most successful captains in …
The TI10 Battle Pass launch is delaying rewards, crashing servers
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
When The International 10 Battle Pass launched in Dota 2, fans of the game were stoked. Players have been calling for an early release for months now and even though it actually arrived behind schedule, it had enough cool new features to make it feel like it was worth the wait. Naturally, that had fans scrambling onto their Dota 2 client in order to purchase the battle pass. Though the …
Your guide to everything in The International 2020 Battle Pass
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
It’s a few weeks late, but The International 2020 Battle Pass has arrived. Valve has officially shipped the Dota 2 update, bringing back the popular TI crowdfunding mechanism to the game. This follows prolonged fan outcry that called for an early release of the battle pass, egged on by a steadily rising player count online. The TI10 Battle Pass contains all the standard fixings of other recent installments, but with …
Topson back in Europe, likely to return to playing for OG soon
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
OG has been one of the better teams in Dota 2 in this new online league era, and it’s set to get even better. The two-time The International champions announced that mid laner Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen has returned to Europe. This likely means that Topson will be returning to active competition for the first time since February. The news was revealed on Twitter: Look who’s just landed in Europe!#DreamOG …
TI10 Battle Pass release date finally announced by Valve
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Update: The International 10 Battle Pass has officially launched. Find out all the details here. Fans finally have an exact date for the long-awaited The International 10 Battle Pass. Valve put out a post on the official Dota 2 Twitter account that simply said “Tomorrow.” While this would normally be a mystery, a piece of media embedded includes a stylized Aegis of the Immortals, the trophy awarded at the end …
Na’Vi changes Dota 2 roster ahead of ESL One Birmingham online
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Natus Vincere is pinning its hopes on a former Vega Squadron captain. But not the one they’ve been playing with for the last few months. The organization announced the signing of Vitaliy “so bad” Oshmankevich to a trial contract with the team. He replaces Semion “CemaTheSlayer” Krivulya after just two months on Na’Vi’s roster. Though CemaTheSlayer has performed well, logistical difficulties and an inability to properly boot camp were pointed …
Aster vs. Sparking Arrow Gaming DPL-CDA Pro League betting analysis
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
The DPL-CDA Professional League has given fans some great Dota 2 competition to watch, but the tournament is in its final week of competition. Although EHOME has secured the top spot, four teams remain on the battlefield to fight for seeding. The matchup between Team Aster and Sparking Arrow Gaming will mark the last series of the tournament. Who will claim the last victory? …
Team Secret goes on crazy winning streak after loss to Alliance
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Team Secret is back to its winning ways. The team now records a 14-0 recent record after a dominating run at OGA Dota Pit 2020 Online Europe and CIS. Team Secret has secured the grand finals spot at OGA Dota Pit 2020. But before that, the team claimed the championship title in the huge charity event Gamers Without Borders. In OGA Dota Pit, fans expected Team Secret to top its …
OG, SumaiL just took a big loss to Team Secret in OGA Dota PIT league
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
OG is still alive in the OGA Dota PIT Online league, but the team is not in good shape. OG took an utter drubbing at the hands of Team Secret in the upper bracket finals, leading to a 2-0 series loss. The first game was incredibly bad for OG. In the first 10 minutes, Sebastian “Ceb” Debs died four times as Dark Seer. That was offset to some degree as …
Abed becomes first to reach 11,000 MMR, tops Dota 2 leaderboards
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Abed “Abed” Azel L. Yusop is the first player to reach an MMR of 11,000. Once again, the Filipino player has made history by breaking the record for highest MMR in the history of Dota 2 and raised the bar on the Dota 2 leaderboards. 11k :) pic.twitter.com/mzWRYqLo3L — Abed (@abedyusop) May 13, 2020 Abed became the first Dota 2 player to reach 10,000 MMR in June 2017, with that …
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.
