Dota 2
Dota 2
Nigma picks hard support Sniper, gets eliminated from ESL One LA
Nina Forneloza
Chicken Fighters wound up defeating Team Nigma in ESL One Los Angeles’ Europe and CIS league, thanks in part to a failed support Sniper draft in game two. Chicken Fighters and Team Nigma were pitted against each other in a do-or-die lower bracket series. Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi’s team kicked things off with a convincing win against Chicken Fighters. Chicken Fighters evened the field when Nigma tried to experiment with …
Dota 2
Valve wants to shorten Dota 2 game lengths with update 7.26
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 update 7.26 has arrived, and it’s a very strange one. While actual version changes typically consist of a slew of sweeping changes to the game including changes to heroes, items, and buildings, the 7.26 update is exclusively composed of core gameplay changes. The full patch notes are short enough to be included here: Attributes no longer provide Magic Resistance, Spell Amplification, and Movement Speed for Strength, Intelligence and …
Dota 2
Virtus.pro, Team Secret go undefeated in ESL One LA group stage
Nina Forneloza
Virtus.pro and Team Secret have ended the ESL One Los Angeles Europe and CIS league’s group stage with perfect 7-0 records. Virtus.pro is peaking right now. After several roster shakeups and underwhelming tournament results, the Russian team is finally bringing its A-game. The team was grouped with back-to-back The International champions OG and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi’s Team Nigma. Despite that stiff competition, Virtus.pro posted an impressive 7-0 score in …
Dota 2
CDEC’s Xm is the first Chinese Dota 2 player to reach 10,000 MMR
Nina Forneloza
Guo ‘Xm’ Hongcheng has become the first Chinese player to reach the highly coveted 10,000 MMR ranking. Indeed, the 10k MMR club is growing bigger and bigger. China recorded its first Chinese member of the 10k MMR club as Xm joined the elite list of players with five-digit MMR. ???? Congratulations to CDEC.Xm on reaching 10K MMR!#StarLadder #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/hAbc6ZkaMK — StarLadder Dota 2 (@StarLadderDota2) April 14, 2020 Malaysian player Cheng …
Dota 2
Epic Prime League kicks off, boasts top CIS teams Virtus.pro, B8
Nina Forneloza
EPICENTER will host the first season of Epic Prime League, a new online league featuring top teams from the CIS region. The full list of participants includes the following: Virtus.pro Team Spirit VP.Prodigy FlyToMoon Winstrike Team Team Unique Cyber Legacy B8 Virtus.pro headlines the list of participating teams, with the Russian squad loaning Igor “iLTW” Filatov from Team Spirit. iLTW has replaced Zaur “Cooman” Shakhmurzaev, who was benched after Virtus.pro’s …
Dota 2
NiP beats Na’Vi in 93-minute game with 10 Divine Rapiers purchased
Nina Forneloza
After an hour and a half, Ninjas in Pyjamas managed to put away Natus Vincere in a group stage showdown in ESL One Los Angeles’ European and CIS league. Na’Vi kicked off the series with a win thanks to Idan “MagicaL” Vardanian’s dominating performance as Queen of Pain. That victory wound up being a hollow one, as the second game lasted for 93 minutes, the longest game of the tournament. …
Dota 2
Secret perfect in ESL One LA, despite MATUMBAMAN Rapier fail
Nina Forneloza
Team Secret kicked off 2020 ESL One Los Angeles’ regional league with a winning streak. The top squad in Dota 2 has so far continued to make its fans proud with an almost perfect run in the group stage. Through six days of competition, the team is 4-0 in its series, with a map record of 8-1. The European team has gone up against Team Liquid, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Natus …
Dota 2
Oceanic Esports launches league for aspiring Dota 2 pros in Australia
Nina Forneloza
Oceanic Esports is looking to boost its region with a new Dota 2 league. The tournament organizer has announced its first effort in honing the talents from Oceania with the Oceanic Esports League, featuring up and coming teams from Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, the selected teams are not five-man stacks. Oceanic Esports gathered the top captains from the two countries and these captains will choose their teammates from an …
Ninjas in Pyjamas cuts Universe due to COVID-19 travel restrictions
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Ninjas in Pyjamas has released Saahil “Universe” Arora from its roster. The departure of the former The International champion came after NiP’s decision to restructure the team due to the recent shift to online regional leagues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The reshuffle aims to ensure continued practice and competition for the team. “We’ll keep searching for the right lineup, with the right combination of hunger, skill and winner …
This is how to play Riki just like Arteezy and Miracle-
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 fans can be forgiven for not noticing, but Riki has quietly become a viable carry at the professional level. Earlier this year, names like Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and Du “Monet” Peng broke out the stealthy hero and used him to great effect as a carry. Time is showing that this wasn’t just a gimmicky pick that happened to take opponents by surprise, though. The ESL One Los Angeles …
Evil Geniuses, TNC, Cloud9, and more to compete in BTS Pro Series
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Beyond the Summit has announced the BTS Pro Series, an online league featuring top Dota 2 teams from the southeast Asia and Americas regions. With the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the Dota 2 tournament calendar, event organizers are finding “new” ways to bring the action to fans. Beyond the Summit is among that lot, revealing the BTS Pro Series. The online leagues have a total prize pool of $100,000, divided …
TNC and Fnatic announce charity showmatch for COVID-19 relief
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
TNC Predator and Fnatic will face off in a charity showmatch to help in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. Southeast Asia’s top teams will compete in a best-of-five series. Interestingly, the series will take place in a reverse captain’s mode format. This means the captain of each team will draft their opponents’ heroes. The beef between TNC and Fnatic all started when Fnatic mocked TNC Predator for missing out on …
Breaking down the comparison between Dota 2 and League of Legends
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Many MOBA games have come and gone over the years both as mods and as standalone titles. The only two that have stuck around as popular esports are Dota 2 and League of Legends. At face value, both games are quite similar. They have the same format, objectives, and general controls. But because both games are so deep and have so much nuance to them, there still remain many differences. …
LGD adds Black^ and Ahjit to new LGD International Dota 2 roster
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
LGD International has announced some new additions to its team. Dominik “Black^” Reitmeier is returning to the organization he played for seven years ago, and will be joined by Malaysian journeyman Lai “Ahjit” Jay Son. This move coomes after LGD International underperformed in its debut in the ESL SEA Championship Open Qualifier. It was followed by another disappointing result at Hainan Master Spring Invitational SEA Qualifier. The LGD International roster now …
Dota 2 star ana featured in Asia’s Forbes 30 under 30 list
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Anathan “ana” Pham has graced the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list. Forbes recognized ana for his huge success at The International 2018 and The International 2019. OG won more than $26 million by winning the two events. Forbes 30 under 30 is an annual list for top young entrepreneurs and leaders in industry change. The list includes different industries such as arts, finance, sports, healthcare, media, and many more. …
Evil Geniuses wins first event since 2018 at ESL One Los Angeles
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses has taken first place in the ESL One Los Angeles North American division. The team placed first at the expense of three other North American teams, with the final standings shaking out as follows: Evil Geniuses Quincy Crew CR4ZY business associates Evil Geniuses capped the league off with a strong 3-1 victory over Quincy Crew. The team quickly forced its way to match point with Artour “Arteezy” Babaev …
Virtus.pro announces VP.Prodigy Dota 2 academy team
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Virtus.pro, one of the most prominent organizations in Dota 2, has announced the formation of an academy roster, VP.Prodigy. The second squad will be made of young, talented pub stars from the CIS region. Virtus.pro General Manager Sergey Glamazda stated on VP’s official website that the team “allows young players to attain professional scene experience and knowledge without the enormous pressure of instant result expectation” Things have been tough for …
s4 rejoins Alliance after splitting from Evil Geniuses
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Alliance surprised fans by announcing changes to its Dota 2 roster earlier this week, and the organization’s new plans are becoming more clear. The organization announced the acquisition of Gustav “s4” Magnusson. s4 returns to action following several months on Evil Geniuses’ bench. “Hey guys! Excited to play some Dota again since it’s been a while for me. Looking forward to make some new friends in the team and show …
Dota 2 pros unsure of future as Valve remains silent on coronavirus
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 2020 might be in real jeopardy due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Two Dota 2 majors have already been cancelled and there is a real chance that The International 2020 may be impacted as well. That’s a devastating blow for the many individuals who make a living in Dota 2, and it’s unclear when they’ll be able to get back to work or if they’ll be able to …
PSG.LGD wins China Dota 2 Professional League with new roster
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
PSG.LGD bested Vici Gaming and took the China Dota 2 Professional League crown. PSG.LGD had a shaky start when it returned to the professional scene. The team began its Dota Pro Circuit journey with underwhelming results, failing to qualify for both DreamLeague Season 13 and the ESL One LA Major. After several roster shakeups, the storied organization has possibly returned to form. Its newest roster debuted at WeSave! Charity Play …
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.
