Dota 2
Dota 2
Dendi’s team B8 has the longest losing streak in pro Dota 2 history
Olivia Richman
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin is having a historically rough time with current team B8, and signs are that it could get worse before it gets better. When Dendi left Natus Vincere after an eight year career with the team, the Dota 2 community felt a wave of sadness wash over them. It felt like the end of an era. Dendi has long been one of the most popular professional Dota 2 players …
Dota 2
PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming top their groups in OGA Dota Pit China
Nina Forneloza
After finishing as top seeds in their groups, PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming secured spots in the second round of the upper bracket playoffs of OGA Dota Pit China, an event that features top Chinese teams fighting over a $60,000 prize pool. PSG.LGD seems to have recovered from its disastrous start to the season. The team has showed great results after major roster shakeups, role swaps, and the addition of Ren …
Dota 2
These are the most likely options for The International 2020
Steven Rondina
The International 2020 has taken a big hit. The event was delayed indefinitely by Dota 2 publisher Valve last week due to the uncertainty facing the world due to the ongoing pandemic. The combination of travel restrictions and policies on group sizes proved to be too much to confidently handle so far in advance. Valve suggested that it is considering other possibilities and will make definite plans at a later …
Dota 2
BLAST Bounty Hunt features dynamic prize pool, fan prediction game
Nina Forneloza
BLAST Bounty Hunt boasts top Dota 2 teams vying for the lion’s share of a $150,000 prize pool. RFRSH Entertainment has announced its expansion into the competitive scene of Dota 2. BLAST Bounty Hunt is an offshoot of RFRSH’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events, which have quickly gained prominence within the scene. In addition to a strong lineup of teams, the tournament features a unique way for teams to grow their …
Dota 2
Virtus.pro vs. Na’Vi WePlay! Pushka League betting analysis
Steven Rondina
The WePlay! Pushka League is set to host a showdown between the CIS region’s two biggest names as Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere are set to face off in the group stage. This is an old and storied rivalry that has played out across multiple games, but is particularly bitter right now in Dota 2 given the roster poaching that has occurred between the two teams. One side is coming into …
Dota 2
WePlay! suspends team from Pushka League over alleged match fixing
Steven Rondina
According to the tournament organizer, WePlay! Pushka League Division 2 was home to a fixed match between two of its competing teams. On April 26, a group stage match between Cyber Legacy and CyberTRAKTOR saw members of the latter team fixing the match in concert with betting interests. Cyber Legacy won the series 2-0. WePlay! issued a statement on the matter on its official website. “Our esports department and the …
Dota 2
Puppey helping to bring back FACEIT Pro League to Dota 2
Nina Forneloza
Clement “Puppey” Ivanov is spearheading a revival of the FACEIT Pro League for Dota 2. FACEIT Pro League is officially returning to the game after two years of being decomissioned. FPL is an in-house league that features not just top-tier pro players, but also up-and-coming hopefuls. The league is exclusively for players who are invited to take part. Puppey himself seems to have a hand in picking out eligible players …
Dota 2
Towers are stronger than ever, denies changed in Dota 2 update 7.26b
Steven Rondina
Dota 2 update 7.26b has dropped and it shows just how impactful the original 7.26 update was for the game. The list of patch notes is fairly short, but it carries huge ramifications for players at all levels and in all roles as Valve seems to be committed to changing how games progress, rather than making granular changes to individual heroes. The lost of core gameplay changes reads as follows: …
The new TI10 Battle Pass Collector’s Cache entries are amazing
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 2020 Battle Pass is coming soon, in one form or another. Fans of Dota 2 are excited over this fact for a multitude of reasons, but one of the most excited groups is Dota 2 artists. Though the fate of the event itself is currently unknown, a tidal wave of new cosmetics has arrived on the Steam Workshop with creators hoping to be included in the battle pass. …
Cloud9 drops Dota 2 roster, pulling out of game for a fifth time
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Cloud9 is tapping out of Dota 2. Again. The popular esports organization has released its Dota 2 team and has withdrawn from all scheduled events. This follows consistently poor results from its roster. “It was great working with these players and I want to thank them for being professional throughout and buying into our vision and company values. We’re confident that success will follow them as their careers progress,” Cloud9 …
Fnatic, Evil Geniuses win BTS Pro Series Dota 2 leagues
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Fnatic and Evil Geniuses were crowned as BTS Pro Series champions for the southeast Asia region and Americas regions, respectively. The bloodbath is over. BTS Pro Series has concluded for the two regions, and the event was jam-packed with high-quality Dota 2 action. It logged a total of 152,000 peak viewers on Twitch alone and boasted a $100,000 prize pool divided equally between the two regions. Fnatic is on a …
OGA Dota Pit Minor reportedly shifted to an online event
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Fans might see another Dota Pro Circuit major event transition into an online league. ESL One Los Angeles 2020 was forced to break new ground. The tournament was initially announced as the third major tournament of the DPC season before Valve was forced to make changes. The event shifted to an online regional league. ESL’s attempt at salvaging the tournament was relatively successful, and One Game Agency will most likely …
No[o]ne wins his second ESL MVP, gets another Mercedes-Benz car
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko has earned another Mercedes-Benz car, thanks to winning another ESL One MVP Award. ESL’s Most Valuable Player award is highly coveted, as it comes alongside a brand new luxury vehicle. The winner is determined by both a fan vote and by “Dota 2 experts.” The MVP selection process was slightly different this time, as ESL One Los Angeles was comprised of five regional leagues. Each region had …
Dota 2’s online leagues are forcing teams to break up, rebuild
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Dota 2 teams are scrambling to adjust to the mass adoption of online leagues by tournament organizers. The ongoing global situation has created a new normal, a fact which has rocked the Dota 2 scene and seen sweeping travel restrictions put in place. People were forced to stay at home or spend indefinite lengths of time abroad, including Dota 2 professionals. Teams stuck in boot camps endure exhaustion and anxiety …
Evil Geniuses vs. Thunder Predator BTS Pro Series betting analysis
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The BTS Pro Series: Americas has been the biggest Dota 2 event in the western hemisphere for months now. The league brought together eight of the best teams from North and South America, but now only three remain. Evil Geniuses is taking on Thunder Predator for a spot in the grand finals, with the winner facing Quincy Crew. The event should be an interesting one, bringing together two teams that …
NiP drops Dota 2 roster after ppd retirement, signs Chicken Fighters
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Ninjas in Pyjamas has a new Dota 2 roster with the signing of Chicken Fighters. The announcement comes after the retirements of Peter “ppd” Dager and Saahil “Universe” Arora. Prior to his retirement, NiP released Universe because of his inability to practice with the team. Evgeniy “Blizzy” Ree replaced Universe at ESL One Los Angeles online, but the team struggled to find its chemistry and had an early exit in …
Fnatic and Quincy Crew dominate BTS Pro Series groups, EG struggles
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
Fnatic and Quincy Crew have both scored an impressive 7-0 standing at the BTS Pro Series Southeast Asia and Americas, respectively. BTS Pro Series Americas featured a good mix of top teams from North and South America. Evil Geniuses was the heavy fan favorite, but the team did not dominate its opponents as expected. Evil Geniuses opened in disappointing fashion by losing its first series against Cloud9. This marked the …
ESL One Los Angeles boasts most viewers for Dota 2 event since TI9
Nina Forneloza
Dota 2
ESL One Los Angeles’ European and CIS Online league recorded the highest Twitch viewership of any Dota 2 event since The International 2019, peaking at 506,288 viewers. The grand finals series between OG and Virtus.pro kept fans on their toes, ending with a 3-2 comeback victory for Virtus.pro. Despite the event taking place in an online setting and without any kind of official major status, the event out-performed a number …
Universe follows ppd and retires from competitive Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Dota 2 veteran Saahil “Universe” Arora has announced his retirement from competitive Dota 2. The former The International champion was vague on his future plans, but stated he was leaving the game behind him regardless. “I have decided to retire as a player from competitive Dota 2…Now, the time has come to pursue other interests and figure out what comes next. Thank you to my fans and past teammates for …
Evil Geniuses vs. CR4ZY in BTS Pro Series playoffs betting analysis
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
BTS Pro Series: Americas has been the biggest and best tournament in the western hemisphere since Dota 2 organizers began moving events online. Bringing together the five best North American teams and three best South American teams has resulted in a good bit of excitement, albeit alongside a little bit of lag-related disappointment. CR4ZY and Evil Geniuses have been two of the bigger surprises at the event for different reasons, …
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.
