Dota 2
Dota 2
Team Secret earn DreamLeague Leipzig Major finals spot
Steven Rondina
Team Secret is looking like the best Dota 2 team in the world right now. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov has led his team to the grand finals of the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. This comes at the expense of Vici Gaming, who Secret defeated for the second time in the event. Game one was an exceptional showing from Secret cores Michał “Nisha” Jankowski and Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen. The duo comfortably topped …
Dota 2
ana out of OG for rest of season, replacement likely coming soon
Steven Rondina
About one week before their official return to professional Dota 2 action to defend their The International title, OG has no carry player. The TI champions announced on Twitter that Anthan “ana” Pham will be out for the remainder of the season. OG is currently set to make its return in the open qualifiers of the ESL One Los Angeles Major. “Our carry player and Io god, ana, will extend his …
Dota 2
TNC out of DreamLeague Leipzig Major with loss to Team Liquid
gabhernandez
Team Liquid killed TNC Predator’s hopes of claiming a second major victory. With the MDL Chendu Major title already in its pocket, TNC is the current top seed in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings. The Southeast Asian powerhouse has likely secured a golden ticket to The International 2020 but like any other team, they want more. Despite that, TNC didn’t look like much of a threat in the DreamLeague Leipzig …
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses stay alive at DreamLeague Major by beating iG
Steven Rondina
Evil Geniuses are still alive in the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. The North American squad scored a huge victory over Invictus Gaming in the lower bracket. This sends the Chinese team home, and moves EG into position for a guaranteed top-four finish. The series started in impressive fashion for Evil Geniuses. Playing as Outworld Devourer, Abed “Abed” Azel L. Yusop got off to an exceptional start when he racked up three …
Dota 2
beastcoast eliminate Nigma from major with mid Disruptor pick
Steven Rondina
Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and his teammates have a reputation for fearsomeness when their backs are against the wall, but that didn’t hold up at the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. Playing against beastcoast, Nigma were on the receiving end of the biggest upset of the tournament so far. The South American squad got the better of them with a 2-1 series win, eliminating Nigma from the event in ninth place. The …
Dota 2
PaiN Gaming, Virtus.pro finish last in DreamLeague Season 13
gabhernandez
paiN Gaming is the first team to exit DreamLeague Season 13. The first day of the playoffs saw four teams eliminated from the proceedings and unfortunately, paiN Gaming was the first to have its ticket home punched. The team struggled in the group stage as it went 0-2 in Group D, with the only silver lining being a single map win over Team Liquid. That rough showing set them up …
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses rally past Nigma, advance in DreamLeague Season 13
gabhernandez
The playoffs of DreamLeague Season 13 started with an exciting game between two fan favorites in Nigma and Evil Geniuses. Though Evil Geniuses entered the matchup as a , the North American squad managed to advance in the upper bracket with a 2-1 series win. The series kicked off with a standard Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi draft, with strong counterpicks and a bit of quirkiness. The team opted for a …
Dota 2
Liquid posts stunning comeback over VP at DreamLeague Season 13
Steven Rondina
Team Liquid is still alive in the DreamLeague Leipzig Major, but just barely. The European squad threw away an enormous gold lead against Virtus.pro and saw their ancient whittled down, only to muster up a miraculous play to steal the game back. The win pushes Liquid further into the tournament and hands Virtus.pro a last-place finish. The game saw a number of momentum swings in the laning stage. Alexey “Solo” …
Nigma, Natus Vincere looking strong in DreamLeague Leipzig Major
gabhernandez
Dota 2
After a successful group stage, Nigma and Natus Vincere have become two the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. Nigma veered away from its lower bracket tradition as the team won the top seed of its group. The squad is well-known for thriving under pressure in the lower bracket. This reputation is well-earned, coming from the team’s run at The International 2017 which saw them win the event after Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi famously …
NiP kick Gunnar, reveal plans for ESL One Los Angeles major
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Nico “Gunnar” Lopez yet again finds himself without a team. The American was given the boot from Ninjas in Pyjamas. This comes a week after the team suffered an early elimination from the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. The organization chalked up the move to a lack of success in events to this point in the Dota Pro Circuit season. “Gunnar signed up for this journey at the beginning of the season …
Natus Vincere upset Evil Geniuses in DreamLeague Season 13
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Natus Vincere kicked off DreamLeague Season 13 in impressive fashion. After a failed attempt to compete in the MDL Chengdu Major, Na`Vi came back strong in Leipzig. The team impressed fans by going 2-0 to claim a spot in the upper bracket playoffs. The group stage saw the Ukranian team upset North America’s favorites, Evil Geniuses. The series started with an eccentric Riki carry pick for Evil Geniuses, which follows …
Febby coaching debut at DreamLeague Season 13 off to shaky start
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Kim “Febby” Yong-min has kicked off his career as a coach at the DreamLeague Season 13 major. The player recently reunited with his former MVP Phoenix teammate Park “March” Tae-won on TNC Predator. Febby will look to help the southeast Asian squad maintain its spot at the top of the Dota 2 scene. After their huge win at the MDL Chengdu Major, TNC Predator finds itself atop the Dota Pro …
Na’Vi vs. Alliance, EG vs. Nigma set for DreamLeague Season 13
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The group stage at the DreamLeague Season 13 major is now complete and with that, the brackets have been set for the playoffs. The opening eight matchups for the event have been revealed and fans have some exciting matchups to look forward to in the early goings of the tournament. Old rivalries are set to have new life breathed into them while regional matchups can be found up and down …
How to play core Riki like a pro in your Dota 2 games
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Despite losing to Nigma in the grand finals, Royal Never Give Up were the breakout stars of the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. The Chinese squad demonstrated incredible savviness, synergy, and flexibility throughout the tournament, which saw them smash all comers en route to the grand finals. Though it was overlooked among RNG’s many other successes, the team surprised fans and pundits during its series against Geek Fam by locking in a …
Ranked queue gets another major shakeup in latest Dota 2 update
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve seems to be declaring its ranked roles experiment a failure. A significant update has dropped in Dota 2, bringing with it multiple changes to the ranked matchmaking experience. While ranked matchmaking has largely revolved around a role-specific queueing system in recent months, Valve is offering players the chance to enjoy the classic free-for-all experience, entitled “Ranked Classic.” “We are making this change because the slow/fast queue concept has not …
Everything you need to know about the DreamLeague Leipzig Major
Steven Rondina
News
The DreamLeague Leipzig Major is almost here. The second major of the 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit season kicks off this weekend, bringing together 16 top Dota 2 teams for a tournament that carries enormous stakes. The winner will likely lock up a direct invitation to The International 2020, while other teams that performed well in the first major of the season will be able to move into even stronger positions …
OG return to Dota 2 for ESL One Los Angeles Major qualifiers
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
OG are returning to the competitive Dota 2 scene. The reigning champions announced their plans to return for the qualifiers for the upcoming ESL One Los Angeles Major. No further details or specifics were given, including the team’s roster and whether the team would play in any other events beforehand to practice. OG reassembled its roster from The International 2018 and successfully won The International 2019, becoming the first two-time …
New Dota 2 item has game-breaking bug allowing free resurrections
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
At face value, the Magic Lamp is a solid tier-four neutral item that works with any team composition. It gives 300 HP and has a passive that dispels and heals users when they fall below 15% health, somewhat similar to an Aeon Disk. That’s useful all on its own, but a game-breaking bug has been discovered with Magic Lamp that makes it overwhelmingly powerful. Magic Lamp can essentially be used …
SumaiL gives his take on neutral items and the state of Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Syed “SumaiL” Hassan gave his take on the heavy changes to Dota 2 in recent months, and he likes them a lot. The former Evil Geniuses mid laner opened up on neutral items in a recent stream and discussed why he enjoys Dota 2’s current state. “I think this is by far the best gameplay patch, no joke,” SumaiL said on Twitch. “A lot of people dislike the neutral items …
Nigma win WePlay! Bukovel Minor, earn spot in DreamLeague Season 13
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Nigma’s live event debut at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor didn’t go according to plan, but it was still a successful one. The runners-up from The International 2019 sealed up a first-place finish at the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Royal Never Give Up. This gives the team $72,000, 140 Dota Pro Circuit qualifying points, and a spot in the DreamLeague Season 13 major. The series was a strong showing …
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.
