Dota 2
Dota 2
MoonMeander highlights difficulties facing mid and low-tier Dota pros
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Canadian professional Dota 2 player David “MoonMeander” Tan has stated that he hasn’t earned a dime during two years of playing in Valve’s Dota Pro Circuit tournament structure. MoonMeander tweeted that his former team Tigers hasn’t paid him for a minor win with the squad or for playing at the Kuala Lumpur Major. He hasn’t received payments from GESC tournament organizers for the last season of play either. “Tough times …
Dota 2
Lack of Dota Plus updates has Dota 2 players frustrated
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota Plus was released over a year ago and players aren’t happy with the number of updates they’ve gotten for the subscription service since then. Players now have a similar issue with the International 2019 Battle Pass. Dota 2 announced Dota Plus as an evolution of the majors battle passes in March 2018. It’s a subscription service that includes many features grouped together, such as hero progression, the plus assistant …
Dota 2
The International 2019 teams are now set after qualifiers conclude
Steven Rondina
The qualifiers to The International 2019 have wrapped up and with that, fans now know the 18 teams set to compete at the biggest Dota 2 event of the year. Infamous, Mineski, Royal Never Give Up, Natus Vincere, Chaos Esports Club, and Forward Gaming are the winners of the six regional qualifiers. They join the top 12 teams from this year’s Dota Pro Circuit, including major winners Team Secret, Vici …
Dota 2
Dota 2 7.22e update brings big nerfs to TI9 qualifier favorites
Steven Rondina
The final major patch before The International 2019 is here. Dota 2 version 7.22e has launched and it brings a lengthy series of changes. Though most heroes were given small tweaks, the patch is most notable for delivering hard nerfs to some of the most contested heroes of the Epicenter Major and TI9 qualifiers. Foremost among this lot is Ember Spirit. The popular mid pick has long been popular but …
Dota 2
Dota 2 pro Maybe punished for racially charged social outburst
gabhernandez
LGD Gaming has announced sanctions on one of its players who made a racist post on social media. The Chinese organization offered an apology to Dota 2 fans following an outburst on Weibo from PSG.LGD mid laner Lu “Maybe” Yao. The player then apologized himself in a separate statement released by the team. “Earlier today I was involved in a quarrel with a follower on Weibo. My emotion then got …
Dota 2
Dota 2 fans hate the TI9 Battle Pass Wrath of the Mo’rokai event
gabhernandez
The long-awaited Wrath of the Mo’rokai event has arrived and it has not been received well by the Dota 2 community. After two months of waiting, Valve finally released the special TI9 Battle Pass-exclusive game mode. Though Wrath of the Mo’rokai stands as a great opportunity for players to boost their Battle Pass levels without spending additional money, it is functionally identical to a previous Dota 2 event, the Year …
News
Natus Vincere headed to The International 2019 after CIS qualifier win
Steven Rondina
Natus Vincere is heading to The International 2019. The fan favorite organization navigated a crowded CIS qualifier field, surviving a treachorous trip through the lower bracket, in order to punch a ticket to Shanghai. They earned their spot with an impressive sweep of Winstrike Team in the grand finals. The first game was looking like a rough one for Na’Vi. A strong laning phase from Winstrike mid Zaur “Cooman” Shakhmurzaev …
Dota 2
TI9 qualifiers see Gambit Esports player rage quit after gank
Steven Rondina
Gambit Esports’ flop in the qualifiers to The International 2019 was even worse than fans originally thought. During a group stage showdown with Winstrike Team, Gambit core player Andrey “Afoninje” Afonin called an abrupt end to the game, giving the victory to Winstrike. The GG call was immediately labeled as a rage quit by the casters covering the game and judging from a social media post from Gambit, those suspicions …
WePlay Dota Underlords Open joins growing auto battler event list
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota 2
WePlay! Esports has announced its first Dota Underlords open tournament. The WePlay! Dota Underlords Open tournament will have a prize pool of $15,000 for which the players will compete in a round robin format. Open qualifiers will be hosted in Europe and North America starting July 27, while the main event will begin on August 1. Each round players will be split into groups of eight, and the top four …
Resolut1on, Fear, and more team up at J.Storm for TI9 qualifier
Syed Mujtaba Naqvi
Dota 2
J.Storm is ready for The International 2019 after finalizing its Dota 2 five-man team. J.Storm’s new roster includes Clinton “Fear” Loomis, David “Moo” Hull, Roman “Resolut1on” Fominok, Leon “Nine” Kirilin, and Sivatheeban “1437” Sivanathapillai. The team will be coached by Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho. The new roster will be aiming to return to The International for the ninth annual edition of the concluding tournament of the Dota Pro Circuit. They will …
Dota Underlords releases big update, adds live overview feature
Olivia Richman
Dota 2
Valve has released the biggest update yet for Dota Underlords, titled “Hot dogs, Updates, and Fireworks.” The patch notes for the auto battler focus on major changes to the gameplay, items, and hero balances. One of the changes fans are most excited about is the added live overview of heroes in play. Inspired by Drodo Studio’s popular mod to Dota Auto Chess, items players have in their arsenal and on …
Dota 2 Battle Pass: The International 2019 compendium qualifier picks
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 2019 will feature 18 top Dota 2 teams. 12 of them were decided through the Dota Pro Circuit, with elites like Virtus.pro and Team Secret locking up spots early, while Keen Gaming and Alliance squeaked their way more recently. The remaining teams will be decided through qualifiers, with each of the six regions sending a single qualifying representative to Shanghai. To raise awareness and to give fans an …
The International 2019 prize pool breaks new records
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The International 2019 is officially set to be the largest event in Dota 2 history. The prize pool has surpassed the $25,532,177 record set by The International 2018. As of this writing, the tally stands at $25,601,298. Perhaps even more impressively, there are still more than 50 days left for fans to add to inject cash and make The International the most lucrative event in esports once again. To say …
Battle Pass bug lets users to purchase multiple weekend sale bundles
gabhernandez
Dota 2
The latest Battle Level and Treasure Bundle weekend sale has come with a new bug that was exploited by some Battle Pass owners. Valve restricted the Battle Level and Treasure bundle to only one purchase per customer. However, some community members discovered different ways through which they could purchase more than one bundle. A step-by-step guide was initially popularized on Reddit. Numerous accounts claimed that the guide was effective and …
TI9 closed qualifier invitees list headlined by Natus Vincere, Gambit
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The Epicenter Major is over and with that, the 12 direct invitees to The International 2019 are officially locked. Teams still have the opportunity to work their way in through qualifiers, but some will have an easier path than others. The open qualifiers begin on July 3, but several teams have been given the chance to cut the line and jump directly into the closed qualifiers. The full list of …
Vici Gaming eliminate Team Liquid, win Epicenter Dota 2 Major
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Vici Gaming is suddenly looking like a serious contender to win The International 2019. The Chinese team won its second major of the season, defeating Team Liquid to capture the Epicenter Major trophy. It was a great showing from a team that looked unremarkable in the early goings of the season. The series opened with an extraordinary showing from Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi. With the departure of Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen, Miracle- …
Dota 7.22d update brings buffs to Ogre Magi and Underlord
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Valve has wasted no time dropping the latest Dota 2 update. Just minutes after Vici Gaming defeated Team Liquid to win the Epicenter Major, the 7.22d patch launched to shake up the game. The update includes a number of changes to the most powerful heroes from the event, but also delivers some much needed buffs to struggling heroes. For the most part, the top tier heroes were hit with nerfs …
Ad Finem returns to Dota 2 by reuniting former Boston Major roster
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
A fan favorite Dota 2 team has made a surprise return to the game. Ahead of The International 2019 qualifiers, Greek esports organization Ad Finem has returned to Dota 2 and reunited much of its original roster. The news was announced on Twitter. Ad Finem was one of the breakout stars of Dota 2 in 2016. Long a middling team that competed mostly in smaller European tournaments, the squad shocked …
Fnatic drop MP, promote Jabz and Dubu prior to The International
gabhernandez
Dota 2
After its early exit from the Epicenter Major, Fnatic has announced huge roster changes for the upcoming International 2019 event. Fnatic had a roster shakeup just a few weeks before the big event. It may seem that it’s too late for the team to make such changes, but it’s a risk Fnatic is willing to take. Noa “MP” Pyo departs from the team leaving the carry position vacant. Meanwhile, support …
Battle pass weekend sale brings levels and immortal treasures
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Valve has released the long awaited Battle Level and Treasure Bundle. After a few weeks without new battle pass content, players began to grow impatient in waiting for Valve to release something new. The game developer recently released the Dark Willow announcer pack along with expected release dates for Immortal Treasure II and the Wrath of Morokai special event. However, battle pass owners were surprised to receive more good news …
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.
