Dota 2
Dota 2
Virtus.pro drives DreamLeague Major to 10 million hours watched
Steven Rondina
The viewership totals are in for Dota 2’s latest big tournament, the DreamLeague Major. According to the Esports Observer, the event totalled over 10 million combined hours watched on Twitch. This includes both the English and Russian language broadcasts of the event, with the two languages enjoying comparable viewership for much of the tournament’s duration. Naturally, viewership peaked for the final days of the event which also saw viewership of …
Dota 2
PSG.LGD welcomes Dota 2 legend Yao back as a coach
Olivia Richman
Dota 2 legend Yao “Yao” Zhengzheng is returning to PSG.LGD as a coach. “The rumors are true. Yao is one of the more accomplished veterans in PSG.LGD’s history and we look forward to his return to challenge many champions,” LGD said on Twitter. Yao has been a part of the LGD esports organization for seven years, originally joining in 2011 after competing at The International with Online Kingdom. Yao led …
Dota 2
Latest Auto Chess update features buffs, nerfs, easier combinations
gabhernandez
Another batch of minor updates has been released for popular Dota 2 custom game Auto Chess. With all of the hype surrounding Auto Chess, developer Drodo Studios is working hard to keep the game interesting by rolling out a series of minor updates. A new option has been added to the game allowing players to automatically combine three identical pieces on their waiting bench. However, this feature doesn’t work for …
Dota 2
As Valve combats betting, Dota Pro Circuit app brings bets to Dota 2
Steven Rondina
Valve has been pushing back against gambling on its top competitive titles, but it does seem to be priming its players to put some skin on the line through official company platforms. The Dota Pro Circuit mobile app dropped ahead of the DreamLeague Major and brought with it a new betting option for players. Dota Plus subscribers have the option to wager shards on the results of Pro Circuit games, …
News
Vici Gaming take top prize at DreamLeague Major, earn spot at TI9
Steven Rondina
After years as a top Dota 2 brand, Vici Gaming has finally become a major champion. Competing at the DreamLeague Major, the Chinese organization posted an epic run to capture its first ever major title. After toppling Team Secret and PSG.LGD, Vici Gaming asserted itself as one of the best teams in the world with a 3-2 win over Virtus.pro. The first game was an uncharacteristically lackadaisical effort from Virtus.pro. …
Dota 2
Virtus.pro eliminate Secret, near DreamLeague Major finals
Steven Rondina
Virtus.pro is close to making the grand finals of its third major this season. The Russian team locked up a top-three spot at the DreamLeague Major and advanced to the lower bracket finals. It did so on the second day of arena play in Stockholm by defeating rival Team Secret 2-1. The series started off hot with an aggressive performance from Secret. Facing Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko’s Alchemist, Secret stalked him …
Dota 2
Mineski drop two players following continued major struggles
gabhernandez
Mineski has parted ways with two of the team’s players. Mineski announced the departure of Johan “pieliedie” Åström and Kim “Febby” Yong-min from the squad. The announcement came after an underwhelming performance at the DreamLeague Season 11 major. After the post-TI shuffle, Febby joined the Mineski roster along with Damien “kpii” Chok and Thiay “March” Jun Wen. The departure of Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung opened a slot that led to pieliedie …
Dota 2
Newbee reunites International champions with multiple roster moves
Steven Rondina
With the Dota Pro Circuit season winding down, Chinese powerhouse Newbee is looking to make a big push for a spot at The International 2019. The organization revealed shakeups to its primary Dota 2 team as well as changes to its developmental squads. The changes to the lineups were revealed on Facebook. The main Newbee lineup retains the same core it started the season with, which includes carry player Xu …
Eyyou replaces Kuku as TnC Predator captain, extends contract
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
TNC Predator is prepared to make some tweaks to its Dota 2 roster. The organization announced on Twitter that it has signed support player Nico “eyyou” Barcelon through the end of the 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season. He will also take over captain duties from offlaner Carlo “Kuku” Palad. Eyyou has had an on-again, off-again relationship with TNC throughout his Dota 2 career. Making his professional debut with the team …
EternalEnVy finds another new roster for Flying Penguins
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Jacky “EternalEnVy” Mao’s Flying Penguins team has quietly disbanded, but he’s already back with a new lineup. According to Russian broadcast outlet Dota 2 Maincast, EternalEnVy has rebuilt the Flying Penguins with talent from around the world. The news was broken on Twitter. For the most part, EternalEnVy’s new squad is unrecognizable from the team that competed in the StarLadder Minor, with only mid player Eric “Ryoya” Dong joining EternalEnVy …
Evil Geniuses eliminated from DreamLeague Major by Virtus.pro
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses’ run at the DreamLeague Major has come to an end. Facing the fearsome Virtus.pro, EG was dealt a tough 2-1 loss. The lower bracket defeat bumps the team out of the tournament and leaves Evil Geniuses with an eighth-place finish. Game one was a vintage performance from Artour “Arteezy” Babaev. While Virtus.pro carry Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev was poised to go wild as Lone Druid with early Hand of …
Evil Geniuses become third team to earn spot in The International 2019
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses is going to The International 2019! The enduring Dota 2 organization locked up a direct invite at the DreamLeague Major by eliminating Ninjas in Pyjamas in the second round of the lower bracket. That victory guaranteed the team enough Dota Pro Circuit points to qualify for the year’s biggest tournament. EG’s 2018-2019 Dota Pro Circuit season has been successful in spite of a lack of titles. EG’s efforts …
Call to Arms by Valve hints at themes for The International 2019
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Valve is calling on artists for submissions for The International 2019 Collector’s Cache. The announcement also paved the way to the possible theme of The International 2019: overgrown and enchanted jungle ruins. This means that the Dota 2 community might see another TI event highlighted by a lot of green. If so, this will be the third TI event focused on a green theme. TI3 saw the first green motif …
Evil Geniuses survive in DreamLeague Major, beat Ninjas in Pyjamas
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Evil Geniuses stayed alive at the DreamLeague Major and exacted a bit of revenge on an old ally. Making its lower bracket debut opposite Ninjas in Pyjamas and former captain Peter “ppd” Dager, Evil Geniuses kept its tournament hopes alive with a 2-0 victory. That keeps the team in the hunt for its first victory at a Valve-sanctioned tournament since The International 2015. Though the matchup looked to be a …
Epicenter Major announced as final event of Dota Pro Circuit season
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The final Dota Pro Circuit event of the 2018-2019 season has been announced, and fan reaction is mixed. Russian tournament organizer Epicenter has announced its return to the Dota 2 space with the Epicenter Major. It is scheduled to be the final event of the Dota Pro Circuit season, and is teams’ final opportunity to earn a direct invite to The International 2019. Details of the tournament were announced on …
Dota Plus update brings a new companion app to the service
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Amidst the new Dota Pro Circuit season, Dota Plus subscribers received exciting news from game developer Valve. The Dota Plus companion app has been released, and is called Dota Pro Circuit. The new application is divided into four pillars: News Feed, Predictions, Fantasy, and Tournaments. News Feed can be tailored to the subscriber’s preference by tagging favorite teams and players. This will help the app to identify which matches and …
Keen Gaming send Evil Geniuses to lower bracket at DreamLeague Major
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Stockholm should be renamed upset city. After a predictable group stage, the DreamLeague Major’s playoffs have seen a number of massive upsets involving elite Dota 2 teams. The latest victim of that phenomenon is Evil Geniuses. Facing off with Keen Gaming in the first round of the upper bracket playoffs, the boys in blue were handed a rough 2-1 loss. The series initially looked to be going according to plan. Andreas …
Team Liquid finish last at DreamLeague Major after shock loss to Chaos
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The wheels might be coming off for Team Liquid. The Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi’s Dota 2 team was handed a last-place finish at the DreamLeague Major. Facing South America’s Chaos Esports Club, the former TI champions were handed a ticket home in just the first round of the lower bracket. That Liquid wound up in such a position remains a shock. The team began its run in Stockholm in a tricky …
Vici Gaming shock Team Secret, break the streak at DreamLeague Major
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Vici Gaming is for real. The Chinese Dota 2 squad posted its biggest win of the season on the first day of the DreamLeague Major playoffs. Facing off with tournament favorite Team Secret, Vici posted one of its most impressive performances in months by taking a 2-1 series win. The first game went according to plan. Secret mid laner Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng was an omnipresent force for the team, popping …
Natus Vincere first team eliminated from the DreamLeague Major
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
Natus Vincere’s Dota 2 division is not back just yet. Though the fan favorite team entered the DreamLeague Major on a hot streak, Na`Vi was the first team to wash out of the event after losing to J.Storm. Na’Vi’s run began in the group stages with a respectable showing against Evil Geniuses. Despite being a heavy underdog on paper, the CIS team looked competitive with North America’s finest in a 2-1 …
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.
