7 facts about the WePlay AniMajor

William Davis Published 27/06/2021

The WePlay Animajor isn’t that far in the past, but fans are already holding it up as one of the greatest Dota 2 tournaments of all time. PSG.LGD capped an impressive run in the event by taking first place and cementing itself as the favorite to win The International 2021. 

But while PSG.LGD’s performance was impressive, the AniMajor will also be remembered for having high production values to complement these high-level games.

Here are some facts about one of the most grandiose esports events in the history of professional Dota 2.

1. The main theme of the AniMajor was anime

WePlay Esports is famous for creating themed events. The Bukovel Minor was a winter wonderland, there was a futuristic cyberpunk-esque city for Tug of War: Mad Moon, and the ancient Greece-inspired Omega League. 

For the AniMajor, WePlay decided to go with an anime theme because of the crossover between the anime and Dota 2 fandoms. WePlay created countless anime-style videos, like this opening, which presents the tournament’s talents:

2. The AniMajor decided the teams to compete in The International 2021

In order to secure enough points and receive a direct invite to The International, Team Nigma, led by the 2017 world champion Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi, needed to reach the Grand Final of the WePlay AniMajor. Quite the tall task for Nigma, as they started playing in the earliest stage of the tournament, the wild card stage.

Nigma came very close to pulling this off, but they were one of many teams that fans had to keep an eye on as the AniMajor finalized the list of invitees to TI10. The regional qualifiers are underway and six more teams are looking to earn a spot in the event

3. The WePlay AniMajor is looking to break the viewership records of every Dota 2 Major

The WePlay AniMajor was about anime, but WePlay also dedicated a lot of promotional effort to highlight that the company was looking to break the record viewership of The Kiev Major 2017. A number of giveaways were put together for this, including a top prize where WePlay would pay to send a fan on an all-expenses-paid trip to the next The International event to allow an audience.. 

4. Lion is the most picked hero of the WePlay AniMajor

The most contested heroes of the WePlay AniMajor were some old favorites for pro players, but also some newcomers. Templar Assassin, Broodmother, Puck, Timbersaw, and Faceless Void were among the most-contested heroes of the event. There were also a lot of heroes that haven’t traditionally been especially popular at the pro level, including the most-picked hero, Lion. 

5. 18 heroes went un-picked and un-banned in the AniMajor

Dota 2 is a very well-balanced game, and the AniMajor was another example of that. Unlike most prominent events, no hero had a picked-or-banned rate of 100% or even particularly close. Templar Assassin was the most-contested hero, and appeared in just 80% of drafts.

18 heroes went untouched in drafts at the event, however. Pubstomp favorites like Zeus, Tinker, Techies, and Pudge never got acknowledged in drafts. Strangely, so did Earthshaker, Alchemist, and Meepo. And of course, new hero Dawnbreaker didn’t get touched as she remained banned for the AniMajor

6. Out of every country, China has the most representatives at the WePlay AniMajor

As per usual, China sent the most players to the event with 18 Chinese players going to Kyiv. The second and third-most represented countries are the Philippines with 13 and Russia with 11. 13 countries are represented only by one player. In total there are 90 players from 28 different countries.

7. The shortest series of the tournament lasted just 40 minutes

In the group stage, Team Nigma destroyed Vici Gaming. The Chinese powerhouse was not prepared for the fierce pressure and was forced to call “gg” at 16 minutes, 28 seconds on map one and 23 minutes, 57 seconds on map 2. The longest game of the tournament, the second map of the match between PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming, lasted a little more than 65 minutes. The average game length was 37 minutes.

Join the final battle on Twitch and YouTube.

Read Also

Kick

Kick Admits KPP Payment Errors — Ethan Wright Explains Calculation Changes Khizar Mundia Kick creators have been claiming that something is wrong with their KPP payouts for some time now. Co-founder Eddie Craven and Director Ethan Wright both addressed the issues, blaming technical difficulties and stating the issue would be rectified, but creators have continued to allege that it hasn’t been fixed — and Wright has now given an update about KPP changes that he hopes will put the issue to bed. In ...

News

How Good Will Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Be? Zachary Roberts The Nintendo Switch run of games has been excellent by most metrics, but there are some things they haven't managed to do better than in previous attempts. Since 2017, Nintendo has put out a ton of outstanding games. They've won awards, and the Switch is the second-best-selling console ever; it may even end up in first eventually. That said, there are some things that have been replicated for the Switch ...

News

Kalshi Strikes Deal With Tunica-Biloxi Tribe Emma Somersett-MacMillan The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe from Louisiana is joining the rapidly growing prediction market industry. They have formed a new partnership with Kalshi, and this has enabled it to be the first Native American tribe to introduce its own prediction market platform via the company’s framework. This was announced on September 18, 2026, during a time when several other tribes are questioning the growth and development of Kalshi. They object to this ...

Kick

Kick Offers Viewers More Visibility in Chats — Here’s How the New KICKs Pinned Messages Work Khizar Mundia 2026 has been a stellar year for Kick users, with the brand investing substantially in very visible updates. The livestreaming platform has now introduced another new option where Kick viewers can use KICKs to pin and highlight their messages in chats. Twitch and Kick have several similarities, which makes sense given that the Stake-backed platform launched as a competitor to the Amazon-backed giant. Bits are a common method for viewers ...

Valorant

Will zekken Leave MIBR in 2026? Hannan Mundia Competitive Valorant has given rise to multiple talented professional players, but zekken stands as a powerful fragger even among them. While his glory days were definitely when he was on Sentinels during their iconic run, the player is now part of MIBR, which promised to create a super team. Unfortunately for zekken, the team has fallen short of that promise. With a disappointing 2026 season, rumors have started that zekken ...

News

What are Card Rips? The New Way to Trade Collectibles Explained Ben Boland Card rips are a new form of digital pack opening in which users can reveal physical trading cards and choose to sell, store or have them shipped to them. They are attracting serious interest among sweepstakes players. Currently, most card rip sites are separate from online casinos. However, some sweepstakes sites have foreseen the potential popularity of this form of this type of product and are offering their users the ...

Twitch

KSI Hints at Falling Out With at Least “Some” Sidemen Khizar Mundia Olajide “KSI” Olayinka Williams Olatunji was arguably the largest name attached to Sidemen, and now that he's left the collective, it appears some of the members are no longer his friends. KSI’s exit from Sidemen was the end of an era. He and the boys were renowned for fun whilst creating good memories and building a massive following. When KSI left in May 2026, he'd stated that he was on ...