MinD_ContRoL surges, Alliance rebounds in Dota 2 rankings

The ONE Esports Singapore major shook up the Dota 2 player rankings in a big way, and the weird start to the second cycle of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit cycle has only kept things moving. With Team Secret off to a dull 2-2 start, Invictus Gaming struggling in its post-major return, AS Monaco Gambit winless, and TNC Predator looking to be back in top form, there is a lot to talk both in terms of who is on the player rankings and who isn’t.

Here is how WIN.gg’s rankings work and here is where the Dota 2 player rankings’ top 10 stands at the moment:

MinD_ContRoL dodges bullet by missing Singapore Major

Ivan Borislavov “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov ended up watching the ONE Esports Singapore Major from home due to an illness, and that actually helped him in the player rankings. Team Nigma utterly flopped at the event by going almost winless in the wild card stage, at least in part due to MinD_ContRoL’s absence.

In a demonstration of how important he is to the team, Nigma came back and won its opening match of DreamLeague Season 15 with MinD_ContRoL by beating Team Secret 2-0. Though Nigma has dropped two games since, MinD_ContRoL has continued to climb deeper into the top 10, landing in sixth place.

He faces a tall order at the moment in terms of climbing any higher. Sitting above him are four well-entrenched Chinese players that are more active and are also attached to successful teams. He mayhave to beat them head-to-head in order to advance further.

Alliance treads water despite strong start

Possibly the biggest surprise of the opening weeks of this latest DPC cycle is the strong start of Alliance. The team is 4-0 through three weeks of competition and this comes despite facing the cream of the European crop, defeating OG, Secret, Nigma, and Team Liquid. 

That said, this has only served to help the team regain its footing after a disastrously bad showing in the ONE Esports Singapore Major. The team started in the group stage and went 4-10 on maps to get an immediate ticket home. That poor outing forced Alliance out of the top 10, though its DreamLeague Season 15 performance has helped it climb back swiftly.

In terms of individual players, Artsiom “fng” Barshak has hovered around the periphery of the top 10 since the creation of the WIN.gg rankings and sits in ninth place at the moment. The next highest is Linus “Limmp” Blomdin all the way down at 48. While that might sound awkward, the team is primed to climb higher from here. The second half of the cycle is significantly easier for Alliance than the first, and if the team continues to look strong into the second major then it’s all uphill for Alliance.