All about Arteezy, Dota 2's biggest esports and streaming star
Artour “Arteezy” Babaev is a professional Dota 2 player best known for his time with Evil Geniuses. He is also one of Dota 2’s most popular streamers.
He began playing Dota 2 at a professional level at just 16 years old. In 2013, he was added to a formidable Kaipi roster. This only lasted for a short time as he juggled school and competitive play.
He bounced around multiple teams before finding an opportunity as the mid laner for SADBOYS, a squad of North American players that included Evil Geniuses captain Clinton “Fear” Loomis, veteran off laner Saahil “Universe” Arora, and Heroes of Newerth alumni Peter “ppd” Dager and Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg. The team found quick success, which led to the squad being sponsored by Evil Geniuses.
Arteezy and SADBOYS revitalize Evil Geniuses
This roster helped transform Evil Geniuses from a regional favorite into a global elite, winning such events as the Monster Energy Invitational and The Summit 1. The new team’s first season ended with a third-place performance at The International 2014, despite the team playing without Fear.
EG continued that success into the following season, exploding out of the gate by winning World E-sport Championships 2014 and StarLadder StarSeries Season 10. Despite that competitive dominance, Arteezy abruptly left Evil Geniuses to become the new carry player of Team Secret. Arteezy and Secret enjoyed strong success throughout the year, but the move ultimately benefited Evil Geniuses more than anyone else.
While Secret won a number of live events, Evil Geniuses without Arteezy won the two biggest Dota 2 events of the year in the Dota 2 Asia Championship and The International 2015.
Arteezy returned to Evil Geniuses as the team’s carry following TI5, performing well alongside his mid lane replacement in Syed “SumaiL” Hassan. EG looked strong at the Frankfurt Major and Shanghai Major, but Arteezy split off to join Team Secret once again, this time taking off laner Universe with him.
Arteezy returns to Evil Geniuses after missing out on TI5 championship
Though Arteezy had been playing as a carry, he found himself back in the mid lane in 2016 with former Kaipi teammate Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao taking on carry duties for Secret. Despite being a star-studded roster, Secret struggled badly with Arteezy mid, which resulted in the team finishing in last place at the Manila Major and at The International 2016. Arteezy went on to express regret over having returned to Secret a second time.
He returned to Evil Geniuses and transitioned back into a carry role after TI6. EG found quick success by winning the 2016 MDL Autumn season and The Manila Masters, as well as placing in the top-four at the Boston and Kiev Majors.
Despite being strong throughout the year, Evil Geniuses flopped at The International 2017.
Evil Geniuses went through a down year from there, with the return of Fear and captaincy of Rasmus “MISERY” Filipsen yielding generally negative results. The team went through a shakeup late in the season by adding OG’s Gustav “s4” Magnusson and Tal “Fly” Aizik, which paid off in the form of a top-three finish at The International 2018.
Arteezy becomes one of Evil Geniuses’ longest-tenured players
The new lineup would return for the 2018-2019 season and enjoyed strong results, including three third-place finishes in majors. The team posted a respectable top-six finish at The International 2019.
Arteezy remained with Evil Geniuses following another shakeup to the roster that saw s4 and SumaiL benched. Though the moves were somewhat controversial, the team got off to a strong start to the season with a fourth-place finish in the MDL Chengdu Major and second-place finishes at ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore and DreamLeague Season 13.
Evil Geniuses’ momentum was derailed by the mass-cancelation of events and the implementation of travel restrictions in 2020. The team initially competed in a variety of regional leagues but was largely inactive during 2020. He became one of the first North American players to hit 11,000 MMR during this time.
Ahead of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit’s return, roster changes came to Evil Geniuses though Arteezy would remain with the team yet again. The following season was a strong one for EG, as the squad reached the grand finals of both Dota Pro Circuit majors.
Despite that success during the season, EG fizzled out before it could make a deep run at The International 2021 as it finished in ninth place. This resulted in a significant overhaul of Evil Geniuses’ roster due to the departure of team captain Fly.
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
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