Danil “Dendi” Ishutin is having a historically rough time with current team B8, and signs are that it could get worse before it gets better.
When Dendi left Natus Vincere after an eight year career with the team, the Dota 2 community felt a wave of sadness wash over them. It felt like the end of an era. Dendi has long been one of the most popular professional Dota 2 players and, even though Na’Vi’s last few years had been rough, it was still hard to imagine the team without him. Especially after his legendary performance at The International 2011.
Soon after the announcement, Dendi revealed that he was not planning to retire from professional Dota 2. Instead, he was looking to create his own team.
“I have very serious plans for the season. After some time and many people who pushed me towards it, I decided to do something, So I am planning to make my own team, organization to develop it,” Dendi said.
This news excited the Dota 2 community, who had once feared that Dendi was leaving the scene for good. Now, it seemed like Dendi’s future in the game was more promising than ever before. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to be going as planned, leaving his fans on an emotional rollercoaster of epic proportions as Dendi struggles.
Dendi’s team, B8, has not performed to the standards expected of such a talented veteran player. But it’s not just a case of underperforming in a match or even in a particular event. Dendi’s team has actualy set the record for the longest losing streak in professional Dota 2 history after losing their 24th game in a row.
B8 became the bearers of this record after a 2-0 defeat to Team Unique on May 5, stealing the title from FTD Club C, who earned it in 2016.
B8 lost all 12 games in the WePlay! Pushka League. They were one fo the first teams eliminated from the tournament.
With his being known as the “face of Dota 2,” some fans wonder if Dendi’s new teammates, some of which have a zero percent win-rate with the team, could be bringing him down. Dendi is currently a core player on the roster as well as the team captain, a role that’s usually designated for support players so core players can focus on farming patterns and map awareness. A restructuring may be in order for B8 after their continuous poor performance as of late.
It’s also possible that Dendi himself is at the core of B8’s struggles, but given his notoriety and following, it’s unlikely he’d be leaving the team’s active roster unless it was his choice to do so.
While seeing Dendi go down in flames has been heartwrenching for Dota 2 fans, most have expressed that they will remain loyal to him no matter what. They only hope he gets some big wins before his retirement, which would make for a feel-good happy ending many fans feel he deserves.
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