TOP 5 Dota 2 players in 2022

Another great season in competitive Dota 2 has come to an end, with countless teams from around the world giving their all to reach the top of the Dota 2 mountain, and a few succeeding.

But there are also a handful of players who have shown exceptional performances and proved to be the best on an individual level. So who showed some of the best plays of the DPC season 2022? Here are Fragster’s Top 5 Dota 2 players. 

5. MATUMBAMAN – Team Liquid

For Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen, 2022 was quite a bittersweet year. Initially, the Liquid roster seemed to be one of the most formidable in the Western European region, but when it came to the distribution of places at The International, the team had to fight their way through the qualifiers due to a lack of points.

As a result, Liquid got to the Last Chance Qualifiers and managed to claim one of the two remaining places in the main stage of TI11, where they finished third. Not a bad end to a player’s career.

For a veteran of the pro scene, MATUMBAMAN has shown exceptional play as a carry, and thanks to his game and leadership qualities, Liquid managed to justify the hopes placed on them last season.

4. Nisha – Team Secret

After having the best season of his career as part of Team Secret, Michal “Nisha” Jankowski joined Liquid to participate in the next season of 2023.

Along with Liquid, Team Secret were the second team to emerge from the LCQ and become the top contender for the Aegis of Champions, despite the fact that few believed in this team throughout the season. Of course, things went up for Secret after the arrival of Roman “Resolut1on” Fominok at the end of the summer, but it was Nisha who did not lose shape throughout the season and helped the team stay afloat before he showed himself in all his glory at the final forced march.

This year there were a lot of new names that managed to make their way to the top of the mids list, but Nisha was one of the few who managed to stay there.

3. Monet – Team Aster

Chinese teams always show good results thanks to discipline and the right strategy. Often acting as one mechanism, Chinese players are often great professionals, but rarely stars. However, this does not apply to Du “Monet” Peng.

Monet’s prestige first sparkled in 2017 when he took third place at The International as part of LGD.Forever Young, although it was his first time participating in such a major tournament. He then joined RNG, but since 2020 he has been in Team Aster, which were considered a passing team on the tier-1 scene.

This year, the team did not win a single major tournament, but they always somehow ended up in the list of winners. In their home DPC region, they never dropped below third place, followed by a third place at PGL Arlington Major 2022 and silver at ESL One Malaysia 2022. They finished in fourth place at TI11 with over $1.1 million in prize money, which was the greatest achievement for China this year.

But none of this would have been possible without Monet, who may not have been the most formidable opponent in the lane, but knew exactly what to do in the final stages of the game, being able to single-handedly turn the most disadvantageous situation for his team.

2. Pakazs – Thunder Awaken

Ahead of 2023, Christian “Pakazs” Casanova has been signed by Evil Geniuses along with part of the Thunder Awaken team, and as you can imagine, this is all for a reason. Thunder were the best in the South American region, and the key to their victory was an incredible game from Pakazs.

His finest hour came at TI11, when the Peruvian carry showed the whole world that even if he loses, you shouldn’t leave him unattended for a second. He found a place to farm in situations where many would already write GG (but of course also thanks to the teammates who bought him time). Thanks to his performance, TA finished 5th-6th, which is the best result among Latin American teams of all time.

1. 33 – Tundra Esports

Tundra Esports were unbeatable at TI11, as they were finally able to play as a team. Of course, carry Oliver “skiter” Lepko and Leon “Nine” Kirilin were cool in their positions, but it was their offlaner, Neta “33” Shapira, who made their game.

33 had one of the widest hero pools in the tournament playing summoners like Visage or Broodmother, which ended up in the meta of the new patch. Among the players, some even started to call the tournament patch “Neta Meta”, saying that 33 was the first to understand all the strengths of the patch and began to actively apply it from the opening games. As a result, his timely understanding and adaptation to the new conditions of the game made him the best player in 2022 and TI11.

Header: Twitter / @33Dota