Underdog runs in DOTA 2

Esports history is filled with underdog runs and unlikely upsets and DOTA 2 have contributed more than its fair share of these iconic moments. 

These iconic moments are forever engraved in the history of DOTA 2 along with the echoes of the cheers from the fans rooting for the underdogs. Here’re some of those moments:

[A] tale of the Sweds

Back in the early days of DOTA 2,most fans wondered if DOTA 2 will follow its DOTA roots where Chinese teams dominated the whole scene and at The International 2012, it seems that these thoughts could become a reality.  A year later Alliance- a Swedish team— that consisted of Jonathan “Loda” Berg, Gustav “s4” Magnusson, Henrik “Admiral Bulldog” Ahnberg, Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist and Joakim “Akke” Akterhall proved all those expectation wrong by going undefeated at the G-1 Champions League. They were also crowned as The International 2013 Champions that same year.  

OG at Frankfurt Major (2015)

Back in 2015, a team known as OG made a historic run at the first ever DOTA 2 Major known as Frankfurt Major hosted by Valve. Back then the team consisted of Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, Amer “Miracle-” Bakawi, David “MoonMeandher” Tan, Andreas “Cr1t-” Franck Nielsen and Tal “Fly” Aizik. The team was formed with the hopes of qualifying for the first ever Major however they did more than just that. OG sumanted a legacy as soon as they were formed by making a historic lower bracket run at the Frankfurt Major overcoming every odds that’s been set against them.

Nowadays, OG are a household name in DOTA 2 having won multiple Majors. They are also the only team in DOTA 2 to have 2 back-to-back TI championship titles. 

 

A tale of David versus goliath (2016)

In The International 2016, OG were the favourites to win the tournament. Miracle- being the only player with 9K MMR, it seems that this could become a reality. However, OG stumbled at the upper bracket match against MVP Phoenix which made them knocked down to the lower bracket where TNC was awaiting. Regarded as a Ti miracle, TNC stood their ground, taking every blow from and preserved. They landed the knockout blow against the European titans, winning the series with a clean 2-0 victory. Even though the team got eliminated in their next series, what stood against the testament of time was how a bunch of brave underdogs emerge victorious against a titan. 

A Cinderella Story (2018)

Going into The International 2018, OG were regarded as the least favourite team to win the tournament. Four months prior to The International 2018, the team was ripped apart from the inside by Evil Geniuses. Having only a few months to put together their brand new roster and try their luck at the open qualifiers, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein rebuilded the team which consists of Anatham “Ana” Pham, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka and himself. Not only did the team get their revenge against Evil Geniuses, they got their fairytale ending as well by winning The International 2018.

Everyone at that time thought it was mostly a fluke so a year later at The International 2019, OG proved it wasn’t a fluke by winning the tournament once again with the same roster making it the only team in the history of DOTA 2 to win back-to-back The International titles.

Nothing is Impossible (2021)

At The International 2021, PSG.LGD were the clear favourites to win the entire tournament. The Chinese powerhouse was also showing signs that they could be the champions, only dropping a single game in their upper bracket run to the grand-finals. However, one thing they didn’t account for was the underdog run being done by Team Spirit in the lower bracket. Team Spirit roster was made up of hungry rookies, Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek, Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov, Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov, led a single veteran player Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov. Picking up momentum every match, the underdogs eventually went up against the favourites in the grand-finals of the tournament where the underdogs emerged victorious forever immortalising their names in the coveted Aegis of Champions.

 

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