Dota 2 is developed by Valve as a multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA, computer game. This is the sequel of the game Defense of the Ancients, commonly known as DotA, a mod made to play in a large group of communities. Dota 2 battles are played between two teams of five players each, with each team holding and guarding their own distinct base on the map.

Each of the ten players controls a strong character known as a “hero,” who all have unique skills and play styles. During a match, players gather experience points and gear for their heroes in order to defeat the enemy team’s heroes in player-versus-player combat. A team wins if they are the first to destroy the other team’s “Ancient,” which is a big structure located within their base.

Dota 2 as part of esports

Dota 2 is a serious game that is played all around the world. Since a lot of people play this complex and difficult game, it is now considered as an esport. Pro teams compete in events sponsored by large firms, organizations, and Valve.

DotaTV, a spectating function built into the Dota 2 program, allows players who have paid tournament admission to see matches and give commentary. Various community websites also offer live match streaming.

Biggest cash prize

Dota’s competitive history began in 2004 and has since evolved with new players and strategies appearing on the scene. Professional Dota 2 is the highest paying esport in the world as of The International 2015.

The closest game that could compete with Dota 2 is the League of Legends game, which is also a MOBA. League of Legends has a larger fanbase than Dota 2. Even if this is the case, it can not be denied that Dota 2 has more revenue than LoL. When it comes to the esports side, Dota 2’s prize pool in The International series is often larger than LoL.

The evolution of competitive Dota

Before the biggest and most important event of the year begins, every team must battle their way through the Dota Pro Circuit. DPC is a system that was created in 2017 and consists of a number of ranked matches where teams can gain DPC points, which are mainly a currency used to obtain a ticket to the world championship.

Over the years, the structure has evolved a lot of times. The competitive Dota year is split into two seasons. The first one consists of Regional Leagues, and the second of which consists of a Major that closes the season. This is the format for the year 2021. Teams earn DPC Points at each event along the League which will lead them to the Major.

Each regional league is split into two sections: upper and lower. The competitors compete in a single round-robin format with best-of-three matches. This implies that each team plays the other once.

Start of pandemic

The COVID-19 has impacted a lot of people from all over the world. Due to this pandemic, Dota 2’s competitive scene has taken a huge hit. Even after a couple of months have already passed, the pandemic’s chaotic nature means that the outcomes will not be changing anytime soon.

Valve has already made reports that The International will be postponed until maybe 2021 because of this trouble. While not shocked, Dota 2 fans around the world jointly grieved the news that an International did not occur in August last 2019 as planned.

The 2019-2020 DPC season has been stopped. The ESL One Los Angeles Major was ‘postponed,’ and the event was then switched to online league play without a Major status. The One Esports Dota 2 Jakarta event was then pushed until November. Teams began issuing work-from-home orders and bringing back the players to their home countries.

Valve canceled EPICENTER and DotaPIT Minor a few days later. Although the One Esports Singapore Major qualifiers are set for the 17th of May. Valve also cancelled them as the year went on. There had been talks about canceling the yearly International event in 2020 until maybe 2021. 

The International’s comeback

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to be forever changing how people are allowed to travel in different places. With global lockdowns and pandemic restrictions placed in public spaces and workplaces, large-scale gaming events like Dota 2’s The International have been strongly affected. Valve has already confirmed that the 10th The International will be held in Bucharest, Romania.

The International was supposed to return with a live audience after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sadly, the event was canceled earlier this week. Valve mentioned the country’s rising COVID-19 rates as well as the “implementation of additional local restrictions in Bucharest.” Any ticket sales were automatically refunded by Valve.

Now, this year’s Dota 2 International tournament will no longer have a live audience. Even though this is what is going to happen, there are still lots of ways to catch all of the action. The 2021 International, the first in two years due to the COVID-19, began on October 7 and runs through October 17. Valve has now detailed all of the ways for tuning in remotely.

You’ll find two viewing modes to pick from when you head to the site: standard and spoiler-free. The former offers the “optimal viewing experience with the latest match-ups, scores, and standings right at your fingertips”, while the latter will “automatically track which VODs you’ve watched and block information regarding unknown match-ups and standings”. You can hop between these two options any time.

While the group stages are live, there will naturally be multiple games going on at once, so you will find the main stream hosts the “Multicast” – a stream following the most exciting games of the day. You can switch to one of the other games going on, though, by picking one of the alternative numbered options, catchily titled ‘dota2ti_2’, ‘dota2ti_5’, and so on.Even though COVID-19 has affected the whole world and seemed to put a stop to everything, it is comforting to know that the world still finds ways to move forward. As the world stood still, the gaming community banded together and kept the world going through games like Dota 2.