Esports has skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade when the fan bases of video games became more supportive of local and international tournaments. Dota 2 experienced the same hype from millions of fans around the world. 

Taking a look at hundreds of professional Dota 2 matches and tournaments held all over the world, there are moments where players get overly joyous and surprised with what they have witnessed. These moments came from feats nobody expected to have been pulled off, making them unforgettable.

So, which moves were considered by fans to be epic and iconic? Here are ten of the most unforgettable moments in Dota 2 esports:

Outlanders Patch

Starting this list with the update that changed Dota 2’s gameplay from 2019 onwards, the Outlanders Patch introduced the highest number of modifications to the game to date. First is the release of two heroes, Void Spirit and Snapfire. Then, changes to couriers, the map layout, and the secret shops have been made.

In addition, heroes now have a maximum level of 30, allowing them to unlock their entire talent tree.

$6 million Echo Slam

This explosive and nerve-racking play happened in The International 2015 finals between the Chinese Dota Elite Community Gaming (CDEC) and North American team Evil Geniuses (EG). The match was a best-of-five series and EG leads 2-1. In Game 4, CDEC figured they could take on Roshan after killing one EG member.

The rest of EG decided to contest the Roshan take and unleashed a flurry of ultimates which ended in Earthshaker’s Echo Slam, inflicting damage and stunning all CDEC members inside the pit. EG gained momentum after that play and eventually won the $6 million grand prize.

Dendi’s million-dollar Dream Coil

There are two million-dollar Dream Coils in TI’s history. The final match between Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) and EHOME has the former up 2-1 while the latter figured a Roshan takedown would give them a win.

Unfortunately for EHOME, Na’Vi’s Dendi cast Puck’s Dream Coil, catching all five of them while inside the pit, sealing their fate in the hands of Puck’s teammates Slardar, Weaver, Chen, and Beastmaster. Na’Vi won the final game of the series and, consequently, the TI 2011 title.

Na’Vi vs IG in TI 2012

Na’Vi appears once more on this list as they defend their title against Invictus Gaming (IG) in the finals of TI 2012. This time, Na’Vi is on the ropes 1-2, but they still wanted to put up a fight. Unfortunately for the Ukrainian team, the combo of Naga Siren’s Song of the Siren and Dark Seer’s Vacuum spelt the beginning of the end.

After being left helpless by the two consecutive crowd control abilities, all of Na’Vi’s players were badly wounded. IG didn’t allow them to recoup and finished the series as TI 2012 champions.

Fountain Hook

This move was shown in the upper bracket semi-finals of The International 2013 between TongFu and Na’Vi. The fountain hook was a combo move using Chen’s teleportation timed perfectly to Pudge’s meat hook, taking an opponent directly to Na’Vi’s fountain which instantly killed them.

Ceb’s Taunt

Here’s another from the TI finals, this time in 2018. OG’s Ana was surrounded by PSG.LGD players and was on the verge of dying when his teammate Ceb used his buyback and teleported to the bottom lane. Ceb managed to rescue Ana by using Axe’s Berserker’s Call and taunt three PSG.LGD players.

Ceb died again, but not before landing two Culling Blades. His brave rescue gave birth to the ‘CEEEEEEEB’ chat wheel famous among Dota 2 players these days.

Ferrari_430 kills an invisible Broodmother

Broodmother is a hero who is known to sneak around and move quickly against enemies using her spider web. Unfortunately, she met her match at The International 2012 in Templar Assassin.

Ferrari_430 is an IG player who became famous for using Templar Assassin to kill an invisible Broodmother without the help of detection items. What he did was he targeted the nearby creeps with Psionic blades which then dealt carryover damage to Broodmother.

Aegis denial by kYxY

A player named kYxY played for Neolution Orange at The International 2013, managing to reach the semi-finals where his team fought Na’Vi. Neolution Orange had the upper hand over Na’Vi. So, they decided to snowball further by killing Roshan.

NeolutionOrange succeeded in killing Roshan, but kYxY then made one of the biggest Dota 2 blunders in its esports history. He misclicked the Aegis of the Immortal, denying his team from having it. It got worse when Na’Vi successfully fought back and eliminated Neolution Orange.

OG’s back-to-back titles

OG is the only team to win The International back-to-back. What made this feat even more impressive is the team succeeded even without two players from its 2018 lineup. Add to that the fact that a Chinese team is the favourite to win the TI 2019 and you have a narrative that deserves to be made into a movie.

It wasn’t made into a movie, rather a documentary series was released depicting the struggles of OG from being the primary target of pro Dota 2 teams in 2018 to being an underdog in 2019.

First TI

Most of the entries on this list wouldn’t be documented if not for Valve’s announcement of the very first worldwide Dota 2 tournament which doubled as a showcase of the game to fans of the original Dota. Valve’s ambitious tournament proved to be a huge success, becoming an annual event with a substantial prize pool.

Through the 2011 event, fans were treated to a first look at Dota 2 and witnessed the crowning of Natus Vincere as the first ever TI champions.
It doesn’t matter whether they’re making a return or are debuting, pro players in Dota 2 tournaments are expected to demonstrate never-before-seen moves that will leave spectators awestruck. Ultimately, what these pros leave behind is the inspiration they instill on casual players to do their best on every game and make every moment count.