In the competitive Dota 2 Esports scene, where team synergy is key, the success of teams at The International (TI) Championships often defies expectations, highlighting the importance of team dynamics over individual skill.
This is evident from the glories of teams like Team OG at TI9, Tundra Esports at TI11, and Team Spirit at TI12, who won not merely on the back of star players but through cohesive team play. However, today we take a different turn, focusing on the five most disappointing and underwhelming Dota 2 team and player acquisitions in the past years.
Evil Geniuses’ South American Pivot
Leading our list is the unexpected regional migration of Evil Geniuses, once a staple in the North American Dota 2 scene, which opted to form a new South American squad. This decision was influenced by the remarkable performances of South American players from beastcoast and Thunder Awaken at TI11, which caught the eye of the North American giant.
However, this move did not pan out as planned. The team’s performance plummeted, culminating in a disheartening sixteenth-place finish at TI12. This not only cast a shadow on Evil Geniuses’ reputation but also adversely affected the broader image of North American Dota.
The South American roster, only a year old, was subsequently released after a season that fell far below expectations. As for EG, they suffered a worse fate, which is their claimed departure from the Esports scene altogether.
Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen
The highly-anticipated return of Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, the two-time TI champion, is next on our list. Topson’s return to the competitive arena in 2022 was met with high expectations, but it led to a series of underperforming roster moves.
His first major team change was joining T1, alongside Anathan “ana” Pham, replacing longstanding team members. This high-stakes move was aimed at securing a spot at TI11 just a month beforehand, but it backfired, with T1 failing to even make it through TI11 Last Chance Qualifier. The disappointment didn’t end there.
After a year-long hiatus, Topson joined the then reigning champions, Tundra Esports, for TI12. Despite the high hopes pinned on the defending champions, the team suffered an early exit, finishing 13th-16th. This led to the TI-winning players of the team to go their separate ways, leaving Tundra Esports a shadow of its former glory.
Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko’s Controversy
Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko’s journey in 2024 serves as a stark example of a problematic acquisition in the Dota 2 scene. Pure initially entered the spotlight as a new carry for Virtus.pro, but his tenure was marred by controversy.
In April 2022, during a critical match, Pure drew a contentious symbol on the mini-map of a tournament match, leading to the team’s disqualification and his subsequent release from Virtus.pro. The repercussions of this act were severe, causing a significant public relations setback for the team.
Despite remaining active in the professional scene, Pure’s actions continued to cause trouble, as evidenced by his involvement in an incident at the Bali Major 2023 with BetBoom Team, leading to penalties due to tournament guideline violations.
Mad Kings
Mad Kings, once a dominant force in the South American Dota 2 scene, faced an abrupt end in 2024. After assembling a new roster in late 2023, the team’s journey was cut short in just three weeks. The catalyst for this downfall was the banning of player Steven “StingeR” Vargas’s main account for account sharing, a violation that occurred amidst their participation in the DreamLeague S22 South America Closed Qualifier.
This incident also led to the disbandment of the Dota 2 team.
PSG’s Unrewarding Partnership with Quest Esports
As honorable mention, the partnership between French football club Paris Saint-Germain and Quest Esports, which gave rise to the rebranded team PSG Quest, is noted for its lackluster performance.
The collaboration, which had high expectations, turned sour as PSG Quest finished last at TI12. This outcome was particularly stark when compared to the achievements of PSG’s former partner, LGD Gaming (aka PSG.LGD), which secured a commendable third place at the same tournament.
This underscored the significant gap in performance and success between PSG’s two Esports collaboration, raising questions about the effectiveness of their partnership deals.
All in all, the 2022-2023 season of Worst Dota 2 Acquisitions aren’t too shabby compared to its predecessors. Be sure to check out even worse Dota 2 acquisitions that happened in 2021.
Like many multiplayer games, Dota 2 is a teamwork-oriented game, where the esports scene calls for flawless synergy among teammates. Teams that win the Internationals (TI) often don’t have the most notable players in the world. Instead, the power of friendship seemingly worked for most former champs, such as Alliance in TI3, Wings Gaming in TI6, and Team Spirit in TI10.
However, we aren’t talking about any of that fame and glory this time. Hereby lies the five worst Dota 2 roster acquisitions in 2021, period.
Syed “SumaiL” Hassan
Featuring a top-notch prodigy like SumaiL, a TI Champion, on the list of worst Dota 2 roster acquisition might sound absurd. However, SumaiL’s career hasn’t been the same ever since he left his first Dota 2 team, Evil Geniuses.
After serving and immortalizing EG as a Dota 2 Champion for five years, SumaiL finally decided to part ways. Initially, SumaiL joined his brother’s team, the Quincy Crew, but it didn’t take three weeks before Quincy Crew realized they weren’t compatible with SumaiL.
In fact, SumaiL wasn’t compatible with any team besides EG. He went on to become a free agent several times, occasionally trying out with other new teams. Unfortunately, he was met with blunder after blunder. The word about SumaiL being a free agent caught wind even in China, where Chinese powerhouses were even considering having him on the team despite the language barrier.
Eventually, team OG announced they were up for having SumaiL on the roster, alongside Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng and Martin “Saksa” Sazdov. However, even the two-time champion couldn’t adapt to his ludicrous playstyle.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t all bad news for SumaiL as Team Secret became the latest team for SumaiL at the DPC2021-22.
Team Elephant
China needed a candidate strong enough to bring home the Aegis of Champions after failing for three consecutive years. Team Elephant rose to that calling by bringing five seasoned veterans and prodigies under its roof. Namely, there were Xu “fy” Linsen, Lu “Somnus丶M” Yao, Zhang “Paparazi灬” Chengjun, Zhou “Yang” Haiyang, and Xie “Super” Junhao.
Top that portfolio of world-class players with a legendary coach, Bai “rOtK” Fan, and it’s difficult to doubt Elephant’s potential. In fact, Elephant started out as a decent team, managing to overwhelm opponents and break new records in game stats.
Yet, when it came to the Dota Pro Circuit 2021 (DPC2021), Elephant failed to deliver. They missed both majors but managed to earn a spot in TI10, only to fall out at the sixteenth place. If there’s one takeaway after Elephant’s disband is that one man’s fantasy team is not another championship-winning team.
After all was said and done, team Elephant only lasted approximately one year, and put no notable achievements under their belt.
23savage and Vici Gaming
Many Southeast Asian fans hailed Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon as SEA’s finest prodigies in 2019. The player started with his first high-profile team, Fnatic, which showcased his skills more than just your average pubstomper.
In late 2020, Vici Gaming like many Chinese powerhouses is more open to bringing in overseas players to fit their line-up. What initially started as an exciting opportunity for 23savage eventually turned sour in mere months. 23savage flew to China to join his team but returned to SEA just three months after. During that time, the DPC2021 had already begun, leaving 23savage essentially jobless.
While the dire situation that 23savage had, eventually led to him joining T1 and becoming a top seed in TI10, 23savage probably won’t forget his memorable experience playing for VG.
Dendi and B8
Danil “Dendi” Ishutin is the face of Dota 2 for years, and the fans love him. Yet, B8, a team he founded himself? Well, not so much.
B8 entered the Eastern European scene with high hopes and a bandwagon of Dendi fans. However, a line-up with Dendi never really played out well ever since its debut. Even so, B8 still plays in the DPC2021-22 today, albeit still at its worst shape possible. B8 has undergone countless roster shuffles and even held the record for most consecutive losses by a team in Dota 2 history, 24 losses to be exact. While fans have always bashed B8’s poor performance, Dendi never seems to give up on his team.
Thanks to @v1lat for asking the question…
You may have heard of the legendary 28 wins in a row by @newbeecn in 2016 but did you know that @B8esportsGG now has the record for the most game losses in a row (24)?
They topple such legends as FTDC and MUFChttps://t.co/qsujUnTtqM
— Ben Steenhuisen (@Noxville) May 5, 2020
Even when B8 placed last in DPC2021 Lower Division bracket, and would be demoted to open qualifiers. Dendi still insists on keeping his dream team relevant by signing team XactJlepbI, even if he doesn’t get to be on the active roster.
The team registration fiasco never really paid off, considering Dendi’s ownership of B8 was put at stake too. Because B8 even after the massive overhaul, still plays poorly and is in the running for last place at DPC2021-22 again.
Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao
EternaLEnVy is a pro player with a diverse career after playing Dota 2 professionally for almost a decade. Yet, every North American team that EternaLEnVy joins, somehow performs worse and often didn’t take months before EE sees himself out.
Now, EternaLEnVy is by no means a bad player, considering he did reach 10,000 MMR in March 2021. However, his experience and knowledge as a pro player never pay off for any teams hoping to have him as the veteran player. At some point, EE became the poster child of team disbands in NA region.
Sure, the fans bash EE excessively for his frequent team hopping, which not only affects his career but destroys the teams’ outooks. However, if there’s one aspect to praise EE about, is his persistence in the esport he loves. Despite the countless mishaps and presumably bad blood he caused in NA teams, EE never stopped playing Dota 2.
This sums up the five worst Dota 2 roster acquisitions in 2021. Fortunately, life moves on for most featured players on the list, and you might want to keep an eye on rising stars in Dota 2 betting for a change. Otherwise, check out our early draft of next season’s roster shuffles that mind end up on this list a year from today.
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