The image on top shows just a couple of incredible players that have recently changed teams, however who are possibly the greatest Dota 2 rosters ever assembled and how did they come to be?
Roster moves in Dota 2 are definitely a quite complex issue. Sometimes, teams sign elite one of a kind players only for the team to implode internally, while there are also other situations where teams sign unknown amateur pub stomping leaderboard stars and go on to win TI in a couple of splits. Today we will take a look at the most influential and successful Dota 2 roster changes of all time.
As mentioned before, the best players being arranged on the same team might not make things as easy as they seem. For example: Notail, Kuroky, S4, Puppey, and Fly were probably the best roster ever created on paper. Nevertheless, they lasted in the same team for a short period of three months before personality clashes broke the team in pieces. This move proved that getting the best players in the world together doesn’t make a team successful immediately.
Teams need to consider a player’s personality, attitude, and mechanical prowess as a whole before signing them. Over the years, several game changing roster moves have shattered the landscape of professional Dota 2.
Before starting here are some honorable mentions:
- Fly and S4 joining EG
- Funnik and Kuroky joining Na’Vi
- Misery, W33ha, Moo and Saksa joining Digital Chaos
- Shadow, Faith_bian, Iceice, and Y’ joining Wings Gaming.
Without further ado let’s start with our list!
#10 – Miracle joins OG/Monkey Business
OG made a blockbuster move signing Miracle on August 28th, 2015. The team was then under the Monkey Business brand/organization, and it would later rebrand to OG a few months later. The team had Notail, Crit, Fly, and Moonmeander. This version of OG became one of Dota 2’s first superteams that actually worked, as the players seemed to hit it off right from the get go.
OG won the very first Valve Major, the Frankfurt Major, and went on to win the Manila Major as well in succession. However, the team slowly came down in performance at The International 6 and was eliminated by tournament heavy underdogs TNC in what was a huge upset. Miracle would go on to become one of the greatest Dota 2 players in the game’s history regarding trophies and community recognition.
#9 – Arteezy and Zai join Team Secret
Between 2014 and 2016, Arteezy jumped between two teams quite a lot, Evil Geniuses and Team Secret four times to be specific. In January 2015, Arteezy and Zai joined Puppey, Kuroky, and S4 in Team Secret, creating one of the best Dota 2 super teams ever on paper.
With this line up already in place, Secret went on to win four back to back tournaments leading up to The International 5. The absolute juggernaut of a roster would immediately implode after The International 5, where they were placed 7th-8th in the tournament after losses to a rising Ehome and Virtus.Pro.
#8 – Jerax, S4, and Ana joins OG
Jerax, S4, and Ana decided to join efforts in OG on August 31st, 2016. Together with Notail and Fly, 2016 OG was considered to be one of the best Dota 2 teams to ever lay foot in a competition. Ana was a relatively unknown player from Australia, while S4 and Jerax were two of the best players in their respective positions in the world.
The team dominated for a straight year, winning both Valve Majors of the season convincingly in Kyiv and Boston. Nevertheless, OG, similar to previous instances, was disappointed at The International, losing to LGD and finishing 7th-8th, causing Ana to leave the team on hiatus soon after.
#7 – Mushi, Iceiceice, LanM, and MMY join Team DK
Mushi, Iceiceice, LanM, and MMY joined Team DK as a group of 4 on September 4th, 2013. It was immediately considered the best team in the world due to their known synergy and mechanical talent. The 5th player on the team was Burning, the legendary carry player dubbed the B-God by the Chinese Dota 2 community throughout the years.
Team DK won eight tournaments and got top 4 in eight more afterwards. However, DK finished 4th at The International 2014, which was considered an underachievement for a team of this caliber.
#6 – Rodjer joins Virtus.Pro
In a quite unexpected move, Rodjer joined Virtus.Pro on February 1st 2018. The other players on the team were Ramzes, No-One, 9Pasha, and Solo. With the new position 4 ready to play, Virtus.Pro quite rapidly improved its results. With Rodjer, Virtus.Pro had one of the best years any Dota 2 team ever had in regards to professional showings and trophies.
In 2018, Virtus.Pro won a record four Valve Majors and finished in the top 4 of three more. Its only finish outside the top 4 was at The International 8, where they sadly finished 5th-6th. The team’s overall results would slowly but surely deteriorate for the next year before it was disbanded after a disappointing performance at The International 9.
#5 – Ame and xNova joins PSG.LGD
On January 1st 2018, Ame and xNova joined LGD Gaming. After which they soon rebranded into PSG.LGD Gaming became the best Chinese Dota 2 team for nearly two years in a row. The team also included Fy, Somnus, and Chalice under their wings.
With Ame and xNova, PSG.LGD finished in the top 3 of four consecutive Valve Majors, taking first place at Epicenter XL and MDL Changsha. The team was the favorite to win at both TI8 and TI9 consecutively, ultimately finishing 2nd and 3rd. PSG.LGD remains as one of the most consistent teams in Dota 2 history and currently still running.
#4 – GH joins Team Liquid
GH joined Team Liquid at the very start of the 2017 season. The rest of the team included names such as Miracle, Matumbaman, Mind Control, and Kuroky. Team Liquid had a decently slow start with its new line up finishing 5th-8th at the Kyiv Major 2017, quite unexpected for the roster in place.
Nevertheless soon after, Team Liquid established itself as the best team in Europe, winning four tournaments in a short amount of time. Liquid went into The International 7 as one of the heavy favorites to win the tournament and created history by winning the tournament after going on the greatest ever seen lower bracket miracle run ever.
#3 – EGM joins No Tidehunter/Alliance
EGM joined No Tidehunter all the way back on February 23rd 2013. EGM completed an all Swedish line up that included players such as S4, Admiral Bulldog, Loda, and Akke. Alliance signed the entire roster a couple of months after EGM’s signing.
With EGM active in the roster, Alliance turned all the dota odds in their favor and went on one of the most savage and dominant runs in Dota 2 history. The team recorded seven tournament victories leading up to The International 3. At which , Alliance defeated arch nemesis Navi in an all time classic grand final to secure its place in Dota 2 history.
#2 – Sumail and Aui_2000 join EG
On the fabled day of January 7th 2015, Sumail and Aui_2000 took the spots of Arteezy and Zai on Evil Geniuses. Together with Fear, PPD, and Universe, this version of Evil Geniuses became North America’s greatest Dota 2 team of all time, something that was lacking for the region as NA was always a question mark even when arranging “super teams” under the region.
Sumail was a completely unknown leaderboard pub star who was unproven in the professional scene at the time, so he had some big shoes to fill going forwards. At Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015, Sumail proved all of his doubters wrong as Evil Geniuses won the tournament in stunning fashion. Evil Geniuses went on to win The International 5 on top of other smaller tournaments, which remains North America’s only Valve tournament victory to this date in time.
#1 – Topson, Ana, and Ceb join OG
Just a couple of months before the coveted The International 8 started, OG signed in quite strange fashion unknown pub leaderboard star Topson, while also bringing back Ana who had been on hiatus from competitive Dota 2 for nearly a full year, and turned its coach Ceb into an active player on the roster. OG’s team also included Notail and Jerax on top of the previous names.
At The International 8, OG made a Cinderella run, miraculously winning the tournament after most likely the roughest position a winning team has ever been in. The International 8 was also Topson’s first ever professional Dota 2 competitive tournament. OG’s miracle run didn’t end there as they went on to win The International 9 a year later with the same exact roster, something that no other team in Dota 2 history has ever done. Thus making them the number 1 instance on this list and for all the esport betting experts, this will be considered the best team in Dota 2 history.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this look back in time to the best roster moves/changes within Dota 2 history, as almost definitely there are more to come soon in the future. Make sure to check out our esports odds and esports bets as we cover most of the Dota 2 big events!
