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8 of the best Dota 2 players in 2016
What a year of Dota 2 it has been. We look back at the top-performing players of this year.
As we all take time to celebrate the festive season and digest the monumental 7.00 gameplay patch, it’s a great time to reflect on arguably the best year in Dota 2’s history.
There have been records broken aplenty this year, both by individuals and teams in an intriguing year of competitive Dota 2. The $9.2 million that Wings Gaming took home after winning the biggest tournament in eSports history, The International 6, stands out – as well as OG’s two Major wins of the calendar year. Add to that Newbee’s incredible 29-match win streak and players breaching the 9,000 MMR barrier for the first time and it’s clear to see what an amazing year we’ve had.
We picked eight of the very best players from this year (in no particular order) – who would you change?
Amer ‘Miracle-’ Al-Barkawi
The Jordanian prodigy’s rise to the top of the professional scene was nothing short of meteoric. He was plucked from the public leaderboards last year and has since gone on to win two Majors and place highly in countless other tournaments. Although his tenure with OG, with which he won his silverware, has now come to a close, there’s no doubt that he was an integral cog in the win at the Manila Major.
Add to that his record-breaking achievement in becoming the first player to reach a staggering 9,000 MMR and his Anti-Mage performance in the match that would ultimately end Newbee’s 29-match winning streak and it’s clear to see why he just had to make the list. Here’s a video showcasing just one of many sensational plays pulled off by the youngster.
Zhang ‘Faith_bian’ Ruida
Wings Gaming’s run to victory in Seattle was nothing short of remarkable. The team were wonderfully inconsistent in many events before Valve’s flagship tournament, but picked up form at exactly the right point and eventually romped to victory with no one really coming close to stopping them.
One of the best players of the tournament and one of the best offlane players in the world to this day, he plays in a somewhat more aggressive manner than other top-tier offlaners and effectively epitomises “space creator”. He was one of, if not the, most integral cog in Wings Gaming’s great success. His Faceless Void against MVP Phoenix where he effectively soloed the whole of the South Korean’s team is a particular moment that stands out in an array of great plays.
Tal ‘Fly’ Aizik
Tal ‘Fly’ Aizik continues as the team’s captain
© Patrick Strack, ESL
If you attempted to find a highlight reel of a flashy play that the OG captain has made, you’re unlikely to find one. Potentially the most solid, consistent and best defensive support player in the world, Fly has proven time and time again that he’s comfortably among the greatest minds in Dota 2 at the moment. OG’s victory to round-off 2016 in Boston again showcased his strategic know-how as the Green Army never really looked like losing.
Johan ‘n0tail’ Sundstein
Whilst n0tail is a community favourite, in his carry role he’s probably one of the most underappreciated players in the scene. In Miracle- era OG, all of the plaudits would go to Miracle- as he was the player that would make the more aesthetically pleasing plays as well as being afforded more priority. It was often the case that the two supports would prioritise the safety of their mid-laner over n0tail who would often be left in unfavourable matchups to make the most of it. With three Major titles to his name now and great performances across a wide range of hero pools, he has to make it into our top players of the year.
Hu ‘Kaka’ Liangzhi
The Newbee team that maintained a winning streak through mid-2016 that saw them break the longest competitive win streak was a scintillating run. The man behind it all was Kaka, brought in to captain and draft for the team. The team’s imperious form was no surprise, with great organisation around the map and well executed plays. ChuaN, Hao, Mu and kpii all played their part in the all-round execution from what was then an extremely well oiled Newbee machine. Sadly, their form didn’t live up to expectations and much like OG they faltered to defeat on the biggest stage.
Ilya ‘Lil’ Ilyuk
Despite effectively having a forgettable first half of the year, Lil, the position four player for Virtus Pro makes it in to our shortlist. Their performances at The Summit this year and even through the Group Stages at the Boston Major were extremely innovative. Lil and his Virtus Pro team effectively invented the four position Slardar and most definitely were responsible for the four position Weaver. The man behind the mouse for control of these fun-to-watch and somewhat different supports was always Lil. Virtus.pro's sheer brutality and hyper aggressive playstyle at The Summit, which saw them brush past eventual Boston Major Winners OG in the final by three games to zero was a joy to behold. Here’s a video of Lil playing a support Phantom Assassin – which goes to show exactly what we’re talking about.
Jesse ‘JerAx’ Vainikka
The old Team Liquid roster finished second at both the Shanghai Major and the Manila Major before failing to qualify for the third and final Major of 2016 in Boston. The Finnish support player, however, joined OG in the roster shuffle and thus secured himself a top-three finish at all of the 2016 Majors. It’s nothing more than his performances deserve, either. His Earth Spirit is a thing of beauty but he’s shown he’s equally adept on whatever his now support counterpart Fly will pick for him. We hope that 7.00 brings roaming supports to the fore as there’s little doubt that JerAx is one of the best roaming supports.
Aliwi ‘w33’ Omar
The now-mid-laner for Digital Chaos has had a brilliant year. His rise to the scene follows near parallels to that of Miracle-, having been noticed for his exceptional play in the public scene. Whilst Miracle- and OG took home the inaugural Frankfurt Major back in 2015, w33 and Team Secret took home the Shanghai Major nearly purely off the back of some exceptional w33 Invoker plays. It came as a shock to the whole Dota world when he was removed from the roster with just days to spare, but even more testament to him that he came back and finished in an astonishing second place at The International 6 with a roster formed just hours before the Manila Major roster lock. We’re sure he’s set to have a big 2017.
Competitive Dota for 2016 is done and dusted; we’ve seen three Majors and a sensational, record-breaking The International. There has been many brilliant performances from an array of players and to be honest – we would expect many people to have a completely different top eight.
The fascinating 7.00 patch has hit now, and with professional Dota having a somewhat quiet period over the festive season – we’re already itching to see what 2017 has in store for the wonderful world of Dota 2.
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