Another year is in the books for competitive Dota 2 fans, and it’s been another great season that immortalized the best players in the world. Throughout the 2022 DPC season, countless teams from all around the world performed to the best of their abilities to reach the summit of the Dota 2 mountain, and only a handful succeeded.
The best Dota 2 players of 2022 essentially found their match at The International 2022, and the very best rose to the occasion to prove themselves on the highest stage of the Dota 2 competition.
Given Dota 2’s ever-changing meta, it takes a significant effort to stay at the top. Just because a player might have a phenomenal year, it doesn’t mean they can take the next one for granted. Failing to adjust and adapt might mean the end of their reign.
1) Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen — Team Liquid
Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen had a 2022 that could be worthy of documentaries. Despite assembling one of the stronger rosters of the Western European Dota 2 region, Liquid found themselves struggling when it came down to collecting DPC points. As a result, Liquid had to go through the Last Chance Qualifiers to make it to TI11.
Not only Liquid made it out of the LCQ crowd, but they also made it to the top three of TI11 in a perfect fashion fit for Matu’s last run before retirement. In his last tournament, Matu performed exceptionally, pulling off poetic plays that saved his teammates from one HP.
Following TI11, Matu officially retired from Dota 2, and it’s unclear whether he has any intentions of coming back. Though his future might be a question mark, there’s no doubt he bid farewell to the scene in the best way possible.
2) Michał “Nisha” Jankowski — Team Secret
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski joined the ranks of Liquid for the 2023 season after what was arguably the best year of his career with Team Secret.
Coming into TI11 from the LCQ, not many expected a top performance from Secret, but it didn’t take them long to show that they were a top contender for the Aegis of Champions. Secret’s success revolved around their strong laning strategies, which reached its full potential with Nisha.
Throughout TI11, Nisha won various matchups in the mid-lane and served as a pillar of Secret. In the last years, many mid-laners made it to the top, but Nisha has been one of the few that managed to stay on top.
3) Du “Monet” Peng — Team Aster
The Chinese Dota 2 region is the home of many great teams and players. Considering the level of affection in the scene, some talented players continue to operate from the shadows, and 2022 was the year that Monet finally returned to the spotlight.
In 2017, Monet burst into the Dota 2 scene with LGD.Forever Young, placing third in his first TI. He struggled to keep up with his success in the following years, and he found himself away from the podium in the following iterations of the event.
Monet came into TI11 with Team Aster, and they were considered the underdog from the beginning. Aster, however, remained in the tournament as the last hope for the Chinese fans, placing top four as other participants from the region crashed out of the tournament.
During Aster’s run in the event, Du “Monet” Peng put out an impressive performance. His reliability and stable gameplay made him a constant threat that Aster’s opponents had to deal with in the late game, which also gave enough space for the other members of the squad to shine.
4) Crhistian “Pakazs” Casanova — Thunder Awaken
Crhistian “Pakazs” Casanova is coming into the 2023 DPC season after a hot run with his former team, Thunder Awaken. The SA squad scored the highest place finish for the region at TI11, and Pakazs played an incremental role in their success alongside Herrera “DarkMago” Gonzalo.
Throughout TI11, fans witnessed Pakazs ability to take over games on the back of the space that was created by his teammates. With the right heroes and enough farm, Pakazs was one of the best carries at TI11 and during 2022 when the team slowly fused together.
Pakazs will be a member of Evil Geniuses’ latest iteration in the 2023 season with the hopes of repeating his success under a new banner.
5) Neta “33” Shapira — Tundra Esports
Tundra Esports were unmatched at TI11. The dominant force from WEU cruised to the grand finals from the upper bracket and lifted the Aegis without breaking a sweat. While Tundra’s position one and two players were evenly matched in most matches, it was their offlaner, Neta “33” Shapira, who made the real difference.
As a player, 33 had one of the most diverse hero pools in the tournament. In addition to the variability he brought to the table, 33 had an excellent idea of how to abuse the zoo meta that was running rampant throughout the tournament.
Following the tournament, some pros even defined the tournament’s patch as the “Neta Meta,” expressing that 33 was the only person who figured out the most overpowered aspects of the patch before anyone.
From building the broken team-oriented items to making infinite amounts of space on the map, 33 was undoubtedly the best player of 2022 and TI11.
