2023’s competitive Dota 2 season was memorable for many reasons. From record-breaking title streaks to veterans hanging up the mouse and keyboard, pro Dota had it all.
In many ways, it’s the end of an era—with the Dota Pro Circuit scrapped and the competitive calendar “mostly” handed back to third-party organizers, 2024’s season ahead has many more questions than answers.
Before we crack on with the new season, however, let’s pay our dues to 2023’s best teams. Here are our picks for the top five Dota 2 teams of the year.
Our top five Dota 2 teams for 2023, ranked
#5: Tundra Esports
The International 2022 champions just weren’t their dominant selves in 2023, but a simple look at their results doesn’t paint the full picture—Tundra had its fair share of disruptions throughout the calendar year.
Between veteran Martin “Saksa” Sazdov stepping away with health issues, a myriad of stand-ins at numerous events (including TI 2023 itself), and many back office changes, it felt the odds were against Tundra from the outset, but that didn’t stop the squad showing promise at times.
It’s primarily due to the late roster adjustments that Tundra’s full offline force was nullified, as their online results were solid all year, with podium finishes at all three DPC division tours. But, outside of a top-four finish at DreamLeague Season 20 and third at the Bali Major, it was far from the year Tundra had hoped for. Their 13th-16th result at TI spelled doom for the team, with the squad splitting apart in November.
#4: Talon Esports / Aurora
While the top three in our list are pretty clear-cut, the last two to make our list were tough to pick from. There were certainly lows for Talon Esports throughout 2023, but the highs were simply immaculate, and as such, Southeast Asia’s best this year just made the list.
Missing their “home” Major in Indonesia would have certainly hurt Talon, but it’s their LAN performances elsewhere that saw them soar above their peers in SEA. After a top-three finish at the Lima Major and fourth at DreamLeague Season 20, many SEA fans were crossing their fingers that their region’s best might make a run at TI.
But it was their almighty run at Riyadh that was most memorable. After defeating Quest and narrowly losing to Team Liquid, Talon bit back in the playoff lower bracket, taking down 9Pandas and the seemingly unstoppable Gaimin Gladiators in chaotic fashion. Talon would exit in third after a rematch with Liquid, but it was a run you simply had to witness.
The squad won’t be wielding the Talon banner in 2024, though, instead playing under Serbian org Aurora when the ESL tour kicks off in February.
#3: Team Liquid
It was a year of “what ifs” for the perennial Dota legends at Team Liquid, who found themselves constantly standing on the second step of the podium at almost every juncture in 2023.
The DPC Western Europe division champions just couldn’t overcome the greatest hurdle on LAN—a grand final. Five times, Liquid was given the chance to win a top-tier event in 2023 but fell at every turn, four times to Gaimin Gladiators. Their fifth grand final loss to Spirit at Riyadh Masters seemed to blow the air out of the sails for the squad, which dropped back to fifth at TI 2023 and third at Kuala Lumpur, losing to eventual winners Azure Ray.
2023 marked a slight change of the guard at Liquid with Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg announcing a break from Dota after a decade in the esport and two years with the organization. Liquid fans will be hoping Israeli recruit Neta “33” Shapira steps up and fills zai’s shoes the best he can as the org hunts for its first Dota LAN trophy since 2020.
#2: Team Spirit
The TI 2023 champions come in at number two, mainly due to their slower start to the Dota year at LAN. Unlike Team Liquid or our number one team below, Spirit seemed unable to convert their dominance of Eastern Europe online into any event trophies. While their European peers carved up the DPC Majors, the best Spirit could manage was top eight in Peru.
But a switch flipped in July after the CIS squad crashed out of the Bali Major. Spirit went largely untroubled in Saudi Arabia to claim the biggest prize purse of the year at the Riyadh Masters, then backed it up with a perfect run at DreamLeague Season 21.
All that remained was TI, and after their mid-year resurgence, Spirit took the favorites tag and ran with it. Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk proved he could handle the title as the Dota’s best carry, Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov was nigh unstoppable, and the squad’s straightforward 3-0 grand final win even resulted in a temporary hero name change. Let’s see if they can convert this end-of-2023 form for an entire year this time.
#1: Gaimin Gladiators
Gaimin Gladiators takes our number one spot for the year, beating out the TI champs after a never-before-seen DPC triple among six trophies in 2023. The Quinn Callahan-led squad fell just short in Seattle and exited in the semi-finals at Riyadh Masters, but when those are among the worst results for the team across the calendar year, there’s no contest.
Gaimin took home over $3 million in prize money for 2023 and never looked like losing at most tournaments, finishing the three Majors with a ridiculous 27-4 record in the playoffs, losing matches only to Team Liquid and beastcoast. Their online record was just as strong, and while Liquid trounced them at each DPC Western Europe division, Gaimin more than made up for it with their dual DreamLeague victories in April and June.
They may well be the best team not to win the Aegis of Champions if their form holds in 2024, but then again, by sticking together and avoiding any roster changes, they’re sure to challenge at TI in the coming year. Gaimin isn’t going anywhere, folks.
Published: Dec 31, 2023 11:01 am