Top 10 iconic Dota 2 moments on game's tenth anniversary

Gaimin Gladiators made history at the Bali Major, becoming the first team to win five consecutive Dota 2 tier-1 tournaments in 2023. However, the tournament's grand finals marked another milestone for the game, as it turned 10 on the same day. The title's decade-long run is littered with remarkable plays in its competitive scene and long-running memes in its dedicated community.

On the month of Dota 2's 10th anniversary, let's take a look at some of its most memorable moments.

Note: This ranking is subjective and reflects the opinions of the writer

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10 most memorable moments in the history of professional Dota 2

10) The Original 322 incident (2013)

The banned Rox.Kis 2013 Dota 2 squad in StarLadder StarSeries (Image via StarLadder)

Not all of Dota 2 history is shrouded in glory and fair competition. Several big-league organizations, including Newbee and Omega Esports, are banned from the game's professional scene due to match-fixing scandals. However, none of these scandals is as infamous as the original 322 incident.

Currently the community meme term to summarize intentional throws in Dota 2, 322's roots can be traced back to a CIS team called RoX.KIS. Going into the StarLadder StarSeries 2016 as one of the crowd favorites, the team seemed to shockingly lose a game to a tier-3 team called zRage.

An official follow-up investigation revealed that RoX midlaner Alexey “Solo” Berenzin had wagered $100 against his own team on a Dota 2 betting site and that their side intentionally threw the game. Solo had bet at 3.22 odds for a successful earning of $322 for the throw, a lifetime ban from StarLadder events, and immortalization in the history of controversies in Dota 2.

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9) Lakad Matataaaaaag! (Secret vs Fnatic, ESL One Katowice, 2018)

The ESL One Katowice 2018 arguably had its most explosive terse comeback in the upper bracket semifinals of Group B, courtesy of a tie-breaker game between Fnatic and Secret. The closing moment was a surprise hail-mary play by Saahil "Universe" Arora's Underlord and Abed "Abed" Yusop's Ember Spirit that worked out against all odds. What makes it truly memorable, however, is its unofficial Tagalog stream by MinsekiTV.

Aldrin "Dunoo" Paulo Pangan and Marlon "Lon" Marcelo not only cemented the Philippines hypecasting culture in the annals of history but also created a number of classic chat wheel voice lines for the ages. This includes the famous "Lakad Matataaaag! Normalin Normalin", "The next level play!" and "Easiest money of my life!."

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8) CEEEEEB (OG vs PSG.LGD, TI 2018)

Immortalized by Owen "ODPixel" Davies' casting call, Sebastian "Ceb" Deb's Berserker's call on Wang "Ame" Chunyu and Yang "Chalice" Shenyi played a monumental role in securing OG the final teamfight in a tense elimination game.

Ceb's eponymous clutch Axe play is remembered more for its representational value rather than an individual micro-play. This was the fourth game in a best-of-five TI grand final where OG were on their last legs against a world-class PSG.LGD side.

This moment marked the beginning of the end, laying the foundation of the team's comeback and eventual claim over the most esteemed Dota 2 LAN title, The International trophy.

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7) Defense of The Arc Warden ft. Miracle (Alliance vs Nigma, Omega League 2020)

Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi is considered to be the GOAT of Dota 2. In his long career alternating between the midlane and carry roles, he has had many standout moments. The best example of Miracle saving the day can be found in a famous lower-bracket series, where he almost single-handedly turned the game around against Alliance.

Just when Alliance thought they would leisurely take the throne after a 43-21 lead, in came Miracle's Arc Warden with his Magnetic Field. Other than the attack speed buff, this Dota 2 ability grants all units within it 100% Evasion from attacks issued from outside its perimeter.

As Alliance exhausted buyback after buyback to throw their body against the throne, they were denied the final sliver of the Ancient's HP, thanks to successive well-placed Magnetic Fields. Within a few minutes, Alliance actually lost the game. As an addendum, the Magnetic Field range got nerfed in the next Dota 2 patch.

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6) The kYxY Denial (Na'Vi vs Orange Esports, TI 2013)

Not all plays are crested on the wreath of success in Dota 2, as exemplified by Lee "kYxY" Yang's misplay in the lower bracket finals of TI 2013. In the series tie-breaker, the leading Orange Esports side decided to further their momentum by defeating Roshan. Defeating this creature drops the Aegis of The Immortal, which, once picked up by a player, gives them a free revive after three seconds.

In an attempt to spam attack-click Roshan so as to kill him without picking up the Aegis of The Immortal, kYxY accidentally attack-clicked the Aegis, effectively denying his team the chance to pick it up. This misplay eventually spiraled into Na'Vi regaining control of the game and eventually knocking Orange Esports out of the competition.

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5) The Six Million Dollar Echo Slam (Evil Geniuses vs CDEC, TI 2015)

We have Saahil "Universe" Arora on his Earthshaker and Peter "PPD" Dager on his Ancient Apparition to thank for one of the most iconic wombo-combos on the grand stage of The International in Dota 2.

Earthshaker's Echo Slam deals significant magic damage relative to how many enemies are caught in its wake. Ancient Apparition's ultimate Ice Blast deals magic damage in an area, disables Health regeneration, and instantly kills enemies if they drop too low.

The game-deciding Echo Slam spelled out disaster for the CDEC side, who were huddled up in the Roshan pit. Emotions ran high with both casters and fans at the fallout of this play, as it virtually sealed CDEC's fate in this elimination match of the TI 2015 grand finals. In other words, the Echo Slam virtually secured Evil Geniuses their first TI Aegis, as well as the prize sum of $6,634,661.

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4) The 200 HP Ancient comeback (Evil Geniuses vs Alliance, TI 2016)

More often than not, defeat in Dota 2 comes from overstepping your bounds. Time and time again, insurmountable leads have been thrown away by overzealous high-ground pushes, even in professional matches.

Perhaps no other moment in Dota 2 history represents this more than a TI 2016 group-stage game between Alliance and Evil Geniuses. In one fell swoop, a leading Alliance side choose to end an hour-long game by rushing the Alliance base when Evil Geniuses were four men down.

During the course of their attempt, two supports from the EG side had revived. Thanks largely to Jonathan "Loda" Berg's Lone Druid, both held the base and team-wiped the aggressors. Within the next minute, the script was flipped when Evil Geniuses actually managed to run down mid and cinch a comeback victory.

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3) Million-dollar Dream Coil (Alliance vs Na'Vi, TI 2013)

Rather than a measure of brute force, the deciding factor in Dota 2 is often strategic outplays. Alliance proved this in 2013 with their tactical 'rat doto,' which culminated poetically in a victory decided by clutch Teleportation Scroll cancels.

In the fifth game tie-breaker of a grueling TI 2013 grand finals, Gustav "s4" Magnusson's plays on his Puck served a pivotal role. Rather than scoring kills, these plays were Dream Coils set up to cancel TPs to delay the opponent team's arrival in time to defend their base.

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2) 'Patience from Zhou' and its consequences (Na'Vi vs Invictus Gaming, TI 2012)

Currently celebrated as possibly the first game-defining iconic moment in the history of professional Dota 2, 'The Play' happened in the second game of an upper-bracket playoff series between Na'Vi and Invictus Gaming.

In an otherwise even game, Invictus Gaming decided to set up the dream teamfight, committing to a full team smoke to sneak up on a clumped-up Na'Vi side. Invictus Gaming carry Chen 'Zhou' Yao managed to set up the perfect five-man Song of The Siren, only for their great scheme to be trounced by Dmitriy "LighTofHeaveN" Kupriyanov's turnaround Black Hole.

'The Play' should instead be dubbed 'The Counterplay,' as it ended in the entire aggressor side being definitively team-wiped.

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1) The Dendi Express (Na'Vi vs TongFu, TI 2013)

The Fountain Hook play recapitulates everything that is uniquely great about Dota 2, and the 2013 Na'Vi roster made it happen in a high-stakes elimination game in the TI 3 playoffs.

For those uninitiated, Pudge's Meat Hook brings its target to Pudge's Location. The 2013 version of Chen could instantly teleport a target allied hero to the fountain, making it one of the most broken combos in the game that has now been patched out. Regardless, this combo is highly timing- and tick-dependent, one that Danil "Dendi" Ishutin and Clement "Puppey" Ivanov played to perfection.