Well, this was long overdue, with the passing of a few years, it’s time we return. 18 Last Hit will be thoughts on the past week or weeks… Let’s just start with one.
The International 10, what an incredible tournament and it once again showed everyone that Dota is a game of adaptability and unpredictability. I myself seriously thought PSG.LGD was going to take the entire thing, that is until the Grind Finals and Magnus were not banned.
Let’s get into it and see if any of our swings get the last hit.
#1. The DPC Winter Tour is about to begin and this could be one of the most competitive in all the regions. The one that has a clear cut is probably North America. Evil Geniuses still looks like the best team, but there’s hope for Quincy Crew and Undying to challenge them.
#2. Fantasy Draft is back and the Battlepass is a couple of weeks away, not really enjoying the regional split in it, but it does raise awareness of the less known players from other regions. If it was anything like the fantasy draft for TI, many lesser-known players will be selected.
#3. Talents getting invited, well this one will always be controversial regardless of who you’re talking to. Talents will always have fans and haters and it’s just the way of the business, unless you know and are friends with them the chances are getting hired gets fewer and fewer especially with more talents trying to get their foot in.
#4. Match-fixing, it’s inevitable for these since every game has money to be made. Shame Omega Esports had to forfeit their spot, while Team Execration was allowed to replace their player. Valve and the organizers need to be more transparent regarding these bans especially when they have concluded all their findings. Would be a very interesting video to make.
#5. DPC slot ownership, we could’ve seen a female-led lineup this season for North America, unfortunately, that got derailed when fans got upset because they did not “deserve” the spot and among other things regarding the owner of the spot’s past.
#6. OG’s brand new lineup, well it was inevitable for the two-time champions to take a break. Glad they are bringing up and coming players to lead them into a new season.
#7. Evil Geniuses brings jerAx out of retirement was certainly a surprise. You know how Dota 2 retirements are, gone for a season and come back the next. He will no doubt bring fresh new ideas and even have a bigger hero pool than Fly.
#8. Elephant disbands, I honestly didn’t expect them to last this long. After missing out on the first major I thought they would give the second one a go and just move on. Give them props for sticking it out to the end. Sadly another super team fails to reach the top.
#9. CIS Rejects team, I didn’t cover it in the videos, but you guys should know that it’s led by FNG who just left Alliance and has former Virtus.pro members like, RAMZES666, Rodjer, and 9pasha and depressed kid who was mostly on Team Empire the season before. Hope they can make it far and stick together longer than one season.
#10. Tundra Esports signing their Dota 2 team through 2024 is incredible for Dota 2. The trust and commitment to the players is definitely welcomed with the ever-changing landscape in Dota 2. Lets hope Tundra can achieve the success they had at the end of last season.
#11. Aui_2000 becomes Tundra Esports’ coach, this is a welcome surprise, but not too many since Aui_2000 is a TI5 winner and a known coach and he’s familiar with the players.
#12. Roster announcements are getting more creative, love how Team Secret created a comic for their announcement.
#13. Entity signing Creepwave should be a testament to the new CIS Rejects team. Stick it out and get some good results and the fortune will come around.
#14. New Team Liquid will be exciting to see, it was surprising to see them bring back MATUMBAMAN.
#15. Does anyone else love Purge’s reaction to the bounty runes? Although I do not play as often, I do often see this happening, are players just avoiding the bounty runes now or do they just not care about gold?
#16. MSS leaving Quincy Crew to pursue a team in Europe has not worked out yet. Sucks he’s still currently without a team with the talent that he has.
#17. The success of Dragon’s Blood and Arcane is great for both games and both shows are enjoyable.
#18. Who knew so many people are so excited to see Arteezy stream again, because the amount of high level, and quick reaction’s are insane and it puts it into another perspective the difference you and I have against pro players.
This takes us to the end f 18 Last Hits, why 18? Well, there are 18 teams that qualify to The International, it’s that simple. It’s a work in progress and let see how this goes. Also, check out the weekly news videos here.
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