Syed Sumail Hassan, more commonly known as SumaiL, is a household name in Dota 2 and one of the most talented mid players in the world.
His story is truly inspirational. His passion started at the age of eight, when he discovered the world of Dota. He was introduced to the game by his older cousin Daniyal, who took him to an internet café and taught him how to play. SumaiL quickly fell in love with the game and decided that he wanted to become the best at it. However, the path to success was not straightforward as SumaiL met resistance from his parents. He was dedicated to accomplishing his goal however, and even sold his bicycle so that he could afford more playing hours at the internet café.
In the beginning, his efforts did not pay off, but SumaiL did not become discouraged. The turning point of his Dota 2 career happened when he and his entire family moved to the USA in 2014. He finally had everything necessary to focus entirely on playing Dota, including the support of his parents.
His talent and skills soon became noticed by EG after he established himself as one of the up-and-coming talented players in the North American Elite League. Prompted by EG player Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora, the team signed him in January 2015 following the departure of their star player Arteezy.
Feeling the pressure under the spotlight, he underperformed in his first professional tournament – Dota 2 League Season 5. Despite this, the team still finished 3rd. This disappointment did not last long though as SumaiL was a key part of the team’s success in the very next tournament – the Dota 2 Asia Championships – which they won. SumaiL and EG then went on a streak of great performances before they claimed the top prize in Dota 2 competitive gaming – The International – in the same season.
He is known as a master of heroes requiring a high level of skill such as Shadow Fiend, but his signature hero is the Storm Spirit. Playing as a mid, he prefers playmaking heroes who have a big impact on the game or can decide a team fight. SumaiL certainly prefers to fight rather than focus on farming. He has made a name for himself as a player who is very good at coming back from a disadvantage, as well as being a crucial component in his team’s win, no matter how far behind he was set by enemy ganks in the early game.
Notable achievements
He has been on the EG roster a little over a year and a half, but in this short amount of time he has managed to win numerous prizes. They include:
| Tournament | Place |
| Dota 2 Asia Championships | 1st |
| joinDOTA MLG Pro League Season 1 | 2nd |
| The Summit 3 | 2nd |
| ESL One Frankfurt 2015 | 2nd |
| Dota Pit League Season 3 | 1st |
| The International 2015 | 1st |
| MLG World Finals | 2nd |
| The Frankfurt Major 2015 | 3rd |
| The Summit 4 | 1st |
| StarLadder i-League StarSeries Season 1 | 2nd |
| MarsTV Dota 2 League 2015 Winter | 2nd |
| Captains Draft 3.0 | 1st |
| The Shanghai Major 2016 | 3rd |
| Dota Pit League Season 4 | 2nd |
| WePlay Dota 2 League Season 3 | 3rd |
| The International 2016 | 3rd |
| MarsTV Dota 2 League 2016 Autumn | 1st |
Despite being on the pro scene for such a short period of time, SumaiL is one of the most popular players in eSports. Not only that but he was recently listed as one of the most influential teens of 2016 by Time magazine. There is good reason for this as SumaiL is number 4 in the world concerning overall eSports earnings with $2,310,447.74, and he was the first pro gamer to win one million dollars before his 18th birthday. Nevertheless, SumaiL has still not lost sight of the same aspirations he had as a humble eight-year-old kid, just wanting to be the best at Dota.
