No doubt, 2019 is one of the best years in the world of Esport with entertaining clashes that brought about some shocking results.
There are usually shocks in the world of sport though, so having some underdogs sending favourites packing from a tournament is a normal occurrence.
From this season, what has been noticed is that the best of the best really gave the Esport lovers the entertainment they asked for.
So, teams try as much as possible to outdo one another in the quest for the big prize.
With 2019 almost done, let’s look at the top five Dota 2 teams that made spectators proud in the year under review.
5. Vici Gaming
The Chinese squad got a fair amount of hype heading into the 2019 season with veterans on its payroll, led by Pan “Fade” Yi, who ensured they delivered consistent performance throughout the year.
Although they made a slow start in the year, VG picked up their form after winning the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season One. From there, they clicked and ended up winning two of the last three Majors outright, which pushed them over PSG.
Their success made them overtake Evil Geniuses in the ranking, by occupying the third spot in the DPC.
4. PSG.LGD
This is another Chinese team that lived up to expectation by reaching the apex of the Chinese Dota 2 scene for two seasons in a row.
Although LGD didn’t break through the barrier at TI9, they can be proud of themselves for having an incredible season.
Xu “fy” Linsen and his crew were able to challenge Team Secret, Virtus Pro, and Evil Geniuses during the entirety of the regular season. This is no small feat considering the pedigree of the aforementioned teams.
They were impressive in 2019 as they finished in the top six at every Major of the year without having any big lapses in performance.
3. Team Secret
Clement “Puppey” Ivanov has always been lucky to have a team that is usually among the best in the world.
Since leaving Natus Vincere after TI3, the 2019 Secret squad was probably the best roster he has had, and they dominate the regular season, by winning two Majors to become the most winning team in ESL Dota 2 event history.
2. Team Liquid
Occupying number two spot is Team Liquid that was almost a mirror of Secret during the regular season.
They couldn’t find their feet from the beginning of the year but later made some little amendments to push back into the TI9 picture with several top finishes.
The biggest and arguably the boldest move was made by Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi, who emerged the captain of the year when he removed Matu from the roster despite having placed second at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major and a strong middle of the season.
After injecting Aliwi “w33” Omar, his different style was a great call that helped the team break their mold. The new change also helped Kuro to use new strategies that threw off a lot of opponents.
1. OG
OG is no doubt the number one team after emerging as the first two-time and back-to-back International champions.
Despite skipping the first and second major, OG posted two different fifth-place finishes as the high mark for the Majors they attended.
But the defending champions didn’t also give a stellar performance, but all thanks to Johan “N0tail” Sunstein and the boys who came out swinging on the opening day of TI9.
They exert their dominance during the group stage and completely flipped the meta on its head during the playoffs.
The champions played freely that saw Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen jumping into action fearlessly, and they always play as if they are leading the game.
Whenever they are behind, they execute their game plan by not allowing the other team to dictate the pace more than necessary.
Their best dominant display has made them maintain the number one spot.
Written by: Oladipupo Mojeed
