1421 tournaments spanning over 8 years. 727 players having contested for 8 Internationals.

With the eighth annual season of professional Dota 2 reaching its final act, perhaps its due time we look back on this long and arduous journey. This journey doesn’t belong to us of course - but to our beloved professional players.

Nevertheless we, as the audience, have been highly invested in their expeditions. Through the past decade, we’ve had our fair assortment of favorite players or teams. Winners get washed up, and top-tier teams become irrelevant. Cheese strats, hot memes, and one-patch teams come and go, but there are some things that remain. Their names seem to linger on; they’re the ones we christen as the ‘old guard’.

Many may wonder how they seem to prevail over such tumultuous conditions. Across almost a decade, it can’t possibly be a fluke.

But who exactly are these players?

Sure, anyone can recite the usual household names. In this visual essay, we’ll delve into the numbers and records, and let the annals of history speak for itself.