2013 TeamLiquid Dota 2 Awards January 10th, 2014 18:01 GMT Text by Heyoka Graphics by shiroiusagi Focus Mode

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Team Liquid

Dota 2 Awards 2013



It’s that time of year again. We’re here with Team Liquid’s Dota 2 Awards for the year 2013, and it’s an understatement to say we are excited. The TL Awards are a fixture of the Starcraft Progaming scene, and our Dota 2 Progaming awards follow in their footsteps. We started with



We do not take awarding any of these categories lightly, and the names you see alongside these titles today were only arrived at after much deliberation and much back and forth between our editorial staff. Unlike other annual awards lists, the TL Awards are decided internally by our writers and editors and are not based on community vote. We employ this process because we feel that popularity may not necessarily reflect the very best, especially in some categories. Thus, we are proud to stand by every single award given below. After watching a whole year of Dota, here is what we picked as the best of the best.



We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you, our readers, for making our Dota 2 coverage possible. Without you, we would not have the motivation or drive to write about this great game, and as we head into another year of competitive Dota, we are thankful that we have an audience as passionate and excited about this game as we are. It has been an honor writing for you, and we hope you enjoy our coverage in 2014.



Congratulations to the winners and runners-up! You made 2013 a great year, and for that, we salute you.











One of the most coveted roles in all of Dota, the carry is the most visible part of a team, and as such, the carry of the year is not an easy award to make. After a lot of debate, and indeed, a lot of voting back and forth, TL is proud to name Xu "BurNIng" Zhilei as the Best Carry of 2013. While this category was hotly contested, and while there are Western carries who performed admirably during the year, we agreed that no other player filled this role as completely as BurNing. Rain or shine, safelane, offlane or jungle, you give BurNing an inch, and he will farm a mile. For ricing out of control all year long, BurNing is our Best Carry of 2013.











and he also stepped into his Mid role on the new Team DK with ease, showing the world that in Seattle or Shanghai, the mid lane was the mid lane, and he could dominate it with his eyes closed. For playing a plethora of heroes, and giving us recurrent nightmares of his out-of-control OD, Mushi is adjudged the Best Mid of 2013. Not only did the community want it , there was no other contender who really came close. Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung is regarded as one of the most mechanically sound players in Dota history. He led Orange to 3rd/4th place finish at TI3,he also stepped into his Mid role on the new Team DK with ease, showing the world that in Seattle or Shanghai, the mid lane was the mid lane, and he could dominate it with his eyes closed. For playing a plethora of heroes, and giving us recurrent nightmares of his out-of-control OD, Mushi is adjudged the Best Mid of 2013.











While the role of the offlane shifted a few times in 2013, Henrik "AdmiralBulldog" Ahnberg’s consistency did not. While he is sometimes criticized for his small hero pool, the fact remains that he can go toe to toe with anyone regardless of matchup, giving his team the edge needed through controlling one of the hardest spots in Dota. Whether he’s pushing aggressively on a Nature’s Prophet, or strengthening a multi-core lineup with his impeccable Lone Druid, AdmiralBulldog showed us repeatedly again last year that he is very, very good at what he does.











Supports play one of the most important, if not the most important role in competitive Dota, and yet they are also one of the most ignored roles when it comes to how we cast and cover the game. Thus, at this year’s TL Dota 2 Awards we would like to publicly acknowledge Alliance’s Jerry "EGM" Lundqvist and Vici Gaming’s Linsen "fy" Xu , two spectacular playmakers who saved the fight, and even the game for their teams on more than one occasion. For being the heroes their teams deserved, EGM and fy are adjudged the Best Supports of 2013.











Though one would expect this to be a hotly contested category, the verdict was clear from the start: the winner would be Gustav 's4' Magnusson. While he did miss out on the Best Mid award, he picks up this one with ease, and that’s because he is more playmaker than straight-up mid player. Give the man a Magnus, and he will drop RP after perfect RP, and give the man a Puck, and he will deliver a million-dollar Dream Coil. s4 wins Best Ganker because he is a player who has an intimate knowledge of positioning in Dota, and used this understanding consistently in 2013 to give his team the edge. Though he isn’t always the star of the action with flashy kills and sexy turnarounds, in the end they are all indebted to his setups and initiations – for without s4, there often wouldn't be a fight to begin with.











While Dota teams come and go, some teams and their compositions remain the same. One of the oldest lineups in all of Dota 2 is Na`Vi, and their long term cohesion relies heavily on the captaincy of Puppey. A veteran of the Dota community, he is a well-loved figure among his peers as well as fans, and indeed one of its most recognizable faces. While his drafting skill is well known, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov gets the Best Captain award this year for leading his team to three consecutive The International Finals and in the process creating the most recognizable dynasties in Dota history.











Every team has that certain player who shines in the spotlight, and for Na`Vi that player is none other than Danil “Dendi” Ishutin. Not only is he one of the strongest solo mid players in the world with an extremely entertaining playstyle, he is also one of the quirkiest and funniest members of the Dota 2 scene. Whether he’s talking while streaming pubs or being interviewed on the big stage at Benaroya Hall, Dendi is a player who knows how to get an audience on his side. It doesn’t matter if you’re rooting for him or against him, Dendi is simply the kind of player you can’t help but like. For being the face of the Dota 2 community for yet another year Dendi walks away with our Most Charismatic Player Award.











Every game has their legends, and in the history of Dota one of the biggest legends ever was ZSMJ. After his outstanding play with For The Dream at SMM 2009, he was henceforth known as one of the greatest carries of all time. After a long stint with LGD, he retired from the Dota scene due to personal problems and proceeded to work a normal job and live an everyday life. But in March 2013 the legend returned and quickly took the scene by storm with his play on Vici Gaming. His return was one of the biggest Dota moments of the year, and for that ZSMJ receives this year’s Biggest Return award.











EGM first stepped into the limelight when he completed Alliance’s five-Swede lineup in February of this year, and since then has proven to us over and over again that his position on the world championship squad is indeed well earned. In fact, EGM is the only player to bag two awards today, and rightly so. Whether he is casting out of control shackles or initiating perfect relocate ganks for Alliance, he is without a doubt the breakout player of the year. He lived the dream, going from relative no-name to world champion in just six months, and for that he walks away with the award quite easily.











Despite a decline in 6.79 towards the end of the year, Alliance clearly accomplished the most throughout 2013. Since their introduction as Alliance from No Tidehunter back in April, they have won 7 major events, and placed 2nd/3rd in many they didn’t win. They won TPL Seasons 4 and 5, DH Summer, StarLadder Season 6, the G-1 League Season 5, where they went undefeated at the LAN Finals in China and as you all know they were the champions of The International 2013. For most of the year they were the strongest team in the West, and were a major force in popularizing Rat Dota and the use of Shadow Blade on Nature’s Prophet.











It stands to reason that the Most Charismatic Player would come from the Most Charismatic Team, and indeed, Dendi’s Natus Vincere is a shoo-in. Whether it’s fountain hooking in one of the biggest games of their lives, or giving spectacular team interviews after events, Na`Vi won our hearts and minds at the first TI and they haven’t relinquished them since. The perennial fan favorites walk away with this award yet again.



However, this year they share the accolade with an up and coming American team.

Speed Gaming’s first major title in Dota 2 was MLG Columbus 2013. However, they were a fan favorite long before that. Indeed, one cannot help but root for five of the scene’s top free agents who came together to pursue their dream. From Aui_2000’s laid back charm to EternalEnvy’s opinionated leadership, Speed is a team that well understands what the fans want: not just players, but personalities. For shocking, thrilling and making us laugh in turn, Speed Gaming share this year’s Most Charismatic Team award with Na`Vi.















The level 1 Roshan is a strategy that permeates all levels of play, from the depths of the worst pubs to the furthest reaches of professional leagues. Typically, when done in a league as prestigious as G-1, these kinds of attacks are done with some form of obfuscation, or at least are fakes like when No TideHunter styled on EG at DreamHack. This time, however, they beat the system with the most simple trick of all: Town Portal scrolls to get to Roshan before DK could check the status of the pit. Combined with their ban of Clockwerk, who can grant vision extremely easily, it led to an easy level 2 for everyone before DK even knew what hit them.











The biggest comeback is a category that displays one of our favorite aspects of Dota 2. In The Defense Season 3, Liquid showed one of the biggest displays of iron will we have seen in a long time. From the draft it looked like a hard game for Liquid, but far from unwinnable. However, the Phantom Lancer of Mouz did what a Phantom Lancer was born to do: get crazy amounts of farm and then ruin the opposition's day. At around 40 minutes into this game Liquid was already down 2 raxes, while Mouz still had most of their tier 2 towers up. But through the power of persistence Liquid remained intact with Mouz continuously trying to take their base, and with the Divine Rapier pickup on Gyro things were starting to look up. After taking a massive teamfight they made their final death push up mid, quickly taking the rax of Mouz and going straight for the throne. PL made a last ditch attempt to BoTs in and base race Liquid, but it was too late.















Calling a biggest play in a year full of wonderful Dota is no easy task, and yet, as we looked through our shortlist, one play stood out: the million dollar Dream Coil. Now, we know that there has been a fair amount of back and forth and let’s just say it, a positively insane amount of analysis regarding the last few minutes of the TI3 Grand Finals. However, when all is said and done, we are left with no doubt: s4’s Dream Coil was instrumental in winning Alliance the game. s4 has already won an award today, and if anything, this second category illustrates perfectly why he is the Best Ganker of 2013.



In one of the most intense games of the year, the collective tension no doubt enhanced by the knowledge that they were playing for a 1.4 million dollar first place prize, s4 first cancelled Puppey’s TP and then laid down a clutch Dream Coil that prevented Dendi from getting back to base and defending Alliance’s top lane throne push. While Alliance certainly had a chance even if Dendi managed to get back to base before Funn1k died, for securing his team the path to the throne, s4 walks away with this year’s Biggest Play award. One ultimate for 1.4 million dollars: it doesn’t get any bigger than that!











It can be hard to describe an anti-play. They come in many forms. Some are funny, some are confusing, and some just leave you speechless. While the “PGG Black Hole” defined 2012, this singular moment at TI3 marked the beginning of the end for Orange’s run at the tournament. In a Game 3 where Orange was up 16 kills and 2 towers, kyxy’s Windrunner attack clicked an Aegis that seemed destined for Mushi’s Outworld Destroyer, and despite the play looking insignificant at the time, many feel that in the long run it led to the collapse of the Malaysian team’s world championship hopes. kyxy is a great player, but that particular play was definitely the Biggest Anti-Play of 2013.











This award goes to the final game of TI3 not only because it was a nail-biter, but also because it was a microcosm for the entire year of competitive Dota. A game that was all about split-pushing with both teams nearly breaking high ground and then being pushed back on multiple occasions, the match eventually evolved into a blistering base race. Given that these were the best two teams in the world at that point, and seeing how much money was on the line, it’s not that the game really needed to be more exciting than it already was. And then, just when we thought we couldn’t take anymore, a s4 Dream Coil and an Alliance push on the top and bottom lanes gave us the most exciting play of the past twelve months. s4’s clutch Dream Coil won Play of the Year, and yet, somehow, that wasn’t enough. The entire game featured some of the best Dota we saw in 2013, and there was simply no way around it: it was, without a doubt, the game of the year.











To say The International 3 was the tournament of the year may be a bit of an insult, because when you compare them with TI3, nothing else can even be really dubbed a tournament. With the biggest prize pool in the history of competitive gaming, and a production team that redefined what we expect from esports tournaments, TI3 was certainly the highlight of the year for Dota fans. While other events are certainly catching up, Valve’s yearly world championship is still far and away the best tournament we get each year, and this is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Thanks, Valve!











As always, this was a hotly debated category, but in the end, the verdict was clear: Winter was the best caster of 2013. Perhaps it’s even a little unfair to have a former professional player in this category, especially since his detailed analysis of situations often leave his co-casters in the dust. However, the fact remains that no one provided a better analysis of live games in the year gone by than Chan "WinteR" Litt-Binn. We loved his casting in 2013, and look forward to a 2014 full of great insights from him.











Visage had quite a run this year. Introduced to Dota 2 in mid-2012, our poor gargoyle friend was often considered one of the weakest heroes his first six months in the game. Last winter, however, he started seeing play in G-1 and Liquid's games in the west. From there Visage became one of the most popular supports as people realized just how potent Soul Assumption can be in trilanes. The best of the best took advantage of summons that can grant vision and chain stun. He became a mainstay in all big tournaments through the year, including 85 picks at The International 3, with an impressive 57% winrate during. Even after a great reduction in his armor and magic resist in patch 6.79 it is common to see a team pick or ban the flying terror, making him one of the most important heroes of the last 12 months.











2013 was the year of Rat Dota, and no other item exemplifies these twelve months than the Shadow Blade. Often still called Lothars by long time Dota aficionados, the Shadow Blade was used by a plethora of heroes last year. Whether it’s Bounty Hunter critting like crazy or a Nature’s Prophet incessantly pushing lanes, the Shadow Blade was an ever-present part of professional play in 2013. For giving us long games with back and forth pushes, and treating us to great ninja kills, the Shadow Blade is awarded 2013’s Item of the Year award.





CREDITS

Gfx: shiroiusagi, riptide

Editors: riptide, heyoka, TheEmulator, Vykromond

Voting: Heyoka, riptide, TheEmulator, SirJolt, shostakovich, kupon3ss, Tephus, ScintilliaSD, Kipsate, TanGeng, CountChocula, dfs, miwi, blahz0r, kollin, Julmust, opterown, fusefuse

Banner image by: Gfx: shiroiusagi, riptideEditors: riptide, heyoka, TheEmulator, VykromondVoting: Heyoka, riptide, TheEmulator, SirJolt, shostakovich, kupon3ss, Tephus, ScintilliaSD, Kipsate, TanGeng, CountChocula, dfs, miwi, blahz0r, kollin, Julmust, opterown, fusefuseBanner image by: Valve

It’s that time of year again. We’re here with Team Liquid’s Dota 2 Awards for the year 2013, and it’s an understatement to say we are excited. The TL Awards are a fixture of the Starcraft Progaming scene, and our Dota 2 Progaming awards follow in their footsteps. We started with last year’s awards and today we’re proud to bring you our 2013 installment.We do not take awarding any of these categories lightly, and the names you see alongside these titles today were only arrived at after much deliberation and much back and forth between our editorial staff. Unlike other annual awards lists, the TL Awards are decided internally by our writers and editors and are not based on community vote. We employ this process because we feel that popularity may not necessarily reflect the very best, especially in some categories. Thus, we are proud to stand by every single award given below. After watching a whole year of Dota, here is what we picked as the best of the best.We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank you, our readers, for making our Dota 2 coverage possible. Without you, we would not have the motivation or drive to write about this great game, and as we head into another year of competitive Dota, we are thankful that we have an audience as passionate and excited about this game as we are. It has been an honor writing for you, and we hope you enjoy our coverage in 2014.Congratulations to the winners and runners-up! You made 2013 a great year, and for that, we salute you. @RealHeyoka | DreamHack StarCrafty Man