Within competitive Dota 2, there is always one question that is repeated over and over again. Who are the top 10 teams in the world? The fluidity of Dota means that a team can be the best for a tournament, but then struggle to replicate that success at the next event.

With the Kiev Major on the horizon, it seems like a perfect time to take a look at who the current top 10 Dota 2 teams in the world are. The criteria for this list is that they have to have an active five man roster. This list is not based solely on a team’s performances on LAN and will focus more on events since the 7.00 update.

Number 10 – VIRTUS PRO

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Ramzes666

Position 2 (Mid) – No[o]ne

Position 3 (Offlane) – 9Pashaebashu

Position 4 (Support) – Lil

Position 5 (Support) – Solo

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Rewind back to Boston and VP would have been in the top two best teams in the world. However, times have changed, and a new patch and several issues have hit the VP team hard. Having recently forfeited the DAC CIS Qualifiers due to connection issues, VP look to be struggling. All this aside, they still have an immensely talented roster that is capable of winning any tournament they enter.

VP are a true CIS team. Known for their ability to overwhelm teams through sheer aggression, they are able to control games from start to finish. They have also been pioneers of unorthodox strategies such as the position four Phantom Assassin or Weaver in the past. They also have arguably one of the best Carry players in the world. Roman “RAMZES666” Hushnarev may only be 17, but has been playing competitively since 2015. VP have built a team around him, which has allowed them to compete at the very top level.

Kiev will be make or break for VP. Failure to qualify will likely result in a team change. A good performance at the event may reinvigorate the side. VP can rise back to the upper echelons of competitive Dota. Whether they do or not is a separate discussion.

Number 9 – Team Secret

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – MP

Position 2 (Mid) – MidOne

Position 3 (Offlane) – Khezu

Position 4 (Support) – Puppey

Position 5 (Support) – pieliedie

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Team Secret have been through a period of transition. After the EE blog was released, Team Secret looked to be dead in the water. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov had other ideas, however. He made the interesting decision to take some of the best talents from SEA in Pyo “MP” No-a and Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng. He also added promising offlaner Maurice “Khezu” Gutmann, formally of Escape Gaming (Now NiP), to the squad. Secret has all the pieces of a top tier squad. Getting them to fit together, however, is difficult. Secret has been showing promise in recent months but continuously fall short.

With his current team, Puppey has what he has always wanted, four players who will listen to him unconditionally. Secret has shown that they can pull off strong performances against the top sides, and this is why they have made the Top 10. In Johan “PieLieDie” Astrom, you have arguably the most selfless position five in the game. Referred to as DieDieDie by fans, Pie has no issues with sacrificing himself for the greater good. It is his selfless nature that allows Secret to run greedy line-ups that will see Puppey receive the same farm as Khezu.

Secret are currently setting up a solid foundation before making their main assault on the top teams of competitive Dota. With one spot available in the EU qualifiers for Kiev, this is a make or break time for Puppey and the rest of Team Secret.

Number 8 – Team Faceless

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Black^

Position 2 (Mid) – Jabz

Position 3 (Offlane) –iceiceice

Position 4 (Support) – xy-

Position 5 (Support) – NutZ

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Faceless are the Kings of SEA. What does that get them? According to valve, not that much. Faceless missed out on an invite to Kiev in favor of teams from EU, NA, and China. SEA is a region that is struggling, having recently lost top talent to EU and NA based teams. Faceless, however, are the bastion of hope for SEA.

The team is currently dominating SEA, as shown by their recent results in the Mr. Cat Invitational. In the seven games they have played so far, they won six, 2-0, and tied one, 1-1. Faceless are a big fish in a small pond. The current issue Faceless are experiencing is translating their regional success to an international level.

Daryl Koh “Iceiceice” Pei Xiang has flourished as the team’s captain and has nurtured Jabz, xy-, and NutZ. Faceless have been shown to understand the meta very well, abusing the different pulls available on the Radiant side. This innovation makes Faceless a team to fear.

NUMBER 7 – VG.J

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Agressif

Position 2 (Mid) – Freeze

Position 3 (Offlane) – rOtk

Position 4 (Support) – fy

Position 5 (Support) – Fenrir

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Team VG.J are the new kids on the block, but they have evidenced that they are one of the best teams in the world. A strong second place finish at StarLadder showed that the team has promise. Valve agreed as they were given a direct invite to Kiev.

Having three legends of Chinese Dota in rOtK, fy, and Fenrir in the squad means that they are instant fan favorites. Combine this with the solid play of Carry player Agressif, and the unpredictability on pub-star Mid player Freeze. That makes a strong roster. The main issue the team faces is the unpredictability of Freeze.

In a few games at StarLadder, Freeze made some questionable plays which often put VG.J on the back foot. StarLadder, however, was the team’s first international LAN event and was an excellent learning experience for the new squad. With DAC and Kiev coming up, VG.J have a chance to prove themselves as a top squad.

NUMBER 6 – Digital Chaos

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Resolution

Position 2 (Mid) – w33



Position 3 (Offlane) – MoonMeander



Position 4 (Support) – MiSeRy



Position 5 (Support) – Saksa



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DC went from 100 to 0 real quick in 2017. Having had an amazing 2016 with a second place finish at TI6 and a top four finish at The Boston Major, things were looking good for DC. 2017 started in the best possible way as the team won ESL One Genting. Since then, however, things have been in a downward decline. Bottom two finishes at Dota Pit and StarLadder have left DC looking vulnerable. To top it off, they also failed to qualify for DAC.

The team got some excellent news when they were given a direct invite to Kiev, saving them from the difficult NA qualifiers. They hope that Kiev can reignite the fire under the team as they look to achieve a strong placing at the event.

Many consider Aliwi “w33” Omar one of the best Midlaners in the world, and with good reason. During their victory at ESL One Genting, he demonstrated immense skill, often dominating his lane. The rest of the team are solid, and the addition of David “MoonMeander” Tan following TI has added a flashy playmaker to the squad. DC will have to perform at Kiev or all that they have built in the past six months may be under threat.

NUMBER 5 – Wings Gaming

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Shadow

Position 2 (Mid) – Blink



Position 3 (Offlane) – Faith_bian



Position 4 (Support) – y’



Position 5 (Support) – iceice



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Having won TI6, Wings were on top of the world. Nowadays, not so much. After a disappointing placing at Boston, Wings have struggled to reproduce the form of 2016. In both ESL One Genting and StarLadder, they have been knocked out by two Chinese teams, Newbee and VG.J respectively.

Often called the innovators of Dota, Wings are famed for the unpredictable drafts and their consistent playstyle. Recently, however, they seem to be unsure of the direction they are heading in. StarLadder was a perfect example, as they did not draft the same hero more than two times. They were eventually knocked out in the second round.

They still, however, make the top five best teams in the world based on what they can achieve. They have shown sparks of brilliance at both ESL and Dota Pit. In some respects, receiving consistent direct invites may be a curse rather than a blessing. The lack of play time has shown them to be rusty, and in some cases, behind the meta. Having only played two tournaments so far in 2017, Wings need to find their mojo again.

NUMBER 4 – Newbee

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Uuu9

Position 2 (Mid) – Sccc



Position 3 (Offlane) – Kpii



Position 4 (Support) – Faith



Position 5 (Support) – Kaka



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Newbee are one of the best teams in China currently. It’s a toss up between them and VG.J. Newbee suffers from a similar problem to Wings, a lack of game time. The difference, however, is that when Newbee shows up at a tournament, they always stand a chance of winning.

Dota is a game of fine margins, and ESL One Genting evidenced this. An epic back and forth series that ended with them losing 2-3 in the Grand Finals, highlights how strong this team is. They could have very easily won the series, but seemed to run out of steam mentally. Having received a direct invite to Kiev, they will again not have to worry about the qualifiers. This means they may have some rust heading into the tournament.

Any side possessing arguably the best mid player in China Song “Sccc” Chun, should be a challenger in any tournament. Combine this with the solidity of the rest of the roster, Newbee are a team to be feared. DAC and Kiev will offer Newbee the chance to prove this to fans that may still have doubts.

NUMBER 3 – Team Liquid

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – MATUMBAMAN

Position 2 (Mid) – Miracle-

Position 3 (Offlane) – MinD_ContRoL

Position 4 (Support) – GH

Position 5 (Support) – KuroKy

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If this list was being compiled after Kiev, Liquid would most likely be number one. The new and improved Liquid have set the scene. They have won both the LAN’s they have attended in dominating fashion. At the recent StarLadder LAN, they only dropped two maps the whole event. Liquid is showing dominance on a level that Secret 1.0 showed in 2015, before TI5.

Possessing three players with over 9k MMR shows that the team has potential. In addition, they have one of the two best captains in the world, Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi. Liquid has been able to live up to expectations in recent months, dominating every event they have attended.

For Liquid to take the next step, they need to achieve consistency and stay at the top for longer than two events. The best teams don’t just win one event, they consistently win or place well. Liquid look in form and hope to carry that momentum into DAC and Kiev.

NUMBER 2 – Evil Geniuses

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Arteezy

Position 2 (Mid) – SumaiL

Position 3 (Offlane) – UNiVeRsE

Position 4 (Support) – Zai

Position 5 (Support) – Cr1t-

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Coming in at number two is Evil Geniuses. They miss out narrowly on the top spot, very narrowly. Since establishing their new roster, EG has not finished below fourth in any event they have participated in. On the new patch, EG has shown dominance, winning both events they have entered.

EG have managed to assemble a God-Squad like no other. Not only do they have some of the best players in the world, they are playing well together. They showed at Dota Pit that they are a force to be reckoned with. The only issue they have is a lack of tournament participation. After winning Dota Pit in January, EG have only played one competitive series, a show match against Complexity in March. That’s six weeks of no competitive Dota. This is the main reason they miss out on the top spot.

NUMBER 1 – OG

Roster:

Position 1 (Carry) – Notail

Position 2 (Mid) – Ana

Position 3 (Offlane) – s4

Position 4 (Support) – JerAx

Position 5 (Support) – Fly

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OG takes the top spot as the best team in the world. Choosing between OG and EG was tremendously difficult as there are strong arguments for both teams being number one.

OG take the top spot due to consistency. They have placed either first or second in six of the last seven tournaments they have attended. Having that level of consistency at the top level of Dota is amazing. There were questions surrounding the squad when it was formed. Many people believed that Gustav “s4” Magnusson would not be able to transition to offlane. In fact, he has been one of the stand-out performers on this squad. His partnership with Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka was a pivotal part of the win at Boston.

Tal “Fly” Aizik is the best Captain in the world, and he marshalls his team with a ruthless efficiency. Fly and the boys play with a killer instinct, waiting until the opposition makes a mistake and then pouncing on them. OG have shown that having the biggest names doesn’t make you the best team. Instead, they have focused on building a consistent squad that knows how to win.

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