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In this special series of in-depth articles, Esports News UK, in collaboration with the betting partner GGBET UK, delves into the stories, moments, and personalities that have left a lasting impression on the past, present, and future of the UK esports scene.
While Dota isn’t known for having many UK pro players, there are a few players worth mentioning. Wade White lists his inclusions below, following on from our separate article covering the history of UK Dota 2 esports.
While many older Epic.LAN and Insomnia brackets have been lost to time, Epic.LAN League Ops Manager Tom ‘Gumpster’ Gumbleton is someone who remembers, having witnessed a lot of UK esports LAN history first-hand.
He mentioned there was a core group of players that attended most events – names such DOOPZ, KingDave, Dreadknight and Soup, for example.
Dreadknight is one of a handful of players who managed to win multiple titles at Epic.LAN across both Dota 2 and Overwatch.
DOOPZ, however, wasn’t as fortunate.
“DOOPZ is a player who was cursed at Epic.LAN beyond belief as he racked up quite a number of second place finishes, never ever winning a title in Dota 2.”
Gumpster, Epic.LAN
DOOPZ told Esports News UK that while he never won an Epic.LAN, he did win other events, including a Manchester Showdown, plus a LAN in Wales and another in London.
“The meme is: I could never win an Insomnia or an Epic.LAN, but I’d go around collecting all the smaller LANs in some Thanos-esque gauntlet to equate to a real LAN win,” he said.
‘Only two things are infinite, the universe and DOOPZ’ inability to win an Epic.LAN finals, and I’m not sure about the former’ – Albert Einstein.”
Rosvida is another player who made an impact in the early days of Epic.LAN and Insomnia, who won multiple events with The Rock. After the team disbanded, she played with multiple other teams across Europe, and return to the UK in 2019 for the ESL Premiership Dota 2 Skirmish Winter 2019, where she placed second. Her last known role was as a coach for Team Bald Reborn in 2022.
Another player from The Rock was Beesa, who played in North America from 2015 until 2020. He found some success on FDL (Friendship, Dedication, Love) making it to the Americas Closed Qualifier for the Manila Major, but placing fourth and making it to The Summit 5 and placing seventh. He has been inactive since 2020.
Madara, a Greek/UK player, found success amongst multiple teams across Europe from 2015 to 2020, playing on Ad Finem, mousesports, Alliance and OG. His highest result came at Ad Finem in 2016, where he and his team placed second at The Boston Major, one of first Valve sponsored events outside of The International. As of October 2021, he is an inactive player.
symetricaL, after the ESL Premiership, found himself on Into The Breach, playing in multiple open qualifiers throughout the 2021 season, but never making it past the the closed qualifiers in Europe. He continued to play in the Dota Pro Circuit for Into The Breach in the 2022 season, before moving over to Alliance and securing a promotion from Division II to Division I. He has been an inactive player since July 2023, with the last team he played on being Team Bald Reborn.
Following the ESL Premiership and Covid restrictions lifting, adzantick moved to North American team Wildcard Gaming after a season with Into The Breach. In America, he moved around to multiple teams during the 2023 season, playing on D2 Hustler, Luna Galaxy and Team Tickles. For the 2024 season, he returned to Europe and play on Rest Farmers, where he is still today, but theyfailed to qualify for any major events.
TANNER is another UK player who had found success playing across different EU teams, playing for the likes of Vikin.gg, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Into The Breach, playing with multiple different UK players across these different teams. In 2020, TANNER became the first British UK Dota 2 player to feature at a Valve DPC event at the Bukovel Minor. As of May 2022, he is now inactive.
“In 2020, TANNER became the first British UK Dota 2 player to feature at a Valve DPC event at the Bukovel Minor.”
Ari is currently the most successful UK Dota player, being the first UK player to attend a Dota 2 Major at the Lima Major in 2023 and the first UK player to play at The International in 2023, both with Team Solo Mid.
He previously played Heroes of the Storm, where he was ranked #1 on the European ladder before the game’s professional league shut down.
He first played with Into The Breach in 2022, before moving to Team Solo Mid for the 2023 season. Here they won the Dota Pro Circuit North American Division I twice and place third once. They placed second at BetBoom Dacha 2023, and came ninth at The International 2023.
Following this, he moved back to Europe and joined OG where the team placed sixth at DreamLeague Season 22, and fourth in Ari’s home nation at ESL One Birmingham 2024.
Earlier this year, Ari qualified for DreamLeague Season 22 and BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 with OG.
Also, Ekki is a notable mention. He’s listed as Polish/British and is residing in the UK, having previously played for UK org Into The Breach. He’s currently signed to Team Secret as an inactive player and is looking for team. In his current stint with Team Secret, the team did not manage to qualify for any major offline events in the 2024 season – losing to Tundra for spots in the BetBoom Dacha Dubai Closed Qualifier and ESL One Birmingham Closed Qualifier.
More notable mentions from TeaGuvnor
We understand Dota 2 is a long-running competitive game and there are many, many players to track and be aware of. Thanks to UK broadcast talent, coach and former player TeaGuvnor for sending us this additional info after publication.
“Overlom is a UK player that played in the North American Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) and peaked around high 8k.
“Ares had stints across EU teams and holds a high rank (9k), but never made a big break,” he said.
“A recent up and coming player is Lacrus, who just recently broke into the top 900 EU, a 9k player.”
And let’s not forget TeaGuvnor himself, who was a top 400 EU player before he transitioned to coaching, and the highest-ranked five player in the UK.
Check back soon for another UK esports history article powered by GGBET UK. See more content in our hub:
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Wade ‘AggresiveDuck’ White is a tournament and event organiser for Super Smash Brothers Ultimate in London and Essex, with events reaching as many as 250+ attendees.
Wade originally started in esports by entering in amateur Dota 2 leagues before moving into the FGC scene with Smash Ultimate in 2018, competing in offline events in the UK and Europe.
