Oh, how time truly flies, 2024 is almost at an end. The competitive Dota 2 scene has seen its fair share of highs and lows this season, and so have the best players the world has to offer. And speaking of the best players the world has to offer, I’m here to rate the top 10 best Dota 2 players from the 2024 season.
Before getting into the list, though, a disclaimer: this list will only consider the 2023-2024 season, starting with ESL Kuala Lumpur 2023 (which came right after TI12) and ending with TI13.
#10: Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko
The Dota 2 community at large has always known about Pure’s sky-high potential as a carry player, but this year really emphasized just how high that ceiling really is. After getting loaned by BetBoom Team to Tundra Esports for about five months, Pure blossomed into a serious contender for best carry in the world, with podium finishes at ESL One Birmingham, Riyadh Masters 2024, and TI13 to back that up.
And he did this all while being the captain for Tundra — a secondary role that is normally reserved for support players and carried them in more ways than one to success after success. Calling the shots effectively in-game while also playing a position that demands a lot of mechanical precision and situational awareness is not something every player can do, and Pure did it with aplomb.
The future is extremely bright for this young star, no doubt about it.
#9: Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen
Though the season ended up being a farewell tour for the two-time International champion, it was still no less successful for the legendary Topson himself. From the solo mid position, he brought Tundra Esports to the brink of another TI grand final appearance at TI13, and kept them very much in contention at other events during the year.
Third at ESL One Birmingham and fourth at Riyadh Masters 2024 set them up nicely for a strong run at TI13, and that’s exactly what Topson facilitated for them. The elusive third title evaded his capture, though, and Topson finally decided to call it quits (well, for the second time) afterwards. 2024 was a great sendoff for one of the most explosive players we’ve ever seen.
#8: Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp
When you need a team captain that can deliver in the most pressure-packed situations, look no further than Seleri.
Though he and the rest of his squad had a slow start to 2024, the leader of Gaimin Gladiators successfully rallied his friends in the latter half of the year. First place at the Riyadh Masters 2024 and another second place at The International, as well as podium finishes elsewhere in the year show just how effective he when it matters most.
It’s just unfortunate that he and the rest of Gaimin fell short of the Aegis of Champions for the second year in a row, and without winning a single game in the grand final series too just like at TI12.
#7: Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi
The captain and drafter of the defending International champions cemented himself as one of the greatest captains to ever play Dota 2 in the 2023-2024 season, leading Team Liquid to the ultimate glory at TI13 after so many second place finishes at major events. Many of these silver medals came at the hands of their eternal rivals in Gaimin Gladiators, and I personally would not have blamed Insania for feeling down due to his team always being the bridesmaids.
TI 2024 Champions!!! Thank you everyone who supported us on our journey here!! #LETSGOLIQUID
For more words and content check https://t.co/ZfekFEBlE9
:)) pic.twitter.com/jF76nd1YLw— Aydin Sarkohi (@iNsan1a) September 18, 2024
But his consistency and leadership finally paid off when TI13 came around. At 30 years and 89 days of age, Insania became the oldest player to ever win The International, after toiling for so, so long — starting with early success in Heroes of Newerth, then onto lukewarm results in Dota 2 as part of the 2017 Alliance roster.
Hard work truly does eventually bear fruit in his case.
#6: Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu
There sure are a lot of captains on this list, and for good reason. The next one I’ve got is the venerable Sneyking, whose legendary hero pool of Chen, Mirana, Enchantress, and Crystal Maiden helped propel Team Falcons to dizzying heights the entire season.
Seriously, just look at these stats: 37-12 as Crystal Maiden, 25-17 as Enchantress, 23-5 as Mirana, and 21-3 as Chen. If you’re talking about the strongest backbones of any team out there, these win rates prove just how bonkers of a support player Sneyking is. And although he didn’t manage to repeat his International-winning performance from TI11 at TI13, fourth place was absolutely nothing to scoff at.
Oh, and there’s the litany of podium finishes and wins at major LANs throughout the 2023-2024 season prior to TI. Can’t forget about that.
#5: Quinn “Quinn” Callahan
What else needs to be said about this guy that hasn’t already been said? Quinn is as cool, calm, and collected as they get — at least in professional games. Although he gets a knock from me for not finishing the job at The International like he’s always been destined to, his performances throughout the 2023-2024 season did nothing but to solidify him as one of the strongest midlaners in the world.
Memes aside, Quinn was one hundred percent in the zone after Gaimin’s medicore first half of the season. The sheer mechanical skill and next level game sense in that massive Dota brain of his was on full display leading up to TI13, and it was on full display at TI13 itself. He’d probably be number one on my list if he and his team didn’t fumble the bag so hard in the grand finals, and if there wasn’t another core player that was head and shoulders above everyone else. We’ll get to that one later.
#4: Michał “Nisha” Jankowski
Nisha completely crushed it this season, winning his first ever International title and generally just being a complete menace to his lane opponents throughout the year. His Puck and Tiny were always a sight to behold whenever teams weren’t trying to straight up ban the two heroes against him, which then opened things up for the rest of his teammates in Team Liquid.
In a way, his career has panned out a lot like that of his captain Insania. Though Nisha is six or so years younger, he has been grinding away at Dota 2 for such a long time now, having come close to winning TI11 as part of Team Secret. It’s great to see him finally capture the Aegis of Champions knowing just how good he’s been for this long.
#3: Samuel “Boxi” Svahn
Sure, Boxi’s individual stats may not jump out of a stat sheet for a position 4 like him. But honestly, I think he was the biggest reason for Team Liquid’s success this year. That mind-blowing performance in the TI13 grand finals as Tusk secured them the championship long before the third game even happened.
He was also fantastic through the rest of the year, even after considering the fact that Liquid didn’t win a single LAN until TI13. His Dark Willow was the stuff of nightmares for Liquid’s opponents, going 13-3 and striking serious fear into anyone he faced. And while he didn’t get to play much Clockwerk this season, he made up for it with the rest of his expansive hero pool.
#2: Neta “33” Shapira
This season’s metagame focused a lot on offlaners building aura items and enabling their team to brawl plenty, and no player embodied this more than 33. Doom, Beastmaster, Visage — you name an aura offlane hero, and 33 played it this year to immense success. If I had to pick one reason and one reason only why Team Liquid was so strong at TI13 and throughout the rest of the season, it’s this man right here.
Lifting the Aegis at TI 13, and every moment before that was an honor.
Thank you and see you around! Goodbye @33dota 🫡 pic.twitter.com/GKEbAK74ip— Team Liquid Dota (@teamliquiddota) September 27, 2024
A second International title caps off another excellent year for 33, and I just can’t wait for what this absolute gamer is going to cook up in the coming months.
#1: Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf
There’s only one other offlaner that was better than 33 or anyone else this year for that matter, and it’s exactly who you’ve been thinking of since the start of the list: ATF. The man, the myth, the god of the offlane was just so much better than all of his opponents this year, and he made sure to let them and any spectators watching the tournaments know of it.
Both in-game and verbally, I mean. He knew how good he was throughout the season and wasn’t afraid to talk the talk as much as he walked the walk. Oh, and there was his Mars, Doom, Timbersaw, Kunkka, Razor, Centaur Warrunner, Slardar, Viper, offlane (!) Slark… I could go on and on about the many heroes this dude can play at the highest level without even breaking a sweat.
Team Falcons is a squad that is greater than the sum of its parts, but no component of that team is as valuable in that sense as ATF was this season. Although he didn’t win TI13, having to settle for fourth place instead, one thing is still clear: he was far and away the best Dota 2 player of 2024.
