Dota 2 2024 Season Recap: Team Falcons soars

Dota 2

31 Dec

Otomo

It's been an eventful year for Dota 2. With the DPC gone, a host of new tournament organizers have entered the scene. We had more million dollar events than anytime in the game's history. We also saw the rise of a new region, heralded by Team Falcons.

There's a lot to go through, so enjoy Strafe's recap of the Dota 2 2024 season to catch you up on all the action this year.

The biggest highlights of the Dota 2 2024 season

Team Falcons dominates the competitive scene

Team Falcons defeat Tundra Esports in Belgrade

A long grand finals saw Falcons emerge on top. (Credit: Fissure).

At the start of the year, Falcons assembled a star studded line-up. They had two International winners from Tundra Esports. The most prolific offlaner in the world, arguably the best support player from North America and Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak, who hadn't accomplished much at the time but went on to prove himself one of the best mids.

Team Falcons came out swinging, winning the first two million dollar events of 2024. They ended the year with a total of six trophies at tier one events and the most tournament winnings among all Dota 2 2024 professional teams.

Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid take home the biggest prize pools

Team Liquid - The International 2024 winners.

Plans were made before Liquid touched the Aegis. (Credit: Valve)

While Team Falcons may have won more tournaments than any other team, the two biggest trophies of the year still eluded them.

Team Liquid lifted the Aegis at The International 13. It is the second time the organization has done so, although it is a first for their current lineup. Gaimin Gladiators won the biggest tournament by prize pool, taking home USD $1,500,000 after winning Riyadh Masters 2024. While each team only won one tournament, they placed second and third amongst most successful teams of Dota 2 2024 in sheer tournament winnings.

More Dota 2 tournaments than ever before

The trophy at ESL One Birmingham. (Credits: ESL One)

When Valve announced the end of the DPC, the scene held their breath for what might happen. The DPC provided a structure for teams to improve and compete in massive LAN events. But it also came with a set of flaws. The DPC took three weeks to play out, and then teams had three weeks to secure visas for a LAN event. This prevented other tournament organizations from hosting their events, as nobody wished to compete with Valve and the road to The International.

With the DPC removed, there has been an influx of new events. Fissure, Blast, PGL, and ESB all have million dollar tournaments in 2024. While ESL, who has always been a presence in the scene, had five events this year, more than ever before.

In short, Dota 2 thrived in 2024, with more tier-1 events than ever before. While this is overall seen as a step forward for the scene, the saturation of tournaments has led to a slight decrease in viewers for some tournaments. Some have even argued that a return of the DPC in some format would help stabilize the scene.

What will 2025 bring for Dota 2?

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The schedule for Dota 2 in 2025 is out and it already includes 12-million dollar events. That's not including The International and Riyadh Masters. That is an even more active year than 2024 has been.

All signs point to another bright year for the game. We are looking forward to more intense action, team drama, and hopefully a new patch soon (please IceFrog!).