Competition brings out all those emotions we keep in check day to day but what if your job was naturally competitive? Dota 2 is one of many people’s favorite MOBA, Do you love Dota 2? I know I do even with the feeders, griefers, and smurfs its become part of the game that we know and love. While the kings and queens in the top MMR do battle we brothers and sisters of the MOBA climb in hopes of playing alongside these giants. Even amongst the pros, there are a few who shine above the rest. Is it their level of expertise that draws us to them? Yes! So let’s talk about some of them here are the top fifteen Dota 2 North American players.
15. FLee
I don't know what he was thinking.
FLee is an American/Filipino Support/Off-laner it’s not often we see someone who can flex in multiple lanes…well at least not well but FLee is different in that sense. FLee currently plays for simply TOOBASED and has been since November of 2021.FLee is a naturally high-performance player who knows just the right time to use his abilities and when to save his cooldowns. Watching him play Elder Titan is a great defense for this statement as his support play helps his team reach new heights with his 69% win rate.
Major Tournament Achievements -
FLee’s has been on a good run lately with high placements in the North America Upper Division as well as taking first place in the Movistar Liga Pro Gaming Season 6 with Team Brasil earning a fat share of the $23,500 prize pool.
FLee Highlight:
https://www.dotabuff.com/clips/flee-gets-a-double-kill-3967480317-99c81f7e8249
FLee’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FLeeDOTA
14. NaoG
I did it mom I'm a professional gamer!
Eduardo David Valencia Sánchez was born in Peru, his career began in late 2019 when he signed on to the EgoBoys as their newest safe lane carry. Currently, he is playing for Gorrillaz-Pride. NaoG’s carry play is clean and by the books, I go in when on the enemies’ cooldowns, and I never team fight alone. This patience has brought NaoG some of his most spectacular plays as many carries but his best being Troll Warlord with a whopping 80% win-rate.
Major Tournament Achievements -
NaoG has earned a lot of success as a carry while he was playing for Infinity Esports grabbing 1st place in the Volt Esports tournament with a prize pool of a humble $266.
NaoG's Highlight:
https://www.dotabuff.com/clips/nao-gets-a-rampage-6268541849-d79f81f2119f
NaoG’s Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/NaoGamer
13. SmAsH
The consequence of my own actions
SmAsH this was an interesting case. Almost entirely dedicated off-laner SmAsH began his professional E-Sports journey in December of 2012 you know when people thought the world was going to end. Interestingly enough SmAsH was banned from Valve events for match-fixing in March of 2016. Being an off-laner can be tough but SmAsH made it look EZ bringing awesome outplays and experience to whatever team he was on. With Beastmaster being one of his go-to heroes with yet another above 70% win rate.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Even though SmAsH is banned from Valve events other events are fair game as he was a substitute for Beastcoast in the Realms Collide tournament with a prize pool of a modest $10,000.
SmAsH's Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Doz-FHcI51s
SmAsH's Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FreddySmAsH
12. Kxy
Over-extended = Free Gold
Eliseo Arancibia (kxy), I love these kinds of players born in Peru. Kyx made his way into the E-Sports scene in late 2017. Since then he’s been on eleven different teams including Infamous for a small portion of time until eventually coming back as a stand-in for Team Infamous signing on with them again. Kxy is a solo mid who uses heroes such as Invoker which seems to be a sort of favorite amongst solo middles. His best hero is Queen of Pain, another solo mid favorite with a win rate of over 70%!
Major Tournament Achievements -
Kxy was playing for Infamous at the time they participated in the Movistar Liga Pro Gaming Season 8. Kxy was able to add his level of expertise into the mix giving them the edge they needed to claim 1st place and the prize pool of $10,000.
Kxy Highlight:
https://www.dotabuff.com/clips/kxy-gets-a-triple-kill-4255055994-fa97dafd760a
Kxy’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/eliseotemoche
11. Darkmago
Oh this team is actually good
Push mid! For all fellow Moba players, I bet you hear that pretty often, especially later in the game. DarkMago is a mid-core who plays for team Thunder Predator after leaving No-Ping in October of 2021, he hails from Peru. Did you know during the DPC South America Regional season 2 he averaged the highest kills per game? This guy here brings his A-game all the time playing mid, if you find yourself in a lobby with DarkMago trust me you ban Kunkka, Tiny, and Ember spirit or you’ll be sorry. His use of avalanche with Tiny often opens up enemies for easy pickings by the other carries or secures his Toss ability.
Major Tournament Achievements -
If you’re looking to catch up on this guy, start with the most recent 1st place he and Thunder Predator took in BTS pro series season 9: Americas with a sizable prize pool reaching $40,000.
Darkmago's Highlight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4ntl-1wKYk&t=43s
Darkmago Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/DarkMago.Dota
10. Gunnar
Oh you are not getting away with 1hp
Continuing with cores, let's talk about the American Dota 2 pro, Gunnar, another Mid main who graced the world with his birth on January 14th, 2000. He’s currently playing with 4 Zoomers but before them, you would have seen him playing for Ninjas in Pyjamas. What’s cool is he’s earned $55,706 in his Dota 2 pro career already So everyone has their preferred heroes right? Gunnar’s signature picks involve a huge amount of mobility with Ember Spirit and Puck and amazing gank potential with invoker and his Ghost-walk.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Recently Gunnar has competed in five tournaments this year alone. Taking first place in the BTS Pro Series Season 5: Americas with a prize pool of $40,000 and placed within the top five in the others. With a track record like that, who can deny his candidacy for this top 15?
Gunnar's Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhTLgQDBm8E
Gunnar’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Gunnardota/with_replies?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
9. Scofield
Well my carry is fed...GG
First and foremost where would any off-laner be without their clutch position four? Scofield or Elvis De la Cruz Pena hails from Peru and has been playing in tournaments since 2015. His spectacular hook shots to initiate on opponents with clockwerk and his use of the power cogs to lock his targets in with him draining all hope of an escape from them.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Well, where’s the meat and potatoes? Where is the achievement? How about in the biggest tournament in Dota 2 E-Sports?! Scofield played with beastcoast in the TI10 (The Internationals 10) with a prize pool of over $40million although they were eliminated on day one of the main event getting there is a feat in its own right. Before that, they achieved second place in the upper division of the South America Regional League season 2, which had a prize pool of $205,000! Don’t sleep on this tournament either. There were some major players involved like Team SG, Team Infamous, No Ping, and many others.
Scofield Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kERK-vfe87s
Scofield Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Scofieldota?fbclid=IwAR3EZ8Q26qNTfj25jOwLRSldYPfFGSGNxdwQIf8rwpgzIdlZUzbyQHqVdMc
8. Costabile
How did that hit me?
Now we arrive at our “safe” lane carry no matter when you need damage you can count on Costabile. Now playing for 4 Zoomers previously with Team SG. Currently living in his birthplace Brazil. Costabile’s carry plays come in clutch pulling out double even triple kills and beyond with his grade -A Terrorblade play but don’t sleep on his Lifestealer, or Juggernaut.
Major Tournament Achievements -
With the grade A performance that Costabile puts on, what has his efforts achieved for him and the teams he’s been a part of? Setting the recent International aside, Costabile helped Team SG obtain 4th place in the South American Regional League Season 1: Upper Division with a prize pool of $205,000.
Costabile Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcfgREI4RSY
Costabile Twitter:
https://twitter.com/costabiledota
7. MiLAN
Just another day out with the guys
There is more than high killstreaks and massive damage output to this game, you’ve heard the term “We need vision” well the carries aren’t buying them. MiLAN is a support main currently playing for Team Quincy Crew from his home in Bosnia and Herezegovina. He was the first Bosnian player to make it to TI17 with the HellRaisers. MiLAN uses his superior map awareness that he’s cultivated with his support gameplay to understand his opponents’ moves and thwart them, providing his team with ample opportunities to pull ahead making excellent use of Rubic, Earthshaker, and Elder Titan.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Although MiLAN has been in his fair share of tournaments and competitions from TI17 up to the most recent tournament ESL One Germany in 2020 where he and Team Liquid took 3rd place and a sizable chunk of that $400,000 prize pool. The last first place MiLAN had was early 2020 in Arena of Blood, a smaller prize pool of only $10,000 with Team Aggressive Mode.
MiLAN’s Highlights:
https://twitter.com/milandota2/status/1372298415414120451?s=20
MiLAN’s Twitter:
https://mobile.twitter.com/milandota2
6. Timado
I love my job
Another lone wolf mid as Timado comes sweeps his way onto this list. How old does one need to be before you start chasing your dream of being an E-Sports star? Well, Timado from his home country Peru started his amateur career at 13! Proper planning and consideration is the only way to describe Timado’s carry playstyle choosing the proper times to go in the proper heroes to focus on and on top of all that seldom missing Cs! How? My best judgment is all the experience he has playing with the top MMR players and the amount of time he’s put into bringing us awesome gameplay with Shadow Fiend, Puck, and Morphling.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Running with Team Undying Timado was another participant in TI10 in October unfortunately their run was cut short due to losing to Team Fnatic. Not too long before The Internationals Timado and Team Undying took home first place in BTS Pro Series Season 7: Americas commanding the lion’s share of the $50,000 prize pool.
Timado’s Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp9LTsbKKpM
Timado’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Timadota
5. Bryle
Did you really think that would work?
Jonathan Bryle Santos De Guia based out of Canada otherwise known as Bryle, a specialized solo middle currently playing for Team Undying. The dynamic style he brings to mid contributes to him having the highest kill average in the 2nd season of the 2021 DPC NA Upper Division. Utilizing heroes such as Storm Spirit and Queen of Pain and their high burst potential to bully his lane opponents into submission or fool them with low HP baits. His style of play makes him a formidable ganking force allowing him to disrupt other lanes.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Bryle and Team Undying have been a force to be reckoned with in Dota 2 E-Sports. The proof to support this claim? Oh, I don’t know, perhaps them taking 1st place in not only season 6 but also season 7 of the BTS Pro Series: America, both of these competitions having a prize pool of $50,000.
Bryle’s Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX4CC4BXxkA
Bryle’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/bryledota
4. Abed
Ah yes, vision OP
I don’t know if you have noticed but there is a trend here it seems the top players are some kind of carry because we have here Abed Azel L. Yusop or Abed in-game. Straight from the Philippines, his professional career started in early 2015. This record-breaking player became the first Filipino to reach 9000 MMR in 2017. Abed is a mid laner to his very Core, taking a meticulous approach to finding a target and focusing them down in a sort of all “Guns” off the field type of mentality. Executing all of his experience with Invoker he seems to have an answer to anything the opposition throws his way. With his storm spirit coming in second place over a 50% win-rate on both heroes.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Abed runs with Evil Geniuses right now and together they were able to take home 1st in the Dota Pro Circuit North America Upper Division in early 2021 grabbing the winning portion of the $205,000 prize pool.
Abed’s Highlight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6BHyYKkjco
Abded’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/abedyusop
3. Frank (FEeDeR)
This team gives me anxiety...
Frank Alberto Arias Ayala, the 22-year-old Off-laner who recently left Thunder Predator. He is from Peru and is sponsored by Razer currently he plays for Team Lava serving as their first-line defense against enemy carries. Frank can work well with a team and seems his ability to coordinate with his team is seen in plenty of his matches with Batrider offering that extra damage and crowd control needed to get the job done.
Major Tournament Achievements -
With Frank’s focus on teamwork, it’s hard to imagine that he hasn’t helped any team he has been a part of succeeding right? It’s a team game, after all, Well August 2020 Frank and Team Thunder Predator sure made themselves known with a clean 3-0 clean sweep against the EgoBoys in the Movistar Liga Pro Gaming Season 5 competition taking 1st place for themselves and most of the $10,000 prize pool
Frank’s Highlight:
https://www.dotabuff.com/clips/hh-s-triple-kill-leads-to-a-team-wipe-5319183859-2c83533ca5ba
Frank’s Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FrankDota2/about
2. Pakazs (Angel)
Look at me...I'm the superstar now
Now we have Crhistian Anthony Savina Casanova from Peru, a safe-lane carry. Pakazs is currently signed on with Thunder Predator after an unfortunate split from No-Ping. It would also appear the safe-laner enjoys a certain Demon slaying anime as his Facebook profile would lead us to believe. After watching Pakaz’s gameplay as a safe lane carry, I found myself on the edge of my seat. He is immensely fun to watch no matter what hero he’s playing. However, if we had to ask who is he the best with? Morphling comes in at the top with his over 70% win rate!
Major Tournament Achievements -
Aside from his top-level carry play alone, Pakazs has been a part of back-to-back 1st place wins at both Season 8 & 9 BTS Pro Series: Americas with a combined prize pool of $80,000!
Pakazs' (Angel) Highlight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dABEpguw5PQ
Pakazs' Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063464419914
1. Arteezy
Everything is easy for Arteezy
Coming in at number one is too easy for Arteezy. Arteezy is a top-tier player in all aspects of its awareness, matchups, Item selection, and objective taking. Arteezy debuted professionally in 2013 after putting it off for his studies, now he is signed on with Evil Genius. In 2016 Arteezy was the first in Dota 2 history to achieve 9000 MMR. His signature hero is Drow Ranger who is also a personal favorite of mine. Bringing heavy damage and range with the skill to utilize it to the fullest that’s what it means for Arteezy to pick Drow it’s no wonder he has a 70% win rate with her.
Major Tournament Achievements -
Well, it’s not a matter of finding a major tournament achievement, it's choosing one for him. Arteezy and Evil Geniuses at The International 2018 Arteezy and Evil Geniuses managed to play hard-fought matches and achieve 3rd place with a prize pool of a mouth-watering $25,532,177.
Arteezy's Highlight:
https://www.dotabuff.com/clips/eg-arteezy-s-triple-kill-leads-to-a-team-wipe-3932641464-3e7324f13081
Arteezy’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/arteezy
