The news that Team Spirit has won The International 10 has spread quickly. Today, Team Spirit is the biggest earner in esports as they have claimed the eye-watering $18 million and also set hopes high for all those people on the sidelines who have pondered a career in esports and Dota 2 in particular.
Team Spirit has gone through some challenging patches, but they have ended up emerging victorious against many tipped favorites. In fact, the odds put them at merely +1400 during the group stages, far behind the primed favorites from PSG. LGD or the runner-ups from Team Secret. And yet, Team Spirit delivered impeccable performance.
While not the immediate favorites for the TI10, Team Spirit went undefeated and managed to pull back from those challenging games, quickly communicating their determination to win, as they now have. So, what’s next for the team? That really depends.
OG has expressed regret not being able to secure a third Aegis of Immortal after the team won two consecutive events in 2018 and 2019 but had to skip the 2024 event. Team Spirit is now the new potential favorites for setting a new record, although we’d have to wait until 2024 for TI11. In the meantime, one question remains – is it too late to make Dota 2 pro yourself?
Becoming a Dota 2 Pro, a Matter of Luck or Steely Determination?
For those of you who truly enjoy esports, The International was probably a time to visit dotabetz.com and place a wager. How this has gone is another matter altogether, but to those of you who have been prescient enough to back the underdog and predict their ascent to victory, congratulations.
There are those of you, though, that wonder if they can repeat Team Spirit’s success. There are many players who have been conquering the MMRs in Dota 2 and showing a lot of promise, but cultivating your knowledge to a point where you win as much as Team Spirit has is another matter altogether.
You need to fulfill several criteria before you can even entertain the idea of going full-time pro. However, the good news is that if you do, you will find yourself in a world that is quite welcoming to those who are capable of delivering good performance.
Going pro means first taking stock of what you bring to the table. Are you a good Carry, Support, Coach, or Offlaner? There are many roles a successful Dota 2 team needs to fulfill well enough. If you want President Vladimir Putin to congratulate you or to get praised by whoever your country’s president is, you will need to grab the Aegies of Immortal.
To get there would require your unflagging determination – a thought that scares people across the board and really makes it hard for many to perform well as the pressure they are facing often seems like a bit much.
What to Do to Become a Dota 2 Pro Now?
You may be thinking – look, the pros are already there, and there is no way I can make it any further, but it’s not quite true. You actually can. Because becoming a Dota 2 pro may be the work of years of rigorous training. Actually, most talented players can be shaped into dangerous full-time pros and climb through the MMR in a matter of a year or two.
This means that you will find yourself witnessing unknown names surface to the top. Think about Team Undying, the North American team that came out of nowhere (well, almost) and managed to qualify without a sponsor to make the top. Team Nigma, a team of seasoned professionals, didn’t hesitate to take on TI10 even though they didn’t have the backing of Team Liquid.
Becoming a Dota 2 pro has never been an issue, as extensive testing has shown. If there is a player who shows immense talent in the MMR rankings, then it should be of little problem to help shape that player into a winning one and produce the results you need to really secure the top tiers of the competitive Dota 2 scene.
Start Now and Build up for the Future
Another good thing to know about becoming a Dota 2 pro is that you have to have the right mindset. Many players start at the lowest rung of the ladder, but through hard work and determination, they climb to the very top, and that is precisely the mindset you should have. Building for the future is an important mentality of the Dota 2 player.
In the post-TI10 interview, Team Spirit said that this moment has LONG been in the making. Team Spirit has not had too impressive of a showing during other events, but TI10 was where they shone. They played for six rigorous years against the best in the game to make sure that they could secure the highest distinction possible, and it was that GROWTH mindset that helped them succeed in the end.
In a word, whoever sets out to become an esports professional, should be perfectly aware that it’s going to be a long, arduous, and often challenging road forward. People, that is, gamers will have to dedicate and invest a lot in making sure that they make it to the coveted “next level” of competition, which is ultimately what this is about. If you are looking to truly make a difference, you will have to know that you are building up towards a goal and not just playing a video game.
Is the Financial Return Worthwhile?
In the early days of competitive Dota, that is before the game was a standalone title, EVERYONE was playing for bragging rights. However, as interest in esports and Dota grew, many people decided to shift their attention to competitive gaming that gets a salaried return.
But this wasn’t just a grassroots decision, for example. As a matter of fact, organizations also took notice. Valve is currently the BIGGEST driver of financial return for Dota 2, but many esports teams have found out that they would need to show players the respect they deserve. This means getting paid for investing a lot of time and effort in competing professionally.
To sum up, the answer is yes. There is financial gain to be explored in Dota 2, and when you set out to become a pro, you should look for organizations that will appreciate you and reward you with a decent salary so you can continue developing.
