Top 5 Upsets in Dota 2 History

Dota 2 fans love the underdog story. There is something very satisfying about watching a weaker team on paper overcome the odds and win.

Esports is no stranger to such David v Goliath stories. But for every David that beats the odds, a Goliath faces monumental upset.

Here are 5 of the biggest upsets in Dota 2 history.

Disclaimer: This list solely reflects the opinions of the author

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The 5 Greatest Upsets in Dota 2

5. SG Esports v Team Secret at The Kiev Major

One of the lesser-known upsets happened at the Kiev Major. Team Secret was a super-team, feared by the rest. Meanwhile, SG Esports was a Brazillian Dota 2 team that was unknown outside of South America.

As a result, when these two teams were matched against one another in the round of 16, people assumed that Team Secret would run over the Brazilian minnows. However, thanks to some brilliant performances from William "HFN" Medeiros and Adriano "4DR" Machado, SG Esports defeated Secret 2-1 to eliminate them from the tournament.

SG will lose to Evil Geniuses in the next round, but their victory over Team Secret remains one of the biggest upsets in Dota 2 history.

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4. Ad Finem at The Boston Major

The Boston Major was the first Major of the 2016-17 Dota 2 season. The teams had fresh rosters and the results were unpredictable. But nobody expected an upstart Greek team to be one of the standouts of the tournament.

Ad Finem, a greek roster, qualified for the Major through the Open Qualifiers. They finished 3rd in their group, winning just one game, and were drawn against Chinese powerhouse, Newbee. They defeated Newbee and followed up with victories over LGD Forever Young and Digital Chaos.

They eventually lost in the Grand Final against OG, putting an end to their miraculous run. Their run will go down in Dota 2 history as one of the most entertaining underdogs runs ever.

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3. Team Liquid v LGD Gaming at The International 3

In the early years of Dota 2, North American teams were barely a threat. No NA teams were invited to TI1, and every NA team finished outside the top 8 at TI2.

So when Liquid were matched against China's LGD Gaming in the Lower Bracket 2nd round of TI3, fans assumed LGD would win.

But a brilliant performance by Kanishka "Bulba" Sosale on Clockwerk inspired Liquid to defy all odds and defeat the Chinese powerhouse. In what remains LGD's joint-worst TI finish to date, Liquid eliminated them and secured a top 8 finish, becoming the the first-ever North American team to do so.

The upset is also remembered by the iconic caster call "Liquid are doing it!"

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2. OG at The International 8

OG's Cinderella run at The International 8 has been well documented. They defied all expectations to win the tournament, and their grand final series against PSG.LGD, which went all the way to game 5, remains one of the best series of Dota 2 ever played.

OG were the least favorite team to win that TI. No one in their right mind would have picked OG to win. They had scrambled a team together just a few months before TI and had qualified through the European Open Qualifiers.

What followed, goes down as one of the greatest underdog stories in Dota 2 and esports history.

OG barely managed to qualify for the Upper Brackets from their group. Then they defeated VGJ.Storm, Evil Geniuses, and PSG.LGD to set up a Grand Finals rematch against the latter team. Off the back of some heroic plays by ever single person on the team, they made history and lifted their first Aegis of Champions.

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1. OG v TNC at The International 6

To properly understand why TNC's victory over OG was so incredible, one must know the history behind this game.

Leading up to TI6, Valve hosted 3 Dota 2 Majors. OG won 2 out of 3 Majors and finished 7th-8th in the other one. TNC, on the other hand, failed to qualify for even one of them. OG was the undisputed best Dota 2 team in the world. TNC wasn't even one of the better teams in South East Asia.

Southeast Asia was represented throughout the season by Fnatic and Mineski. At the SEA Open Qualifiers, TNC upset both of those teams to qualify for The International. At TI, TNC finished 5th in their group, getting wins over eventual winners Wings Gaming and LGD. They defeated Vici Gaming Reborn in their first Lower Bracket game and were matched against OG.

OG had already lost to MVP.Phoenix, in another huge upset, but everyone still expected them to defeat TNC. However, TNC did the unthinkable and defeated OG 2-0.