The Riyadh Masters 2025 Dota 2 tournament is rapidly heading towards its conclusion. For those who perhaps decided to skip the group stage, a significant portion of the action – roughly 90% of the games – has already transpired. With only eight matches remaining in the playoff bracket, it`s time to catch up on the most interesting events and peculiar facts that defined the initial phase of this “esports world championship.”
The Rare Single-Elimination Format
One of the primary reasons for the limited number of upcoming matches is the playoff structure itself: single-elimination. This format is a considerably rare sight in major Dota 2 tournaments. While a variant appeared this season at BLAST, which featured a notably unconventional design, the big events like Majors and The International have largely avoided pure single-elimination since 2018 (ESL One Birmingham 2018, won by Virtus.pro, though it had only 12 teams and a six-team bracket entry system). The last true classical single-elimination bracket, where all participants started from the same round on equal footing, was back in 2017 at the Kiev Major.
The very first Riyadh Masters in 2022 also featured single-elimination, but with only ten teams and one being Deboosters (featuring `lil pleb`), it was hard to label it a top-tier prestigious event. Thus, observing how single-elimination unfolds within the modern tier-1 Dota 2 scene on a tournament of this scale presents a compelling watch.
A Hero Pool Full of Surprises
If anything, the Riyadh Masters 2025 truly impressed with its hero diversity. The championship saw the emergence of several characters many players might have forgotten existed in the competitive meta. However, standing out significantly were the carry Hoodwink played by Pure~ and the midlane Undying picked by Niku. Typically, such experimental picks are confined to matchmaking, often by enthusiasts of the specific hero. For the professional stage, these choices weren`t just bold; they were… well, you understand. Amusingly, both Hoodwink and Undying managed to win their respective matches, and in both instances, the opponent was quite formidable – Falcons and Xtreme, respectively.
The Farming Anti-Record
Tundra Esports secured second place in their group after tiebreakers and successfully advanced to the playoffs. Despite this, their carry, Remco “Crystallis” Arets, managed to set a notable anti-record. Crystallis averaged the fewest creeps at 10 minutes among all core players at the event. This statistic is particularly ironic considering Tundra`s win rate exceeded 70%, contrasting with teams that lost almost all their maps. At the ten-minute mark, Arets averaged only 47 creeps – a full 10 creeps fewer than even Daxak, and significantly less than the majority of core players who typically average over 60 by this stage.
The Curse of the Phantom Lancer
Remember how some kids would dare each other to lick frozen swings in winter? An equivalent hazardous pastime emerged for carry players at EWC: picking Phantom Lancer and attempting to win. So far, only Nightfall has succeeded. Pure~, Ame, Satanic, and Timado, however, remain symbolically “stuck” to the frozen swing. Adding to the irony, both Ame and Satanic attempted this twice.
As a result, Phantom Lancer finished the first two stages of the tournament with a win rate of just 14% – one of the worst indicators at the event. The hero`s average KDA was tragically low, comparable to that of a support Rubick.
Trash Talk and Domination
Team Liquid advanced confidently through the first stage, taking first place and dropping only a single map against Heroic. Yet, it wasn`t just their gameplay that captured attention, but also SabeRLighT-`s interview after another victory over PARIVISION.
For context: PARIVISION`s support, Dukalis, seems to possess a unique affection for SabeRLighT-, having repeatedly referred to him as a “bot” during the grand final of FISSURE Universe: Episode 5, which Liquid ultimately won 3-0.
At Riyadh Masters 2025, the teams met again, resulting in another Liquid victory. The overall map score between the two teams reached a rather decisive 7-0. SabeRLighT- wasn`t shy about acknowledging this fact in his post-match interview, noting that PARIVISION likely still considered him a “bot” and expressing hope for another playoff encounter to push the score to 9-0. Classic.
The Winless Wonders
Virtus.pro`s roster did not disappoint in providing noteworthy moments – they even reached a certain “top” status, albeit with a caveat. Daxak`s team became the only team in the tournament that failed to win a single map, concluding their run with a grim 0-8 record.
VP distinguished themselves within games as well. In a match against Team Yandex, Daxak`s squad collectively secured a mere 12 kills over two maps. VP`s “best” game was the second map against Aurora, where a last-pick Huskar helped them achieve 19 kills, take Roshan, and even lead in gold briefly. The fairy tale, however, was short-lived.
Among the record-setters, Antares stood out with a KDA below one. How often do you recall seeing that in Dota 2? In CS, such a figure usually warrants criticism, but in Dota 2, where accumulating assists is as easy as merely being near the action, this is quite an “achievement.” Antares averaged less than one kill per game.
A Trip Down Technical Memory Lane
One could start by saying, “What`s a Dota tournament without technical issues?” However, this season, that statement hasn`t been entirely accurate, with most events proceeding smoothly. EWC, it seems, decided to send viewers on a time-traveling journey a couple of years into the past. While there thankfully weren`t prolonged pauses, regular audio and video glitches were present on both English and Russian broadcasts.
For instance, the English broadcast experienced various visual distortions. And the Russian broadcast even had moments where commentators first lost their video feed, casting blind, and then had their microphones cut off entirely.
On the plus side, broadcasts occasionally captured the raw emotion and shouts of players bleeding into the casters` microphones. However, here lies another nuance: the shouts weren`t from Dota players. The drive and emotion for the Dota 2 tournament were inadvertently provided by the Valorant teams, whose battle cries were audible from the neighboring hall. The only impactful yell from a Dota player was during the Liquid and PARIVISION series: “Bots!” Unfortunately, only English stream viewers heard this, as only that broadcast was physically on-site, allowing them better content and the possibility of having players and casters in the same frame.
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Such were the highlights of the Riyadh Masters 2025 group stage. We can only hope the single-elimination playoffs deliver even more compelling stories and, of course, crushed logo memes. We`ll be watching.