Watch five of the most dramatic finishes competitive Dota has ever seen. There are boring, traditional ways to end a Dota 2 game. Then there’s a base race. It’s not often we see a team decide to just ignore the enemy team and go all-in on the enemy’s buildings instead, but when we do, it almost guarantees us one of the most epic finishes the Dota scene’s ever witnessed.Of course, there are traditional ways of ending the game. The most common is slaying the enemy team and proceeding to cause substantial damage to the base before a team either taps out or the ancient falls. It doesn’t quite set the heart racing in the same way a base race does, with the casters frantically panning between the two bases trying desperately to see exactly which team will win the battle.With The Shanghai Major getting underway later this week, we take a look at some of the most epic base races in the history of competitive Dota 2.
Alliance vs Dignitas, DreamHack Dota 2 Invitational 2013
This game had it all. Dignitas’ Gyrocopter played by Aui_2000 (now of team Digital Chaos) picked up a Divine Rapier after just 30 minutes and an Aegis of the Immortal shortly after. Alliance, after watching their middle barracks fall and realising that they simply couldn’t fight, decided to take a different approach. Using just Admiral Bulldog’s empowered Lone Druid bear and Loda’s Anti-Mage, they managed to out-push the five heroes of Dignitas and take the game in a spectacular way. Just a few months later, the Dota world would see Alliance carry on their sensational form and become champions at The International 3.
Secret vs CDEC, DAC 2015
Secret boasted a star-studded roster heading into DAC, featuring no fewer than three previous winners of The International (Puppey, S4, Kuroky) and two of the best young talents in Zai and Arteezy. The last three minutes of their match against CDEC at DAC were among the craziest we’ve ever seen. CDEC, having already lost barracks, barrelled down the Secret middle lane, wanting to force a fight and hopefully the game. After being fully wiped, CDEC bought back on all five heroes and Agressif’s Juggernaut caught Secret off-guard and got an ultra kill as the tide turned again. Secret used several buybacks in response, and using Lycan and Visage’s summons managed to secure mega creeps. As it became apparent that the Chinese team would just go for the throne, Secret made the call to use Boots of Travel to go for the win in their opponents’ base, and the pushing power of Arteezy’s Lycan ultimately proved just too much for CDEC as Secret came out eventual winners.
Empire vs Ninjas in Pyjamas, ESL New York 2015
Without doubt the closest game in Dota history. Empire had taken mega creeps, but the push from NIP left Empire’s throne naked and vulnerable. NIP’s last gasp push left the ancient with just 42 health before they were team-wiped with just one hit needed to win the match. Era’s Anti-Mage and Jonassomfan’s Legion Commander bought back, and using Boots of Travel went straight back into the base of Empire. Despite backdoor regeneration healing the Empire ancient ever so slightly, they looked set to secure the match. Just as the ancient looked to have fallen, “Dire Victory” popped up and the camera panned to NIP’s ancient crumbling as Empire managed to claim the game by the smallest of margins. We couldn’t imagine a closer game even if we tried.
Wheel vs Void Boys, The International 5 Qualifiers 2015
The conclusion of this TI qualifier game saw a textbook base race in which neither team offered any sort of defence; just all-out attack. Wheel managed to prevent Void Boys from obtaining mega creeps with an ultra kill for their Dragon Knight before charging relentlessly towards the opposition base. Void Boys took to the top lane to do exactly the same. With both teams offering no sort of resistance to each other’s push it ultimately came down to who had the better push. Initially it looked like Void Boys had it, but when Troll Warlord’s attack speed kicked in for Wheel, their damage accelerated dramatically and saw them crawl over the line in the most dramatic way.
Team OG vs EHOME, The Summit 4 2015
The most recent of all of the clips comes from the latter part of 2015, at The Summit 4. The Frankfurt Major champions OG surprised EHOME with a Meepo pick, while EHOME took the notoriously anti-fun Huskar. At just 26 minutes into the game, EHOME grouped and sought to end the game, with OG leaving a Winter Wyvern, Dark Seer and Bane to stall for as long as they physically could. EHOMEseverely underestimated the sheer pushing power of Miracle’s Shadow Fiend and BigDaddy’s Meepo as they watched their towers and ancient being destroyed effortlessly. By the time their ancient had been destroyed they had barely made a dent in the tier-three towers of Team OG. It just goes to show strong judgment and decision-making are as important as impeccable execution in Dota.
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