Best Dota 2 Moments of 2025: Biggest Tournaments, Upsets & Drama

2025 has been a wild year for esports, and Dota 2 is definitely no exception. We had tons of standout moments that some of you may have missed out on. Our team at Blix.gg decided to take a step back and review everything that took place, so let’s dive into some of the best Dota 2 moments of 2025.

Early 2025 Dota 2 Season: Underdogs Rise & the Meta Shifts

It’s safe to say that the 2025 Dota 2 season started off with high anticipation. The competitive landscape began to shift, particularly after several smaller, high-stakes tournaments. 

PARIVISION’s Breakout Run – From Underdogs to Dota 2 Champions in 2025

Although some of the big teams had fairly good results, the beginning of 2025 was when we started noticing the rise of some of the underdogs. This is especially true for PARIVISION, the team that has been growing in strength over the last couple of seasons. 

PARIVISION shocked fans with their innovative drafts and aggressive playstyle. The squad secured a 3rd place at FISSURE Playground 1 and DreamLeague Season 2025 before winning the ESL One Raleigh 2025. PARIVISION also won DreamLeague Season 26 and got 3rd place at the Esports World Cup 2025 and The International 2025.

Tundra Esports’ Dominant 2025 Title Run

Tundra Esports was another Dota 2 team that surprised fans in early 2025. After a series of questionable results before, the squad emerged as a powerhouse and has been a dominating force throughout the year. A quick look at the results shows that Tundra has won four events so far – FISSURE PLAYGROUND 1, BLAST Slam II, BLAST Slam III, and BLAST Slam IV. The team also finished 2nd at the PGL Wallachia Season 3.

Team Spirit & Team Liquid’s 2025 Slump: When Dota 2 Giants Struggled

While some Dota 2 teams are thriving, others have had difficulties early on in 2025. Team Spirit is probably the most surprising because a lot of people considered them to be almost invincible in 2024. The CIS powerhouses were the reigning TI 2024 champions, but this did not guarantee them good results early on. Spirit had to wait until May to win its first big event after securing a victory at PGL Wallachia Season 1. 

The situation was largely the same for Team Liquid. Even though the squad won two big events in the span of a month (PGL Wallachia Seasons 3 and 4), it was not able to live up to the expectations in the tournaments before and after that.

Esports World Cup 2025: The Most-Watched Dota 2 Tournament of the Year

We saw loads of interesting Dota 2 tournaments in 2025, but the Esports World Cup 2025 emerged as one of the standout tournaments. The reason why the competition was so important is that it became the most-watched Dota 2 tournament in the last couple of years.

It’s safe to say that the EWC 2025 captured both hardcore and casual fans. Based on some stats, there were more than 429,000 concurrent viewers at one point, and this made the EWC 2025 the most-watched Dota 2 event of the year. It definitely set up the stage for The International 2025.

When it comes to the actual event, Team Spirit revealed why so many people consider them the best in the world. Despite struggling in some of the earlier competitions, Spirit dominated their opponents in 2025 and secured a key victory against Team Falcons in the Grand Final. This definitely gave the team the much-needed confidence and motivation boost heading into the second half of the season. 

Outside of that, the Esports World 2025 ensured that everyone had an engaging and unique experience. There was multi-language commentary, real-time stats, and different interactive fan engagement tools. All of those things made the competition even more interesting. 

Topson’s 2025 Return to Dota 2: Streaming Comeback, Not Pro (Yet)

We can safely say that Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen is one of the most popular Dota 2 players. The two-time TI winner decided to take a break in late 2024, but he made a comeback to Dota 2 in mid-2025 and started streaming.

To be honest, most people were kind of disappointed after the news broke out. People expected to see Topson back in the competitive Dota 2 scene, but this has not happened yet.

We strongly believe that we’ll see him in 2026, but it will probably take a while. The major roster changes are largely complete (most took place after TI 2025 concluded), so we’ll probably have to wait longer.

The International 2025 & Gaimin Gladiators: Inside the $7.5M Dota 2 Scandal

After the EWC 2025, fans were slowly getting ready to welcome The International 2025. The most anticipated Dota 2 tournament of the year gave us access to a load of epic games. Everyone who followed the tournament will remember that the Playoffs were an emotional rollercoaster and featured some of the most intense matches in the event’s history.

We have loads of content about what happened at TI 14, so there’s no point in going through everything again. What is important, however, is the controversy surrounding Gaimin Gladiators, as it’s something we have not seen in a while.

Despite their direct invitation, GG announced their withdrawal from the tournament. This sparked a debate, and it became clear that there was a serious dispute between the players and the management. The two parties could not get along because of various issues that ultimately resulted in GG’s departure from the biggest Dota 2 event.

The fallout was severe because Gaimin Gladiators decided to file a lawsuit against four of the former players – Quinn, Ace, tOfu, and Watson. The organization demanded close to CA$7.5M in damages for breaching their contracts and sponsor-deliverable failures, as well as reputation harm. 

This controversy is still ongoing, and we’ll have to wait to see what happens in 2026. 

Why 2025 Was a Landmark Year for Dota 2 Esports

These were just a handful of the things that happened in 2025, but we think they deserved more attention. Needless to say, there were also many different roster changes and tournament-specific news, but it’s impossible to add everything. What we need to remember is that 2025 was definitely an interesting year, and we are looking forward to 2026.