Dota 2 Pro Dendi Leaves Na'Vi, Future Unclear

Every game, forum, and community has its legends — people whose names and faces are bound to the things they do — people who gamers recognize and organize around. Some, like Masahiro Sakurai, are known for making games. Others, like Sean "Day [9]" Plott, build a following by streaming games and interacting with fans. Rarely, professional players gain a similar sort of recognition. Today we're taking a look at one such player: Danil Ishutin.

Danil, better known to his fans by his tag, "Dendi," is possibly the single most famous individual in the Dota 2 community. His success in tournaments parallelled the game's rise as an esport, and his humor and showmanship gave spectators someone to cheer for.

If you've only been watching Dota's competitive scene recently, this might come as a surprise to you. In fact, despite his reputation as one of the community's most beloved professional players, Dendi has failed to qualify with his team for The International for two years in a row.

Why, you might ask, is he still relevant if he isn't competitive?

To answer that, we have to start with his background and the history of Dota 2.

The Origin of Dendi

Dendi was born in Ukraine in 1989 and got his first computer in 1997. He spent countless hours of his childhood gaming, developing an intense competitive spirit. After finding moderate success in online Warcraft 3 tournaments, Dendi turned to one of that game's popular mods: DotA: Allstars. In late 2010, he joined team Natus Vincere (Na'Vi). Shortly afterwards, Dota 2 was announced.

Dota 2 wasn't just a graphical update from the old Warcraft 3 mod. Valve's ownership promised new development and support for the game's competitive scene. On August 1st 2011, Valve announced The International, a tournament to be held at Gamescom that year with a whopping $1.6 million prize pool — the largest of any esport event to that date (and yet, it's only gone up from there).

Na'Vi was considered to be one of the strongest teams heading into The International. Their aggressive tactics overwhelmed most of their competition, and Dendi lay at the heart of the team's success. Across most of their matches, Dendi took the role of the playmaker on his team. He played high impact, high skill cap characters that enabled his team to win fights. Na'Vi crushed its way through the upper bracket and into the grand finals against the DotA: Allstars powerhouse, EHOME. The best of five series quickly closed in to a 1-1 score before Na'Vi clutched out two final victories. Na'Vi and their star player, Dendi, had secured a spot in the history of esports.

Dendi's journey with his team didn't end then, though. He remained active through the next year finding further victories in Starladder, Dreamhack, and the Premier League. Just over one year after his victory at The International, Dendi found his way back into the main stage event. It looked as though history would repeat itself: Na'Vi started off in the upper bracket, where the team took three best of threes to secure a spot in the grand finals. As before, Dendi put on a dominating performance, relying on out-maneuvering opponents to beat them in a battle of skill rather than tactics. However Invictus Gaming came prepared to meet them in the finals. Once again, the first two games of the grand finals placed the teams 1-1 on equal footing. In games 3 and 4, IG used Na'Vi's aggressive playstyle to their advantage, stealing the wins with greedy drafts and strong counter-initiation. In 2012, Na'Vi ceded the title of the best team in Dota to Invictus Gaming.

The beginning of the following season was rough on Na'Vi. Morale loss was met with roster changes and poor seasonal performance. Going into The International 2013, Na'Vi was no longer considered to be a top performer. Dendi and his team captain, Clement "Puppey" Ivanov, turned to new and controversial tactics to win their first two upper bracket series. Their strategy, referred to as the "fountain hook," allowed them to neuter opposition by removing critical opponents from teamfights.

There was a new top dog at this year's TI — a team that sought to disarm Na'Vi's tactics and aggression by committing fully to game-ending objectives. Na'Vi and Alliance first clashed in the upper bracket semis, where Alliance took the series 2-0. This loss shocked fans and forced Na'Vi into the lower bracket, where they had to fight their way back to the finals, taking a rough 2-1 series against Orange esports. Na'Vi earned their right to a rematch, and to this day the best of five grand finals at TI3 are thought to be some of the best games of Dota 2 to spectate. 2013 was the first year in which the grand finals of TI went for five full matches, and the feat wouldn't be repeated again until 2018. The final 44 minute game was a gruelling display of skill, patience, and game knowledge whose conclusion was decided only in the final minute of the game. Gustav "S4" Magnusson — Dendi's rival on Alliance — interrupted Dendi's teleportation to defend his base, causing it to fall.

For three years in a row, Dendi carried Na'Vi to the grand finals of the highest paying esports tournament in the world, and once the team had won. The games he played were flashy and dramatic. Na'Vi's matches at The International were universally considered to be the best viewing experiences in the history of Dota.

Times were changing, though. Conflict was building between Dendi's teammates, and they couldn't hold on to their title as the most consistent professional team in the game.

Player to Personality

Dendi made the decision to stay with Natus Vincere through 2018, though he was the only original member to do so. As years progressed, Na'Vi's performance continued to waver. In 2014, the team took the 7th/8th position. In 2015 and 2016, Na'Vi would tie for the lowest ranking at main event, 13th-16th place. The team has since failed to qualify for the event.

To those of use who watched Dendi's rise in the Dota scene, it feels like it was just yesterday. It's crazy to think that Natus Vincere's downward slide has now outlasted the team's glory days, because its name still sparks memories of dominant performances, clutch gameplay, and goofiness.

In another esport, a player like Dendi might be thought of as a relic — someone who represents a different era of a game. Yet Dendi keeps popping up outside of competition. He's not followed the path of becoming an analyst or a co-commentator, but he keeps appearing at events as a character. And he steals the show.

Despite not always playing, Dendi has been a part of every TI. Whether he was dancing outside his booth in the All-Stars match at TI3, cosplaying his most iconic hero, Pudge, at TI4, or taking part in skits and pandering to memes about owning a yacht at TI8, he's been there, and the community has welcomed him as an icon.

Dendi Going Forward

Thank you for the 8 years of support and trust. I enjoyed every minute and wish future teams the best of luck!

— Danil Ishutin (@DendiBoss) September 1, 2018

On September 1st 2018, after having been signed with the organization for 8 years, Dendi announced via Twitter that he would be parting ways with Natus Vincere. Danil later clarified this statement, indicating that he has no desire to leave Dota or esports as a whole. 

But, where will Dendi's new path will take him? He's the last original member of the Na'Vi roster that won the first TI, and his departure from the team marks the end of an era. This leaves him as an open candidate for any team willing to take him in.

Perhaps this change will mark the beginning of something new as well — his return to competitive success. Going forward, one thing is certain: Dendi will always hold a special place in the history of Dota 2.

Speaking of The International, check out our coverage of this year's TI8 where OG took the win!