The competitive DotA scene is filled with remarkable talent, but who is actually in the top 10 players list of all time? Who has accomplished far more then anyone else in their time? Who are truly considered  solid players? Many players have made a name for themselves, but there has never been a list of the top players from around the world, until now. After seeking out the opinions from a variety of people in the DotA community, the list of who is considered the top 10 players from the past year is now complete.

People were asked to choose who they felt were the top 10 players, and based on that points were added. First place was 10 points, Second was 9, Third was 8 and so on. Please remember, this list is not perfect. Players were asked who they thought were the top 10, so there will be a few biased remarks, but since there was a variety of people asked, it should balance out and there was a pattern of select individuals who were seen on most of the lists.

And the countdown begins

10. Jolie of Virtus.Pro: 70 points

Coming in at the bottom of the list is VP's leader and main strategist. Jolie has come up with many unique ways of shutting down Virtus' opponents using certain tactics that other teams have started to copy. Though Jolie does not take full credit for Virtus' strategies, he is the main man behind them all. Normally the solo player for VP, Jolie stays consistent with his farming, and also manages to keep up with VP's aggressive ganks.

Replay: Shadow Fiend vs MYM

9. Hit0mi of eMazing Gaming: 74 points

Andre has been the backbone of many teams in the history of North American DotA. Having played on top teams such as JMC, x6, coL, tPD and now eMg, Andre has experienced all types of play. Andre joined eMg a few months ago to try to be at the top of the DotA scene once again after going on a long vacation, and has already helped lead eMg to place 3rd in the MYM 7 Prime Defending tournament. In a earlier GotFrag article, he received recognition as the Best Individual Performance for his Rhasta performance against Ks in Prime Defending. This talent, combined with a vast knowledge of the game and clutch in-game decisions makes him one of the top players in the world.

Replay: Rhasta vs Ks

8. Hanni of Meet Your Makers: 131 points

Hanni has been one of MYM's star players since the beginning, even while playing under the Joy tag. With a talent for fulfilling just about any role needed, Hanni plays any hero with ease. He is known as one, if not the best solo player in the world with his aggressive nature and powerful micro. In particular, his Viper, Tinker, and Nevermore removed any doubt that he played the solo role on MYM to perfection, despite those heroes being overshadowed by others in the recent MYM pride.

Replay: Tinker vs T_T

7. LightOfHeaven of sP[Palit]: 171 points

LightOfHeaven has been considered as the backbone of VP's rival team in Russia, Say PLZ. His ability to farm and knowledge of when to initiate and engage is amazing. He also helped lead the Russian team to win the first ever MYM Prime Nations. LoH started off his fame in PLZ by defeating many top teams such as compLexity and tPd in the ESL series, using heroes such as Silencer and Viper to perfection. He is also one of the pioneers of the Necronomicron build on Silencer, among many other heroes.

Replay: Necrolyte vs tPD

6. Ars-Art of Virtus.Pro: 181 points

Ars can be seen playing just about anything, ranging from Stealth Assassin to Silencer under the name Jermain, but his forte is ganking heroes. Famous for his innovative use of Pudge and aggressive Lina, he is one of DotA's top assassins. He used to always be seen in the shadow of teammates Vigoss and Jolie but has recently proven he stands behind no one. Ars is able to dominate any lane with his overly aggressive play style, and has mastered the art of ganking. He is often considered the best one versus one player in the game currently, meaning you don't to want to meet him in the river alone! He never picks a fight he can't win, his hooks and stuns are always spot-on, and his aggressive play style overwhelms even the most skilled players. When ARS is at the top of his game, he can shutdown an entire team by himself.

Replay: Pudge vs eMg

5. FearDarkness- Retired: 220 points

The first American powerhouse, Fear has his roots in the IGS days. At that time, he was nearly unmatched in terms of overall gameplay and especially micro. This reputation would remain largely true up until the end of his DotA career. His early accomplishments were most notable with clan Plug, which would later become team compLexity, arguably the best DotA team to have ever come out of the United States at the time. This was backed by some impressive results: compLexity took second place in Cal season 1 and first in Cal Season 2. After the international DotA scene started to expand, Fear continued to impress, such as ranking 1st in IHCS and continuing to bring compLexity impressive victories in ESL and MYM Pride 4. Overall, he has created a legacy that will not be forgotten. Some speculations on why he quit: It has been said that he was going to focus more on school, others have said that he started playing WoW. Now, yet another rumor has started saying he may return someday, creating his own team to hopefully take over the American DotA scene once again.

Replay: Panda vs TeG

4. Loda of SK Gaming: 239 points

The leader of the SK Gaming squad, Loda has helped SK make a name as one of the top teams in the world. His role is usually on the solo / carry hero, represented best by his amazing Shadow Fiend. He plays a crucial role on the team, as Maelk once said in a video interview at Dreamhack Summer 2007, if you shut down Loda, you shut down SK. However, Loda distinguishes himself from most players by the fact that he manages to outfarm everyone while still helping the rest of the team gank. He is most famous for his solo Tiny and Faceless Void, proving that a melee can solo and also dominate his opponent in the process.

Replay: Void vs MYM

3. Maelk of Meet Your Makers: 249 points

Maelk has been a key factor behind MYM's success ever since founding the team when it was still called Joy. He is the leader of MYM on many fronts. He is MYM's main strategist, having surprised many experienced teams more than once. For example, he was the mastermind behind MYM's devastating push strat, defeating SK with it at Dreamhack. In-game, who else plays the Chen leading the ganks? Maelk of course. His leadership, knowledge of the game, and overall skill makes Maelk a prime candidate in the top 10 players. Though he has been getting a few complaints recently, there is no doubt that he has been one of the top players in the world for quite some time.

Replay: Furion vs T_T

2. Merlini of Meet Your Makers: 283 points

Merlini has been with DotA for a long time, and has been long regarded as one of the top American DotA players, if not the best. As seen by his fearsome solo and some truely innovative jungling abilities, Merlini is not the type of player you wish to be against. His insane individual skill was first seen by many in his numerous IHL replays. These replays contained a combination of incredible farming and clutch moves. He was brought in with a warm welcome to the American team JMC in Cal season 2 where he continued to show his solo dominance. Following a minor retirement, he returned to show everyone that he still had it as he joined MYM, where he still amazes today, notorious for taking trilanes on all by himself.

Replay: Silencer vs Hans2

1. Vigoss of Virtus.pro: 403 points

It is no surprise that Vigoss has been called the best DotA player of all time. He has been invaluable in winning Virtus.Pro back-to-back MYM Pride tournament victories and much more. He has the uncanny ability to roam around the map killing everything in sight and yet end with the highest level. Even when he has a rough start, it's no surprise to see him at the top of the scoreboard. In nearly every game, Vigoss is seen leading the ganks which completely shut down the other team. Another amazing aspect is that he can play any hero flawlessly. Whether it's hitting near perfect arrows on PotM or his reckless Bounty Hunter, or even his Witch Doctor, one thing is clear: Vigoss is here to stay and to continue dominating the competition.

Replay: Chaos Knight vs SK

Ending Notes

When this countdown was being created, we wanted to make it the top 10 of all time, however that had to change. Many of the early day players that had truly been the best players of their time, have either been forgotten by many, or just not even thought of. This article was therefore made to show the top 10 players of the past year.

If you were wondering about the players that dominated long ago, here are a few names for you; SoyCD, ShaVoc, Throzz and eLJefeQ. Though these players were not mentioned in the top 10 of this year, they will always be remembered by the players that once played with them.

If you are wondering which players got close to making the top 10, but were counted out, here are the names; iMbaQ, Kwom, Admiration, MiracleChipMunk, FocusIRE, Slahser and Drayich. The replays were chosen because it resembles the player in the way that was described. Many players commented on which replay to use, so I think these replays will show the players thoroughly.


I would like to thank jesusmaphacked, Cubswin, Maruchan and wcplatypus for their contributions to this article.