Here are some of the Dota 2 offlaners to keep an eye on at The International 12.
Many players underestimate the power of the offlane, but when it comes down to professional games, this is definitely one of the most important positions. Offlaners are responsible for keeping the enemy’s carry as under-farmed as possible. Moreover, these heroes are usually the ones that initiate a team fight and get items that the team needs to take fights.
The International 12 will be the place where the best teams in the world will gather in just a month and a half from now. Since the best will be there, we will also have the chance to see the top offlaners of The International 12 in Seattle. Several big names deserve to be on the list, so this article will go over all of them. Keep in mind we’ve already shared details about the carries and midlaners, so check them out for more information.
Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg – Team Liquid
Not that many Dota 2 players have the history and experience of zai. The Swedish Dota 2 superstar has been a key part of the professional scene since 2013. Even though he is just 26-year-old, zai already has more than 12 years of professional gaming experience because he’s also an ex HoN player.
When it comes down to Dota 2, zai is currently a part of Tem Liquid. Before joining the team in 2021, he also played for the likes of Team Secret, Evil Geniuses, OpTic Gaming, The Dire, and many other teams.
Zai is well-known for playing some of the most important offlaners in Dota 2. He’s not a player that focuses on farming cores because he’s mostly into the heroes with big ultimates. That said, you can often see him playing one of the following heroes:
Marcus “Ace” Christensen – Gaimin Gladiators
Similar to zai, Ace is also one of the legendary Dota 2 players that has been a part of the professional scene for many years. Most people know him because he was a part of Team Secret for almost 1 year. However, the player also played for the likes of Cloud9, Danish Bears, 5men, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and many more.
Unlike some of the other Gaimin Gladiator members, this one joined the team in 2022. The club definitely became more successful after that, so it’s safe to say Ace has a key role in winning so many events.
What’s interesting about the 29-year-old player is that he used to be a carry. This helps him in the offlane as well because he can use a lot of heroes that other offlaners are not comfortable with. This includes options like:
Neta “33” Shapira – Tundra Esports
Most people weren’t surprised by Tundra Esports’s TI victory because the team was clearly on another level compared to the rest. Everyone from the squad was playing really well, including the team’s offlaner 33. The 26-year-old from Israel has been active in the professional Dota 2 world since 2015. He played for the likes of Kaipi, hellRaisers, OpTic Gaming, Alliance, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. However, his career took off when he joined mudglolems, which Gaimin Gladiators later acquired.
Before becoming a successful offlaner, 33 was also popular support. He is famous for a lot of things, one of which is his micro-skills when it comes down to heroes like Lycan and Visage. Needless to say, he also excels with many ot her heroes, such as:
Matvey “MieRo`” Vasyunin – 9Pandas
Unlike some of the offlaners mentioned so far, MieRo is relatively unknown in the Dota 2 scene because he hasn’t been around for that long. The 20-year-old player started playing professionally in 2021 when he joined team Cascade. After spending a few months there, he became a part of CIS Rejects, followed by HellRaisers. With that said, there were a few big roster changes, which eventually led him to 9Pandas.
Judging from what we’ve seen, the young CIS Dota 2 start definitely has what to offer. He has proven to be really strong with a variety of heroes, including those that are considered harder to master. Usually, you can see him playing one of the following heroes:
Adrián “Wisper” Dobles – Evil Geniues
There are a couple of big South American offlaners in Dota 2, but most people can agree that Wisper is in a league of his own. He’s one of the more experienced players that was a part of a lot of top-tier squads, including beastcoast. After spending around 3 years with the team, he decided to move to the newly-formed Evil Geniuses in late 2022, and he’s been a part of it ever since.
An interesting thing about Wisper is that he was a well-known midder before deciding to go to the offlane. This definitely helps him be one of the top offlaners of The International 12 because he knows how to play in 1vsX situations. Wisper is also the first player from Bolivia to attend The International. This happened in 2019 when he was a part of Infamous.
The player can be seeing with a lot of different heroes, such as:
Li “niu” Kongbo
The last name we need to address regarding the best offlaners of The International 12 is niu. The latter is PSG.LGD’s new offlaner became a part of the team in May this year. Before that, he was a part of Vici Gaming for around 1 year, and he played for around 3 years at Blaze.
Niu is a name that’s known for reaching 10K MMR in 2022 and the fact that he’s one of the best Mars players in China. This will be the first big tournament for the young player, so we will keep an eye on his performance to see if he’ll live up to the expectations.