Riyadh Masters 2025, a premier Dota 2 tournament, is rapidly approaching its conclusion. For those who missed the initial phase, you`ve skipped roughly 90% of the matches, as only the final eight remain. But fear not! We`ve compiled the most interesting events and facts from the group stage to bring you up to speed on what has been dubbed a “world championship” event.
The Rare Realm of Single-Elimination
One primary reason for the limited number of remaining matches is the playoff format: single-elimination. This is a particularly uncommon structure for a top-tier Dota 2 tournament of this magnitude. While seen on some smaller or experimental events like BLAST previously this season, major tournaments (Majors and The International) haven`t truly utilized a pure single-elimination bracket with all teams starting on equal footing since the Kiev Major in 2017. The ESL One Birmingham 2018 Major, won by Virtus.pro, had single-elimination but featured only 12 teams and a staggered start. The very first Riyadh Masters in 2022 also had it, but was a smaller 10-team event. It will be intriguing to observe how this high-stakes, unforgiving format plays out on the modern tier-1 Dota 2 stage.
Hero Pool Surprises
Riyadh Masters 2025 has certainly delivered variety in hero picks, bringing back some characters many might have forgotten were even in the competitive meta.
- Techies
- Visage
- Meepo
- Spirit Breaker
- Warlock
- Shadow Demon
However, the standout experiments were unequivocally a carry Hoodwink played by Pure~ and a midlane Undying picked by Niku. Such bold choices are typically confined to the chaotic realm of public matchmaking games, often by players deeply devoted to a specific hero. For the professional stage, this wasn`t just daring, it was bordering on the absurd. Yet, in a twist of irony that Dota 2 excels at delivering, both the Hoodwink and Undying picks secured victories, and against formidable opponents like Falcons and Xtreme respectively.
Stats and Anti-Records
While many teams performed admirably, some notable statistics emerged, highlighting unexpected individual and team “achievements,” sometimes in a less than flattering light.
Crystallis` Creep Score Conundrum
Tundra Esports navigated the group stage successfully, securing a playoff spot despite needing tiebreakers. However, their carry player, Remco “Crystallis” Arets, etched his name onto an interesting anti-record list. Crystallis holds the lowest average creep score (CS) among all core players at the event by the ten-minute mark. What makes this particularly noteworthy, and perhaps slightly amusing, is that Tundra boasts a win rate exceeding 70% in the groups. Yet, by minute ten, Arets averaged only 47 creeps, a full 10 less than the next lowest core player, Daxak. Most core players at the event comfortably average over 60 CS by this time. An unconventional path to success, perhaps?
The Phantom Lancer Predicament
Think of it as Dota 2`s version of daring someone to lick a frozen pole. The challenge for several top carry players at Riyadh Masters 2025? Pick Phantom Lancer and try to win. So far, only Nightfall has managed to avoid getting “stuck.” Players like Pure~, Ame, Satanic, and Timado attempted the feat, with Ame and Satanic even trying twice, but were left figuratively “attached” to the frosty hero. The result? Phantom Lancer ended the first two stages with a dismal 14% win rate, one of the worst of any hero, and an average KDA comparable to a support Rubick. Sometimes, meta is meta for a reason.
Team Liquid`s Dominance and the “Bots!” Saga
Team Liquid had a commanding group stage performance, dropping only one map. But beyond their solid play, they delivered one of the most memorable interview moments. After defeating PARIVISION, Team Liquid`s offlaner, SabeRLighT-, didn`t hold back. This stems from previous encounters, specifically the FISSURE Universe: Episode 5 grand final where PARIVISION`s support Dukalis repeatedly referred to SabeRLighT- as a “bot.” Liquid won that series 3-0. At Riyadh Masters 2025, Liquid defeated PARIVISION again, pushing their overall series record to a dominant 7-0 by maps. In his post-match interview, SabeRLighT- directly addressed the “bot” moniker, cheekily stating that PARIVISION likely still considered him one, and expressed his hope to meet them again in the playoffs to make the score 9-0. Competitive banter at its finest.
Virtus.pro`s Tough Run
Virtus.pro certainly surprised viewers, though perhaps not in the way their fans hoped. Daxak`s squad became the sole team at the tournament to fail to win a single map, finishing their run with an 0-8 record. Their struggles were evident even within games. In a match against Team Yandex, VP managed a total of only 12 kills across two maps. Their “best” game saw them secure 19 kills with a last-pick Huskar and briefly hold a gold lead against Aurora, but the glimmer of hope was short-lived. Adding to VP`s notable statistics, their support player, Antares, finished the tournament with a KDA of less than 1.0. How often do you see that in Dota 2? While often criticized in games like CS for poor KDA, in Dota 2, where assists are common, achieving less than one kill/assist per death on average feels… like an achievement of a different kind.
Broadcast Booth Blues
One might cynically ask, “What`s a Dota tournament without technical issues?” While many events this season have been relatively smooth, EWC seemed determined to send viewers back in time. Thankfully, there weren`t prolonged game pauses, but regular audio and video hiccups affected both English and Russian streams. The English stream experienced visual glitches, while the Russian broadcast infamously had commentators lose both their video feed (forcing them to cast blind) and then their microphones. On a more vibrant note, viewers could often hear the live energy from the venue – specifically, the enthusiastic shouts and comms from the *Valorant* teams competing in a nearby hall, bleeding into the Dota 2 mics. This provided a curious contrast, as audible player comms from the Dota players themselves were largely absent, save for the succinct “Bots!” shout from the Liquid vs. PARIVISION series, audible primarily on the English stream which was physically at the venue. This geographical advantage also allowed the English stream to feature some neat multi-person desk segments.
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The group stage of Riyadh Masters 2025 delivered a mix of high-level play, unexpected outcomes, statistical oddities, and broadcast quirks. As the tournament moves into the intense single-elimination bracket, we hope for even more compelling stories and, perhaps, fewer technical difficulties. Stay tuned!
Jasper Hawthorne