Cover-Credits:
In a recent live stream on Kick, renowned Dota 2 player Artour "Arteezy" Babaev took the Dota community on a thought-provoking journey, sharing candid insights into the intricacies of Dota 2 esports. From the pivotal balance between money and title at The International (TI) to reflections on the elusive concept of legacy and tournament prestige, Arteezy's words made a picture of different things players have to think about in their journey. The pro player also chose between Riyadh Masters and The International during his stream.
Arteezy’s Take on TI, Players’ Legacy & More
On Arteezy’s stream, a viewer posed the question, “Want to win TI for the money or title?” Arteezy unequivocally rejected the notion of choosing between winning TI for money or title. According to him, both are indispensable.
Arteezy added, "Who would say none or one? If it's between one or the other, I don't know. Ultimately, I think what separates TI is the money." His surprising comparison of this year's TI to the Riyadh Masters introduced an intriguing layer. Arteezy further noted, "This TI [The International 2023] was really bad compared to Riyadh [Masters 2023] actually."
Breaking down his view on tournament prestige, Arteezy said Riyadh Masters felt bigger this year than TI. It seems like his experience at Riyadh played a role in shaping his opinion, highlighting that not all tournaments are the same. In his words, "It's not really like some Riyadh [Masters], for example; I feel it was bigger than TI this year."
Arteezy candidly said that he would not care about TI if he had the Riyadh Masters trophy and prize money in his bag. He said, “If I won Riyadh, I would not care about TI. Like in terms of one or the other. Of course you can be like Team Spirit and win both.”
Arteezy also talked about the often romanticized notions of legacy and the "lifetime achievement" of winning The International and was blunt enough to say that he did not care about such tags and titles.
Drawing on the example of Jonathan "Loda" Berg, a once-celebrated Dota 2 legend, Arteezy questioned the enduring importance of legacy in current esports discourse. Arteezy opined that people do not really talk about what happened ten years ago and pointed out how nobody talks about Loda.
Arteezy hinted at how time changes the way fans see players. He brought up Loda again, saying, "He played really, really good. He was just loud, you know? People generally don't like people who talk a lot."
Interestingly, just when pros like Arteezy are openly talking about winning Riyadh Masters and being indifferent to TI, there has been major development surrounding the tournament held as part of Gamers8.
On 27th November, Dota 2 pro and Entity player Dzmitry "Fishman" Palishchuk stated that Riyadh Masters 2024 could have a $45 Million USD prize pool. If this turns out to be true, it could seemingly change the whole landscape of Dota 2 esports and its competitive calendar.
