How was the fate of the participants of the first The International in Dota 2 – from world fame to mysterious death in bed

Maelk – became Vice President of 100 Thieves

At The International 2011 Jacob Maelk Toft-Andersen came as captain Meet your makers – at that time he had already achieved success and recognition on the European stage of DotA Allstars. At the championship in Cologne, his team took fourth place and earned $ 80 thousand.

In 2013, Maelk announced his retirement from his playing career. After that, he was a coach for over a year. Evil Geniuses, and then started working in administrative positions in various esports organizations. In 2017, he headed the gaming division of the FC Schalke 04 football club, then spent several months as the game director OpTic Gamingbut left the club after the merger c Immortals… In 2019 Maelk became vice–the president 100 Thieves in esports. He is now in charge of the players and rosters of the organization, as well as the opening of new disciplines.

SanSheng – became a popular caster and analyst

In 2011, Wang SanSheng Zhaohui played for Invictus Gaming – one of the strongest teams in China. At the first International, its roster tied for 5-6 places with Moscow Five… Interestingly, in two of the three matches lost in the tournament, IG lost to future finalists – Natus Vincere and EHOME…

After The International 2011, SanSheng represented two years TongFuand then switched to Newbeewith which he won almost immediately The International 2014… From about this point on, the esportsman’s career began to decline, and SanSheng spent several months in reserve. In 2016, he finally stopped competing and continued to work as a coach – Zhaohui was Newbee’s mentor and Team Serenity, however, he failed to achieve good results with them at major tournaments. But SanSheng was able to prove himself as a commentator and analyst. Before the coronavirus pandemic, he was a frequent visitor to the official Chinese broadcasts of the majors and tournaments of The International series.

QQQ – considered one of the best trainers in China

When Yao QQQ And he came to The International 2011, he was already 27 years old, which made him one of the oldest participants in the tournament. Nevertheless, together with EHOME, he managed to reach the final and fight Natus Vincere.

QQQ made two more appearances at The International with EHOME and Team DK, after which he announced the retirement of a player. After almost two years of inactivity, QQQ returned to esports as a coach. He started working in Vici Gaming, then was a roaster mentor for a long time PSG.LGD and LGD Gaming. It was under his leadership that Chinese teams won several majors and twice became silver medalists at the world championships. QQQ is now considered one of the most successful and respected trainers in China. Only Bai can compete with him in this regard. rOtK Fan.

Sharky – died of heart problems

Ray Sharky Wong was the captain of the Malaysian team MUFC eSports and one of the most respected players in Southeast Asia. His team failed to show a good result at The International 2011, taking only 9-12 place. Nevertheless, at that time, MUFC was still considered the top team in the region. After MUFC, Wong played for Orange Esports for over a year, but then went intoactive.

On December 22, 2014, the news of Sharky’s unexpected death rocked the esports community. Then there were various rumors on the network about what happened to the 24-year-old gamer. Some claimed that he committed suicide by jumping out of a window, while others spoke of a drug overdose. The situation was clarified by the player’s sister, who denied all these speculations. According to her, Wong died at night in his bed, and the causes of death were overwork and heart problems.

Sockshka – helped OG win the second The International

French gambler Tituan Sockshka Merlot came to The International 2011 with Virus Gaming. His team flopped in the group stage and only managed to beat the Storm Games Clan in the playoff bracket before being eliminated from the tournament.

After the World Championships in Cologne, Sockshka’s career took off slowly and with difficulty. The first serious club for the Frenchman was mTw, but that lineup broke up immediately after the failure at The International 2012. After that, Merlot played in dd.Dota, Sigma.int and other mixes, but despite good results in tournaments, he did not manage to break through to The International. In 2015, Sockshka finally disappeared from the radar of the professional Dota 2 scene, but only to return triumphantly. After four years of de facto inactivity, Sockshka got to The International, but not as a player, but as a coach OG… It was he who helped Sebastian Ceb Debs and Johann n0tail Sundstein prepare for the Shanghai World Championship and win your second Aegis of Champions. Merlot now works as a sporting director at the club and occasionally acts for OG as a standin.

1437 – achieved success in other disciplines

At The International 2011 Canadian Sivatiban 1437 Sivanatapillai represented the Nirvana.int team, which at the end of the tournament shared the 7th-8th place with MiTH.Trust. The player’s further esports career was chaotic: he changed more than ten teams, including mousesports, Cloud9, Chaos, TNC Predator and others. At the same time, 1437 often alternated playing activities with the work of a coach or analyst.

In 2019, 1437 stopped actively performing on the professional Dota 2 scene and tried to change the discipline. Sivanatapillai played Auto Chess and its analogues, and after the announcement of Dota Underlords, he completely switched to the new Valve game. In October 2019, he won first place in the world ladder Dota Underlords, gaining 17,471 points, and after a few months became a champion OGA Dota Underlords PIT. In 2023, Sivanatapillai returned to Dota 2 as a streamer and tournament commentator.

Puppey, KuroKy and Dendi – opened their own esports organizations

Clement Puppey Ivanov, Daniil Dendi Ishutin and Kuro KuroKy Salehi Takhasomi are one of the few participants in the first The International who still continue to perform on the professional Dota 2 scene. It is noteworthy that now each of them has their own esports organizations, of which they are founders or co-owners.

In 2014, Puppey collected and led Team Secret, which he still stands for. Now Ivanov’s team is considered one of the strongest in the world, and during the coronavirus pandemic, it gained the status of invincible at all, showing an incredible win streak of seven online tournaments won in a row. At the same time, Puppey and his teammates did not lose a single map in the finals.

KuroKy followed Puppey’s lead much later and founded Nigma only in November 2019. Now Nigma is a regular participant in European tournaments and is fighting for a place in the top five strongest teams in the region. It is worth noting that KuroKy himself missed several events in 2023 due to health concerns.

Dendi opened B8 Esports at the beginning of 2023 – six months after the official departure from NAVI. The debut of his organization on the professional stage can hardly be called successful. B8 had problems with the roster for a long time, due to which the roster was almost completely changed several times. So far, Ishutin’s team has not risen above 5-8 places in tournaments.