Topson

Last updated

Topson
Topson at The International 2018 (color corrected).jpg
Taavitsainen in 2018
Current team
TeamTundra Esports
RoleMiddle Lane
Games Dota 2
Personal information
NameTopias Taavitsainen
Born (1998-04-14) 14 April 1998 (age 26)
Haukipudas, Finland
NationalityFinnish
Team history
2017SFT
2017–20185 Anchors
2018–2022 OG
2022 T1 (stand-in)
2023Tundra Esports (stand-in)
Career highlights and awards

Topias Miikka Taavitsainen (born 14 April 1998), [1] [2] better known as Topson, is a Finnish professional Dota 2 player for Tundra Esports. [3] As a member of OG, he won The International 2018 and The International 2019.

Contents

Early life

Topias Miikka Taavitsainen was born in Haukipudas, Finland on 14 April 1998. [4] He has seven brothers and four sisters. At the encouragement of his brothers, he began playing Defense of the Ancients when he was eight years old. His father owns a construction company and grew up as Laestadian family. His parents were doubtful if playing video games as a career would be profitable, but his eventual success of winning tournaments surprised his mother. He originally studied to be an electrician but transferred to a cooking school after one year. [5]

Career

Taavitsainen made appearances on lower-level squads in events before his big breakthrough. While none of these teams made an impact, his gameplay got noticed. His breakout for professional scene moment came in 2017. He had joined the Russian organisation SFT e-sports, where they had decided to pick up an entirely new roster. It was the first time that he had played for a high-tier team. After trying his luck with several teams, he focused on streaming and soon topped the European region by way of MMR. He was then recruited to join OG in 2018. [6]

Prior to The International 2018, OG lost three members of its roster with co-founder and captain Fly and s4 leaving to join Evil Geniuses [7] and Resolut1on being released from his contract. [8] With majority of top level players already being committed to teams for the upcoming competition, OG offered a position to Taavitsainen who was at that point an unproven newbie who had never participated in a major LAN event. [9] Due to such late roster change, OG was no longer eligible to be directly invited to The International 2018 and instead qualified through Open Qualifiers. [10]

Following that, OG were then placed into group A of The International's group stage, finishing fourth with a record of 9–7, which seeded them into the upper bracket. There, OG won every series to advance to the grand finals. [11] [12] [13] Facing the lower bracket winner PSG.LGD in it, whom OG had just defeated in the upper bracket finals, OG won the game one, but lost the next two games. [12] Needing another win to avoid losing the series, OG forced a late-game comeback in game four, and subsequently won game five in a similar fashion, making them International champions and winning them over $11 million in prize money. [12] [13] Their victory was considered a Cinderella and underdog success story, as they had come from the open qualifiers and had beaten some of the more favored and accomplished teams along the way. [12] [13]

OG and Taavitsainen continued their reign as The International 2019 champions, defeating Team Liquid 3–1. In addition, Topson also was named the tournament's MVP. [14]

Playstyle

Prior to The International 2018, Taavitsainen was considered to be one of weaker middle laners due to his unorthodox hero pool, questionable in-game strategic choices, and tendency to lose the middle lane.[ further explanation needed ] [15] Taavitsainen's style has been described a being more selfless than most professional middle laners, focusing less on individual excellence and snowball potential and more on creating space for his team.[ further explanation needed ] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evil Geniuses</span> American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington

Evil Geniuses (EG) is an American esports organization based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1999, the organization has fielded players in various fighting games, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Fortnite Battle Royale, Halo,League of Legends, Valorant, StarCraft II, Rocket League, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, and World of Warcraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The International 2014</span> 2014 esports tournament

The International 2014 (TI4) was the fourth edition of The International, an annual esports Dota 2 championship tournament, which took place at the KeyArena in Seattle. Hosted by Valve, the tournament began on July 8 with the Playoffs phase and closed on July 21 with the Grand Final. The 2014 edition of The International featured nineteen Dota 2 professional gaming teams that competed for a Grand Prize of over US$5.0 million. Overall, US$10.93 million were awarded at the event, making it the largest esports event by prize money until it was topped by the next International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSG.LGD</span> Dota 2 division of PSG Esports

PSG.LGD was a professional Dota 2 team based in China. They were formed as a partnership between PSG Esports and LGD Gaming in April 2018 until the end of the partnership in September 2023. PSG.LGD has finished as the runner-up in The International 2018 and 2021.

s4 (gamer) Swedish esports player (born 1992)

Gustav Magnusson, better known as s4, is a Swedish professional Dota 2 player. As a member of Alliance, s4 won The International 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Secret</span> European esports team

Team Secret is an esports team based in Europe formed in 2014, best known for their Dota 2 team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CDEC Gaming</span>

CDEC Gaming is a Chinese professional Dota 2 esports team based in Shanghai. The team placed second at The International 2015, which they qualified for with a wildcard. The achievement was considered a major upset. At TI CDEC also won their group stage and beat LGD Gaming and eventual winners Evil Geniuses in bracket. CDEC is an abbreviation for Chinese Dota Elite Community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sumail</span> Pakistani-American esports player (born 1999)

Syed Sumail Hassan, better known mononymously as Sumail, is a Pakistani and American professional Dota 2 player for Team Secret. He has played in five iterations of The International, winning in 2015 as a member of Evil Geniuses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arteezy</span> Professional Dota 2 Player

Artour Babaev, better known as Arteezy, is a Canadian professional Dota 2 player for Shopify Rebellion. He is also one of the most popular streamers among the community.

ppd (gamer) American professional computer gamer

Peter Dager, better known as ppd, is an American former professional Dota 2 player. He was the former CEO of the esports organization Evil Geniuses, where he also won The International 2015 as a player-captain, later playing for OpTic Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OG (esports)</span> Esports organisation

OG is a professional esports organisation based in Europe. Formed in 2015, they are best known for their Dota 2 team who won The International 2018 and 2019 tournaments. They also have a Counter-Strike 2 and a Rocket League team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">N0tail</span> Danish-Faroese professional Dota 2 player (born 1993)

Johan Sundstein, better known as N0tail, is a Danish-Faroese professional Dota 2 player for OG. As a member of OG, he has played in four iterations of The International, winning in 2018 and 2019, and has also won four Major championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fly (gamer)</span> Israeli Dota 2 player (born 1993)

Tal Aizik, better known as Fly, is an Israeli professional Dota 2 player for Nouns Esports. He is a former co-founder of the esports team OG. Aizik won four Dota Major Championships with team OG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PSG Esports</span> Esports department of football club Paris Saint-Germain

PSG Esports is a professional esports club which is department of parent French football club Paris Saint-Germain. They have active teams in EA Sports FC, Dota 2, League of Legends, Rocket League and Arena of Valor. Formerly, the club also had teams in Brawl Stars, FIFA Online and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Its headquarters and training center are located at the Studio PSG in Boulogne-Billancourt, which also hosts the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The International 2018</span> 2018 esports tournament

The International 2018 (TI8) was the eighth iteration of The International, an annual Dota 2 world championship esports tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, TI8 followed a year-long series of tournaments awarding qualifying points, known as the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), with the top eight ranking teams being directly invited to the tournament. In addition, ten more teams earned invites through qualifiers that were held in June 2018, with the group stage and main event played at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver in August. The best-of-five grand finals took place between OG and PSG.LGD, with OG winning the series 3–2. Their victory was considered a Cinderella and underdog success story, as they had come from the open qualifiers and were not favored to win throughout the competition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGD Gaming</span> Chinese esports organization

LGD Gaming is a Chinese professional esports organization based in Hangzhou. It is one of the oldest esports organizations in China and currently has players competing in Dota 2, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Overwatch, and PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KuroKy</span>

Kuro Salehi Takhasomi, better known as KuroKy, is a German and Iranian professional Dota 2 player for Nigma Galaxy. He was a member of Team Liquid that won The International 2017.

ana (gamer) Australian esports player (born 1999)

Anathan Pham, better known as ana, is an Australian professional Dota 2 player. As a member of OG, he has played in three iterations of The International, winning in 2018 and 2019, and has also won two Major championships tournaments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ceb (gamer)</span> French Dota 2 player

Sébastien Debs, better known as Ceb, is a French professional Dota 2 player who plays for OG. He won The International 2018 and 2019, as well as the team's coach when they won four Dota Major Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Team Spirit (esports)</span> Russian esports organization

Team Spirit is an international esports organization based in Belgrade. Founded in 2015, the organization currently has teams competing in Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Hearthstone and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Their Dota 2 squad won two iterations of The International, the former event in which the organisation received the largest single prize money payout in esports history at $18 million. In 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the organization relocated to Belgrade, Serbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ame (gamer)</span> Professional Chinese DotA 2 player for PSG.LGD

Wang Chunyu, better known as Ame, is a Chinese professional Dota 2 player for LGD Gaming.

References

  1. ↑ "GMVTHUB". gmvthub.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Madison (26 July 2022). "Story of Topson, OG's Legendary Mid-Lane Dominator". eSportsBFF.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Michael, Cale (7 September 2023). "Tundra adds Dota 2 legend Topson to bolster shifted TI12 roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 O'Keefe, David. "Topson's unorthodox and selfless play shows why OG are Dota 2's best team". Red Bull. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. ↑ Päivitetty, Julkaistu (29 August 2018). "Jesse Vainikka, 26, ja Topias Taavitsainen, 20, tienasivat pelaamalla miljoonia yhdessä illassa – näin heistä tuli huippupelaajia". Ilta-sanomat. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Galinat, Jamie. "Take a look back at Topson's one-year journey to The International". Red Bull. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  7. ↑ Malystryx.GDS. "Fly and S4 leave OG... to join Evil Geniuses « News « joinDOTA.com". joinDOTA.com. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Resolut1on kicked from OG". www.gosugamers.net. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  9. ↑ Stamenova, Gergana. "The life and times of Topson – Part 2". EarlyGame. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  10. ↑ Rose, Victoria (25 August 2018). "OG Dota are your champions of The International 8". The Flying Courier. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  11. ↑ "OG beats PSG.LGD in winners bracket thriller; Evil Geniuses advances". ESPN. Rotoworld. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "OG wins five-game thriller to take The International 8 title and $11 million". ESPN. Rotowire. 25 August 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 Strom, Steven (26 August 2018). "Dota 2 championship ends in a pulse-pounding, curse-breaking Cinderella story". PC Gamer. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  14. ↑ freaks4u.com, Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH. "Playing like a God: Topson is your TI9 MVP". joinDOTA.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ↑ Bonifacio, Patrick (7 December 2020). "Player Spotlight: Topson — From Zero to Millionaire Hero". Hotspawn. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.