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Women have seen more success as talent (hosts, analysts and commentators) within the Dota 2 scene, with the likes of Sheever and Yuno becoming frequent faces at some of Dota 2′s largest tournaments, including The International.
Kips is one of the few women to have coached multiple notable teams in Dota 2.
With many coaches needing a competitive background in Dota 2, and a lack of competition in the women’s scene, the number of coaches in the women’s scene is limited. Even on women’s teams, if a coach is present, it is often a man, such as WinteR coaching the Malaysian team at Global Esports Games 2023.
Kips is one of the few female coaches to have coached a top men’s team in Dota 2. Kips got her start as an analyst for Fnatic, and went on to coach Vega Squadron, TNC, compLexity and CDUB Esports, and later moved on into casting and panel work.
In contrast to the competitive scene, women have found much more success working as talent in the competitive scene.
Across all esports titles, women have become successful hosts, such as Sjokz, Frankie, and Freya. Dota 2 has been no different, with Sheever becoming Dota 2′s primary host at most major events, including The International, and has been nominated multiple times for Esports Host of the Year by the Esports Awards. Several other women have also become hosts at large tournaments within Dota 2, such as Tainim and NatTea, who have hosted multiple Valve events, including The International.
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Sheever is Dota 2′s most well-known English-speaking host, and is a multi-time nominee for Esports Host of the Year by the Esports Awards.
Historically, most commentators in the Dota 2 scene were former Dota 2 professional players, making this a difficult area to break into for women. However, several women have succeeded, securing prominent roles as commentators and analysts in the professional scene.
Away from the English-speaking scene, women have found more success as commentators. Yuno made her debut at The International on the Chinese broadcast, and has become a mainstay ever since. Tainim has been a regular analyst and commentator at multiple ESL events since 2017, and has hosted The International on multiple occasions. Eiritel began commentating in 2018, and has been a continuous presence in the Russian-speaking commentary scene since.
The growth of Dota 2 in South America, and the stability of the Dota Pro Circuit between 2021 and 2023 allowed multiple new commentators into the scene, many of whom included women. Tay, Flerya and Nela are a few of these who began their careers around this time, and have made multiple appearances at The International.
In CIS and Eastern Europe, efforts are slightly more adhoc and insular, although the popularity of Dota 2 in this part of the world means there is a strong grassroots community. FemD2C («Female Dota 2 Community») is a community of women who organise tournaments across Europe and the CIS regions, featuring teams with many Divine- and Immortal-level players.
In South America, Dota 2 remains popular, with several grassroots tournaments for women taking place over the years. Rainha de Copas was one of Brazil’s largest women’s tournaments, featuring 500 competitors, and was featured on the official Dota 2 YouTube channel. More recently, the GEMS Women Circuit has provided a steady flow of competitive matches in South America. South America also saw Infamous and Balrogs signing women’s teams, Infamous Astra and Balrogs Nova respectively. Infamous Astra in particular has been successful internationally, winning the Pan American Esports Championships 2023, qualifying to Global Esports Games 2023, where they finished second to Malaysia.
- See also: Esports: Classification as a sport on Wikipedia
For several years, there have been attempts to recognise esports as a sport, which would open the doors to additional legitimacy, recognition, and sponsorship. Specific attempts have been to try and include esports titles at the Olympic Games and other sporting events. These tournaments are typically based around national teams.
GEF also continued its Global Esports Series. The 2022 edition saw eight countries take part, with Southeast Asia taking the top three. The 2023 edition saw South America make a much stronger statement, taking three of the top four spots. However, Peru (represented by Infamous Astra) were unable to defeat Malaysia (represented by a similar team to that which won the Commonwealth Games in 2022) in the grand final, losing 0-2.
Sheepsticked is one of the few women to have achieved competitive wins over male professionals in the competitive scene.
Sheepsticked is a former aspiring professional player, who occasionally competed in tournaments in North America from Europe. In 2022, her team made it through to the North America Tour 2 Closed Qualifiers in the Dota Pro Circuit, finishing 4th-5th. Her team also beat simply TOOBASED, a Division I team in the Dota Pro Circuit, in Royal Jelly Covenant: NA. She also later transitioned to talent work, becoming a successful panelist, attending three Internationals (one as a guest) and several other major tournaments.
