Dendi (Danil Ishutin): A Legendary Journey in Esports and Beyond

Player Information:

• Name: Danil Ishutin
• Born: December 30, 1989
• Nationality: Ukraine
• Role: Mid laner, Captain
• Alternate ID: Dendi, DTS.Dendi, DTS|Dendi

Biography:

Dendi, who was born in Lviv, Ukraine, began playing competitive video games in internet cafes at a young age after his older brother got married, moved out, and took the home computer with him. After dabbling in Counter-Strike initially, he quickly discovered Warcraft 3, where he participated in local competitions and developed a passion for competitiveness and a desire to be the greatest. Even though he was quite good at Warcraft 3 and even won a few local competitions in Lviv, he realized he had found his true calling when he discovered DotA. In the following few months, he played the game virtually completely after picking it up rapidly.

He started off merely knowing how to do support, but after working hard and practicing a lot, he was accepted into the IHCS1 league and soon after that, he formed his own squad for competitions in Lviv. He was selected by a group called “Wolker.Gaming” and started his professional career at the age of 17 after he helped his group win a championship in Kyiv.

DotA as Career:

In 2006, Dendi joined WG and began his professional career. He competed for the Ukrainian team in the MYM Prime Nations that year, which came in third. A few short months later, WG advanced to the championship round of one of the most famous competitions at the time, MYM Prime Defending. He switched to Ks.int full-time when Kingsurf.international and WG merged the next year. He joined DTS in the latter half of 2008, but in March 2009 he left and rejoined Ks.int. However, Dendi returned to DTS three months later. ESWC 2010 saw the squad ultimately place second. Final results from the renowned WDC 2010 show that Dendi and DTS came in third. The end of 2010 saw Dendi join Natus Vincere.

Dota 2 as Career:

Dendi began his Dota 2 career with Na’Vi, who won The International 2011 and rapidly became one of the top teams in the world. In the years 2011, 2012, and 2013, Na’Vi kept up their dominance and triumphed in numerous competitions. Dendi was the focal point of Na’Vi’s consistently reliable and talented rosters, and his performance made a significant contribution to their accomplishments.

Dendi was the mid laner for the Natus Vincere Dota 2 team during the early years of the game, and they had a lot of success; they came in second place at The International 2012 and The International 2013, losing to Invictus Gaming and Alliance, respectively. Due to their inability to win more than two LAN games after January 2014, Na’Vi and Dendi’s domination in the Dota 2 scene ended in 2013. For the first time ever, Na’Vi and Dendi finished outside of the top 2 at the International 2014, and they would place last in the following two Internationals, TI 5 and TI 6. The outcomes would continue to worsen as they would not even make it to The International 2017 since they would not make it past the group stage of the regional qualifications. Without Dendi participating as a player, this was the inaugural year of The International competitions. For Dendi and Na’Vi, the 2017–18 season got off to a promising start as they dominated the CIS scene in the early going and capped off their increasing performances with their second LAN victory since 2014. The squad will eventually fail to even qualify for the regional rounds of The International 2018 after losing in the open qualifier during the second half of the season as the lineup began to fall apart.

Eventually, the Na’Vi organization’s reputation and Dendi’s status as a renowned player and top-tier mid laner suffered through four years of roster turmoil and subpar performance. In September 2018, Dendi, who had spent the previous 8 years as Na’Vi’s midfielder, was ultimately struck from the squad. Dendi, though, committed to keep performing at a high level. Following a short stay with Tigers, Dendi joined The Pango.

He played for Natus Vincere for the entirety of his professional playing career, however in September 2018 he made his first departure from the active squad and left the team in August 2019. He established B8 as a new company in January 2020.

Trivia:

• As a support player, he began his professional career.
• He was portrayed in a Valve movie called Free to Play that provided a player’s perspective on Dota 2 competition.
• Dendi is the first individual to compete in six Internationals while representing a single organization in Dota 2 history.
• Entered The International 2015 All-Star Match undercover as one of the players picked from the audience.

Achievements:

• Dendi now holds the positions of #8 among players from Ukraine and #204 overall in terms of highest earnings.
• Dendi won $200,000 at The International 2011 on August 21, 2011, which was the most sum of money she has ever earned from a single competition. 24.26% of his total prize money was earned in first place, which was his position.
• Dendi reached the $100,000 milestone on August 21, 2011, taking home $200,000 and taking first place at The International 2011. He reached that point thanks to wins from six competitions.