The Dota 2 esports circuit has been around for nearly 15 years, as it launched alongside the game. Throughout those years, many special players have competed in Dota 2’s competitive circuit, but only a few players have stood out. Among them, Johan ‘N0tail�?Sundstein stands above all because of his unprecedented success and impact.

N0tail was a versatile player

During his career, N0tail played almost every role in Dota 2. He initially started as a position four (soft support) player at Fnatic but transitioned to the carry position after joining Team Secret and later OG. N0tail was always a game-changer in every position, including his time as a carry-mid hybrid in the first few years at OG, but most people know of his impact as a leader.

The last position he played was position five (hard support) when he served as OG’s captain. This was the most successful period of his career as he was the shot-caller for the team’s victory at The International 2018 and The International 2019.

He had multiple signature heroes during his time as a player, as he was an Io, Chen, and Enchantress specialist during his days as position four. However, he moved over to Meepo and Terrorblade when he was a carry, then Nature’s Prophet when he last played as a position five support player.

N0tail had a career full of iconic stories

Throughout his iconic career, N0tail was always a compelling player. At Fnatic, he was part of a team that succeeded in another game, Heroes of Newerth. They were outsiders, but they proved they belonged in Dota 2. When that project ended, he moved over to Team Secret alongside his Fnatic teammate Tal ‘Fly�?Aizik. 

That project did not end well, which led to the duo parting ways for a few months. They would reunite after The International 2015, creating OG. In the years after, N0tail and Fly led OG to multiple Valve Major victories, but not TI. That led to Fly leaving him in a sudden betrayal, but N0tail picked up the scraps and led OG to the TI8 and TI9 wins.

He is always a big name in the narratives about all-time greats as he experienced plenty of setbacks in his career. 

N0tail has a successful career to back his GOAT case

Despite all the setbacks, N0tail maintained his status as one of the most well-known Dota 2 players. The many victories at Valve Majors and TI made him the most successful esports player ever when it came to prize money. He is still unmatched today because of his achievements, which cements him as the greatest Dota 2 player ever.

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Despite N0tail’s return to the competitive scene and high expectations from the fans, OG’s newly formed Western European DOTA 2 roster failed to secure a position in FISSURE Universe Episode 5's next stage. After getting defeated by AVULUS, they fell to 5th-6th place. 

During the tournament, they’ve shown promise. For their first two matches, they secured two draws from Edge and MOUZ. After that, they lost to the undefeated Virtus.pro. Despite the upsets, they won against Runa Team 2-0. Their 1-2-1 (1 win, 2 draws, and 1 defeat) put them on the edge of the qualifiers.

On the next stage, they faced the Shopify Rebellion, where they were defeated 2-1. Their two back-to-back defeats against Shopify Rebellion and AVULUS led to them failing to qualify.

The team proved they could compete with less experienced squads but had trouble against well-practised teams with more experience in big tournaments like the ever-impressive Virtus.pro, AVULUS, and SR. 

Now, everyone is looking forward to their performance at The International Western Europe Qualifiers, which will run from June 13 to 17. They are one of the invited teams alongside Nigma Galaxy, MOUZ, and AVULUS. 

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After three years of taking a break from the esports scene, the two-time The International (TI) champion, Johan ‘N0tail�?Sundstein, will return as OG’s Western European team coach and project lead for the organisation's Dota 2 division. 

In an X (formerly Twitter) post on May 6, the team released a short video about his return. In the video, N0tail stated ‘We're starting anew, starting with a new project. I'm going to be leading the ship as the coach, also trying to put the project together,�?hinting at a much bigger project to be released in the future. 

The International (TI) 2025 preparations

As of now, there are no announcements regarding OG’s roster for the TI 2025. Moreover, Johan hopes to qualify for the upcoming tournament as the new team’s head coach. 

In an interview, he stated, ‘We're hoping to qualify to TI and place in the top. I mean, to play the best Dota in the world for me is the aspiration. It is the goal. I think I got the record, maybe it's still holding, I don't really know.�?nbsp;

N0tail has proven himself as a leader when they won the 2018 and 2019 TI championships, but this time, he’ll be the coach instead of a player. 

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The esports industry has been around for a while, which led to various teams dominating certain games. Since there are standout games in the industry, certain teams have also stood out and become household names.

Popularity in esports can be determined by which teams have been successful through the years. Have a look at some teams that deserved their spot at the top, especially within their own game.

OG (Dota 2)

When they began in 2015 as Monkey Business, this team was seen as the underdog. Launched by former Fnatic and Team Secret stars Johan ‘N0tail�?Sundstein and Tal ‘Fly�?Aizik, OG became one of the most successful teams in Dota 2 history. They won two Majors before The International 2016, but were surprisingly beaten.

The same scenario continued, as they would win the Valve Majors, but they would lose at TI. Enough was enough for Fly in 2018, as he exited the team he had built. This left N0tail to pick up the scraps, but he ended up becoming esports�?most successful player by leading OG to back-to-back championships at The International.

Their runs in TI8 and TI9 remain legendary, as they captured everyone’s attention by being underdogs and following up that magical run with an even more dominant performance. With players like Anathan ‘ana�?Pham, Topias ‘Topson�?Taavitsainen, Jesse ‘JerAx�?Vainikka, and Sébastien ‘Ceb�?Debs, N0tail, and OG secured their spot as a top team.

Astralis�?2018-2020 team (Counter-Strike)

Throughout Counter-Strike’s many games and eras, there have been many dominant teams. CS 1.6 had Fnatic, while early CS:GO had Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP). However, no one can reach Astralis�?dominance from 2018 to 2020 in CS:GO. 

They were such a good team that they redefined the game’s meta, not only in the professional level, but also in the regular players�?meta. It was well-earned as they won three Valve Majors during that timeframe, cementing their place as the best team in CS:GO and possibly in Counter-Strike’s illustrious history. 

The Danish side already had a Major in 2017, but they reached new heights under Lukas ‘gla1ve�?Rossander, who had already been leading as their in-game leader since late 2016. The core four of Nicolai ‘dev1ce�?Reedtz, Andreas ‘Xyp9x�?Højsleth, Emil ‘Magisk�?Reif, and Peter ‘dupreeh�?Rasmussen were superb, as they were skilled, but went up another level when gla1ve became the primary shot-caller.

With three consecutive Majors under their belt, Astralis won everything in Counter-Strike. It has never been done before or since, which cements them as a top CS and esports team.

T1 (League of Legends)

The most successful team in League of Legends esports is by far T1, formerly known as SK Telecom T1. They have been successful across different eras of LoL esports, as they won World Championships in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2023. As the most prestigious event in League, Worlds is the biggest achievement, so winning it a record four times cements T1 as the top team. 

They also had the game’s best-ever player, Lee ‘Faker�?Sang-hyeok. He has been with T1 for the longest time and has been present for all four championships. Faker is still with the team, and is widely considered the greatest player to ever touch League of Legends.

As a team, T1 has always been hard to figure out. They have a strong tactical side, as they are hard to pick champions against, but they also rely on their abilities to stand out. Faker is the best example of that as he has cemented his place as a top player who finds ways to dominate a match with his unmatched skill ceiling. 

The teamwork also helped with T1’s success as they always felt they were connected during their matches, leading to their victories for multiple years.

OpTic Gaming’s 2015-2018 team (Call of Duty)

This is considered the longest-tenured and most successful dynasty in Call of Duty esports. This dynasty is considered the best due to the trio of Seth ‘Scump�?Abner, Matthew ‘FormaL�?Piper, and Ian ‘Crimsix�?Porter. They were joined shortly after by Damon ‘Karma�?Barlow, who completed the most dominant quartet in CoD history.

During their dominance, they won 18 offline tournaments, including a Call of Duty World League Championship title in 2017. Apart from their success, they also made it to 25 overall grand finals. They also had 28 top-four finishes, which meant they were always at the top or near it.

With a 79.05% win percentage at offline events and a 72.2% win rate in tournament finals, they proved themselves as the best team in Call of Duty history. That consistency and longevity made them such a strong team to play against, which made them a popular choice for CoD’s greatest-ever squad.

Team Spirit (Dota 2)

Most people speak about OG as a top Dota team, but Team Spirit also deserves a mention. For a long time, OG was the only two-time winning team in The International’s history until Team Spirit replicated that achievement in 2023. 

They did it with most of the same team with Alexander ‘TORONTOTOKYO�?Khertek present for the 2021 win, while Denis ‘Larl�?Sigitov was present for the 2023 win. Spirit is mostly known for going toe-to-toe with their opponents, but their ability to win team fights was second to none during their prime.

Team Liquid might have won the organisation’s second TI in 2024, but that is a complete overhaul from their team in 2017, which is why Spirit and OG are considered better than them because of their consistent core. 

Esports has seen many great teams, and these stand out as among the elite. 

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