Winning one million dollars would be huge for any twenty-one year old, but for someone living in a country where the monthly living expenses can be covered with around $300, one million dollars isn’t just a fortune; it is life changing money. That is exactly what happened for Danil ‘Dendi’ Ishutin, who together with his team, Natus Vincere, took home the biggest prize pool in eSports history when they won “The International” Dota 2 tournament - a cool $1 million.
Danil Ishutin does not look like your typical student-gone-millionaire, with his shy demeanor and shaggy brown hair, but then again, there isn’t much about him that is typical. Danil has had spent numerous hours in music school when he was a youngster and even spent years in acrobatics training. Music, acrobatics and dancing could seem like a weird mix of youth activities for most gamers, but Danil grew up in the West Ukrainian city of Lviv, often nicknamed “Little Paris of Ukraine”. It wasn't Danil’s choice to attend music school, he would much rather have played games all day with his brother, but being part of a musical family, he was left no choice.
All the while, Danil still managed to find his way into gaming. It isn't an understatement to say that he gave every game a try. When they got the computer, only a few games were available, but soon Danil would install all the games he had access to.
When you are creating a sequel to a Warcraft 3 custom map with reportedly 20 million downloads, and you showcase it for the first time ever in a tournament with a $1,000,000 1st place prize purse, you will be sure to generate a lot of buzz. If that tournament is hosted during the biggest Games show in Europe and includes the 16 best teams in the world, the attention will explode. Valve sure knew what they were doing, when they introduced “The International” and poured $1,600,000 worth of prize money into it. Amongst the invitees were the best teams in the world. Seven Asian teams had been invited, along with the very best teams and players in Europe and the United States. Money was not the issue for Valve, who covered all costs for the attending teams. It seems weird to think back on it now, but the Natus Vincere players were far from being regarded as favorites going into the event. The Danish MYM team, as well as the Asian teams of invictus Gaming and EHOME, were the public front runners for the title. Rather than using his time on fearing his upcoming opponents, Danil spent his time studying them. Having played MYM several times already, Danil says that he looked forward to meeting the Chinese teams at the event.
Had people doubted Na`Vi’s ability to challenge the very best at The International, it only took the group stage to convince them otherwise. Grouped with some of Europe’s best players in GGnet and nevo, the Ukrainians swept the group clean. Just as expected, the Asian team in their group was the toughest challenge however. The Singaporeans from Scythe.SG, who ultimately finished 3rd in the tournament, was however also brushed aside as Na`Vi deployed a play style which they had been working on for over half a year. Danil described it to GosuGamers.net in the spring of 2011.
Na`Vi’s Counter-Strike team are not strangers to competing for big checks on the international scene, and their advice and support was a key part of the Dota 2 team’s performances. They however couldn’t possibly have prepared their inexperienced teammates for the pressure which was about to hit them head on.
Coming into the Grand Final Na`Vi were leading 1-0 due to coming from the Winners Bracket, meaning that EHOME had now tied the match to 1-1. With at least two games yet to come, the Ukrainians resorted to a different strategy than the one they had lost game one with. If Danil was nervous in the 2nd match against EHOME, he didn’t show it. With stellar Enigma play and an amazing showing by his team mate Oleksandr ‘XBOCT’ Dashkevych on Spectre, Natus Vincere managed to claw back and achieve a 2-1 lead. The momentum carried into the third game in the Grand Final which Na`Vi dominated in order to take a 3-1 victory and win The International. Danil still remembers it as if it was yesterday.
