Danil Ishutin ( uk, Данило Ішутін; born December 30, 1989), better known as Dendi, is a Ukrainian professional ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...

'' player. He is best known for his time with Natus Vincere (Na'Vi) in the 2010s, where he was a member of the team that won The International 2011. He left Na'Vi in 2018 and formed his own ''Dota 2'' organization in 2020, B8.

Early years

Dendi was born in Lviv, Ukraine, on December 30, 1989. As a child, at the insistence of his mother-musician, he played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

, as well as

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro ...

and

dancing Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

.Danil "Dendi" Ishutin's history
/ref> The first computer in Dendi's house was his brother's, who did not allow him to play for a long time.Grand Interview with Dendi — Dota2.ru.
/ref> The gaming world was opened to him by Quake and

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * L ...

. Dendi later began playing '' Warcraft III'' at local computer clubs. Dendi's total fascination with computer games was influenced by the death of his father from cancer. Dendi graduated from the Ukrainian Academy of Printing in 2011.

Career

In 2006, Dendi started playing ''DotA'' professionally with WG. He was a part of the Ukrainian squad that finished third in MYM Prime Nations the same year. Only a few months later, WG made it to the grand final of one of the most prestigious tournaments that existed at the time, MYM Prime Defending. When Kingsurf.international merged with WG the next year, he became a full-time member of Ks.int. In late 2008, he joined DTS in its early stages, only to return to Ks.int in March 2009. Only three months later he returned to DTS, helping them secure a second-place victory at ESWC 2010. At the end of the year, Dendi achieved arguably the greatest success in his ''DotA'' career by finishing 3rd place in the most stacked tournament at the time, WDC 2010. Dendi joined Natus Vincere (Na'Vi) at the end of 2010, together with ArtStyle. Dendi began his ''

'' career with the Ukrainian team, Na'Vi, rapidly rising to fame after winning The International 2011. In the following years, Na'Vi continued to win many tournaments, including runner's up at The International 2012. TI2 became the main reason to bond Danil with "Pudge" (Dota 2 game character), later Valve and Dendi released an in-game set for this hero with Dendi's personal sign. At The International 2013, Na'Vi became the only team to participate in the grand finals of the prestigious tournament three years in a row. They fell short to winners Alliance (3-2 in bo5) in the grand finals. Dendi was one of three ''Dota 2'' players featured in the 2014 documentary '' Free to Play'', which covered his story leading up to and including his performance at The International 2011. At

The International 2017 The International 2017 (TI7) was the seventh iteration of The International, an annual ''Dota 2'' esports world championship tournament. Hosted by Valve, the game's developer, the tournament began with the online qualifier phase in June 2017, a ...

, Dendi played in two live one-on-one demonstration matches against an OpenAI machine-learned

bot Bot may refer to: Sciences Computing and technology * Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language * Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet **a Spambot, an internet bot des ...

, losing both. In September 2018, he was taken off Na'Vi's active roster before being officially released from his contract a year later. In January 2020, Dendi announced the formation of his own organization, B8.

References

External links

* {{Professional Dota 2 competition 1989 births Living people Ukrainian esports players Dota players Natus Vincere players Sportspeople from Lviv Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic people