Dota 2: Top Three Support Players of 2019

With just one day away from 2020, it’s time to step back and take a look at what happened in 2019. Needless to say, this was one of the best years for every Dota 2 fan out there. There were many awesome highlights, but I think it’s safe to say that OGs’ TI march will go down in history. In terms of individual skills, many players stood out during the year. Although the vast majority of them are playing either mid or safelane, there were a couple of support players that also deserve to be mentioned, even though core players are the ones that always take the fame and glory.

With that said, let’s take a look at some of the most notable support players in 2019. Keep it in mind that this list is entirely subjective, so others' choices might be different.

Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka

Bring your back to back TI champions wherever you're going!

Once again we worked with @fatjamb0n to create another unique artwork. We couldn't be prouder of how good it looks!

🌻➡️ https://t.co/z5CkCweQxY#DreamOG pic.twitter.com/S7DhtL5IHX

— OG (@OGesports) December 24, 2019

Often considered as one of the best Earth Spirits in the world, JerAx definitely deserves to be here. The two-time TI winner played absolutely phenomenally in the first part of the year. Even though many fans won’t admit it, he was one of the main reasons for the success of OG.

Jesse’s first big team was Team Liquid where he played a vital part. However, after a couple of mistakes from the team, Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi decided to change his roster a bit, so JerAx was removed from TL in the post-TI 6 roster shuffle.

Nevertheless, this amazing Finnish player didn’t stay long without a team. In just a couple of weeks, he joined OG, and the rest is history.

Maroun “GH” Merhej

pic.twitter.com/p8arFYi6Vw

— Maroun Merhej (@NigmaGh) November 24, 2019

The second spot on our list is for one of the most underrated players of all time. GH was mostly known for playing mid in pub games before he started to shine on the big stage. In fact, he was one of the first players to reach 9000 MMR, which granted him the first spot in the MMR leaderboard.

Initially, Maroun was playing as a stand-in for Kanishka ‘Sam' “BuLba” Sosale in Team Liquid around four years ago. He played really well during that time and was noticed by TL’s members back then. As a result, after a couple of weeks, GH permanently made the move to Team Liquid. Since then, he won TI 7 and got a second-place at TI 9, which makes him one of the most successful support players of all time.

During 2019, GH was one of the key players for his team yet again. He and his colleagues formed a new esports organization called Nigma.

Xu “fy” Linsen

Fy is one of the most well-known Chinese Dota 2 players in the world. He is known as a very smart and calm person who is able to carry his team, despite playing as support. Although he is good with pretty much any support hero, he definitely shines the most with his Rubick. That’s why you can often find teams banning this hero first whenever they are facing his team.

Speaking of the devil, PSG.LGD had an amazing first half of 2019. They were considered as one of the favorites for TI 9 and nearly made it to the Grand Finals yet again. Nevertheless, Team Liquid was able to deliver its knock-out punch in the LB final, which gave LGD the third place.

After the tournament came to an end, the Chinese powerhouse decided to take a break. As a result, they were away for around two months, which turned out to a mistake. Fy and his team-mates came back for the second roll of DPC qualifiers but they turned out to be disastrous. Apart from that, LGD also got eliminated from the ONE Esports Singapore event too.

Hopefully, this legendary Chines team will be able to bounce back in 2020. Even though there are still eight months until TI 10, we can already guess some of the main favorites for it.

Conclusion

If you are hungry for more Dota 2 action, you will have to wait until the 9th of January. WePlay!’s Bukovel Minor will be the second Minor of the 2019-2020 DPC. Eight of the best teams in the world will have to determine which one will get the lion’s share of the $300K USD prize pool, as well as a spot for the Leipzig Major, which starts in just a couple of days later.