Win Condition Episode #7: The unsustainable side of Dota 2's ecosystem

Our latest episode of Win Condition looks at South American Dota 2 – namely HEROIC and South American Rejects.

South American Dota 2 has seen some interesting moments lately, but they have not all been positive. In the last few weeks HEROIC, one of the biggest and most storied organisation’s in the region jumped ship. Coupled with that, the South American Rejects had their Esports World Cup invite in the balance.

We go through what could have gone wrong for the now ex-HEROIC and why the numbers never added up.

Win Condition: The numbers. What do they mean?

We had one major topic in our minds on Win Condition DOTA #7 and that was the exit of the HEROIC organisation. The announcement came as a shock as the organisation themselves had a fairly strong history in the game. Having been around for some time, we looked at the team’s history and the sudden statement given by the squad.

Despite competitive success, a growing fanbase, and significant commercial efforts, the financial results ultimately fell short, making it unsustainable for us in the long term.”

This led us onto discussing the ultimate sustainability of the Dota 2 ecosystem as a whole. Especially with tournaments such as the Esports World Cup and The International on the horizon, the organisation still decided to leave.

Read more: HEROIC exit Dota 2 as numbers don’t add up

At the end of the day, we learned a day after recording the podcast that HEROIC was no longer a part of the EWC partner program, which gave a bit more insight into their departure. Unfortunately, with the current ex-HEROIC roster now unable to forge a path into the EWC via a direct invite with the EPT Points system, we will be looking ahead to see them in the qualifiers.

On the other side of the coin came the story of PlayTime, also known as ex-paiN Gaming, or South American Rejects. While the team still have a chance to reach the EWC via EPT Points, they have gone through the ringer. The return of paiN Gaming was short-lived, and it stands to show the failures of the Dota 2 ecosystem and how teams or organisations find it unsustainable.

Of course, this took us into a deep dive of other regions such as Southeast Asia and North America, where we see a lack of Dota 2 teams apart from stacks trying their best for a few weeks before disbanding. The big question that we turn to is if Valve will step in sooner rather than later.

Buy and Sell

With the serious topic of this week’s Win Condition, Buy and Sell was a nice lighthearted way to close out the episode. With questions on REKONIX, Team Liquid, ex-HEROIC, PlayTime, and much more.

We wrapped up by looking ahead to the now well-underway DreamLeague Season 29, The International invites, EWC 2026, and other tournaments on the cards.

The full episode of Win Condition: Dota 2 and our previous episodes can all be found on the rdy.gg YouTube Channel and Spotify.