ESL One Bangkok 2024 is set to be the final top-tier Dota 2 tournament of the year, featuring 12 of the best teams from all across the world battling it out from December 9 to 15 in Thailand. A prize pool of $1 million will be up for grabs alongside a haul of 20,940 ESL Pro Tour points, which will guarantee invites to top-ranked teams in future ESL events.
There will surely be plenty of storylines and star players that will be taking up the spotlight in Thailand to close out 2024 for Dota 2, but here are the five most interesting players we think you should look out for in ESL One Bangkok 2024:
Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov (Team Spirit)
For the past couple of years now, Satanic had been one of the most-hyped prodigies in Dota 2. In the post-The International 2024 (TI 2024) roster shuffle, Satanic joined Team Spirit to replace Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, who has taken a break from competitive play. Satanic has really big shoes to fill as the replacement for a two-time TI champion, but so far he has seemed up to the challenge.
Spirit have put up some solid results since Satanic joined in late September, finishing fourth in BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024, third in DreamLeague Season 24, and second in 1win Series Dota 2 Fall. If Spirit manage to take the victory in ESL One Bangkok, then Satanic will have solid evidence to back up the claim that Spirit has been steadily improving as he has acclimated to this new environment.
More than anything, Satanic will have the chance to showcase how good he can be and prove himself as a worthy successor to Yatoro in his biggest LAN tournament yet.
Gleb “kiyotaka” Ziryanov (BetBoom Team)
Similar to Satanic, kiyotaka was once a hyped prodigy in the Eastern European scene. What sets him apart is that he’s in a much later stage in his career, having already broken out with 9Pandas. But now that he’s with BetBoom Team, the biggest team of his career yet, kiyotaka is now part of a roster that can help him earn the achievements to try and make his claim as one of Dota 2’s greats.
Kiyotaka made a name for himself as a dynamic playmaker of a midlaner, albeit with the tendency to get overzealous at times. BetBoom’s veterans will help rein in his overaggressiveness, and that has shown in the team’s results since kiyotaka joined: third in BetBoom Dacha Belgrade and second in DreamLeague Season 24.
BetBoom have been trying to usurp Spirit as the top dogs of Eastern Europe for a couple years now, and they have the chance to do so in ESL One Bangkok. If kiyotaka can play a pivotal role in achieving that result, then conversations about his place among the top players on his role should deservedly get started.
Jonáš “SabeRLighT-” Volek (Team Liquid)
Arguably the most surprising roster change after TI 2024 was Neta “33” Shapira leaving Team Liquid just after helping the team claim this year’s Aegis of Champions. It was a mutual decision made even before TI 2024, but that certainly isn’t how a defending champion would want to start a campaign to defend their title. Even so, Liquid was quick to find a worthy replacement for 33 in SaberLight.
Since breaking out in 2019, SaberLight has been known for his vocal personality and versatility as an offlaner — both useful things for a TI-winning team like Liquid to have in one of its core players. Liquid’s early tournament results since SaberLight joined weren’t the most promising, as they only managed 7th-8th in BetBoom Dacha Belgrade and finished sixth in DreamLeague Season 24. But then they dominated 1win Series Dota 2 Fall en route to taking their first tournament win with SaberLight, proving their new offlaner can indeed help them stay winning.
SaberLight can silence any remaining doubters in ESL One Bangkok, especially considering that 33 and Tundra Esports failed to qualify for the tournament. If Liquid can emerge victorious in Thailand with their new offlaner showing out, then a second-straight Aegis of Champions next year will be very much in play.
Mark “mangekyou” Kharlamov (Shopify Rebellion)
Mangekyou is a 19-year old pubstar that first entered the scene in the post-TI 2024 roster shuffle when he joined the rebuilding Shopify Rebellion. After failing to qualify for BetBoom Dacha Belgrade and DreamLeague Season 24, Shopify Rebellion’s revamped roster finally scored their first win in ESL One Bangkok’s North American qualifier. And so, mangekyou will soon be playing in his first-ever LAN tournament.
Expectations aren’t exactly high for Shopify Rebellion, but that wouldn’t be the worst environment for a rookie player in his first LAN. If mangekyou can show out in Thailand, then he can prove his team’s decision to sign him despite his lack of experience was the correct one. And if things with Shopify Rebellion end up not working out, then an impressive showing in ESL One Bangkok can still turn the heads of other teams to help mangekyou’s future prospects.
Sukhbat “Sanctity-” Otgondavaa (PuckChamp)
Sanctity has one of the most interesting career trajectories among the players in ESL One Bangkok. He started his career by grinding with teams based in his home country of Mongolia and competing in Southeast Asia before moving to Eastern Europe to join Natus Vincere this year. That didn’t lost long, however, as sanctity moved to PuckChamp in the post-TI 2024 roster shuffle.
Sanctity and PuckChamp beat out more established teams like 1win Team and Virtus.pro to claim victory in ESL One Bangkok’s Eastern European regional qualifier. It was an impressive result that now gives sanctity the opportunity to play in the biggest tournament of his career yet. If sanctity can show out in Thailand, then he can improve his stock and maybe even start putting Mongolian Dota on the map.
