By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
One of the most talented midlaners the Dota 2 professional scene witnessed will be calling it a career.
Topias Taavitsainen, popularly known in the Dota 2 world as ‘Topson’, already bade goodbye after Tundra Esports announced his retirement on September 25, 2024.
“After many patches, countless tournaments and some crazy picks we will have to say farewell to Topson as he retires from competitive Dota,” posted the Esports organization on their official social media pages.
Topson will retire as one of the most decorated mid players in the Dota 2 professional scene and is one of the five members with ‘Ceb’, ‘N0tail’, ‘Jerax’, and ‘Ana’ that became the first-ever back-to-back winners of The International, Dota 2’s grandest tournament.
From being scouted as a talented pub player in the Dota 2 lobby, Topson quickly boosted his popularity after getting picked by OG to represent them during TI8.
Little did they know that Topson would perform huge in the biggest stage of Dota 2, steering OG to the TI8 championship aegis.
Topson then made history with his four teammates when they repeated in TI9, raising the aegis for the second straight time as a pro Dota 2 player.
However, their reign in The International would end in 2021, when they only wrapped up their campaign as 7th-8th place finishers.
After failing to win that TI series, Topson took a break from the competitive scene to spend more time with his family.
The unorthodox midlaner would resurrect his career during The International 2022 qualifiers as a stand-in for team T1 but they failed to barge into the main draw.
Topson then spent his final pro years with Tundra Esports, earning two TI trips including a third-place finish during the recently concluded TI tourney this year.
He will forever be remembered for playing weird heroes in the middle lane and popularized Rubick, Monkey King, Batrider, and Earth Spirit as his comfort picks.
Despite the numerous patches that Dota 2 underwent, Topson proved he could still play at his own pace and maintained his aggressive game style.
Thank you, and the Dota 2 community will miss you, Topson!
