With the season over, our champions crowned, and only a few days left until a new adventure with season 8 of Mini, I’ll be looking back at season 20 and the breakout players across both divisions — veterans putting in work like they’ve never done before, overperforming players, massive value picks and the most improved rookies — and selecting the 20 revelations of season 20. I realize that a lot of the content I put out — by nature of it being based largely on looking at Dotabuffs — focuses on and credits higher MMR cores specifically, since numbers rarely reflect the contributions of the supporting cast, so I’m using this piece as an opportunity to shine the spotlight on exactly those players. I’ve kept the writeups brief in the interest of this ever seeing the light of day, focusing mostly on why a player was included.
Note: While I’ve talked to a number of captains and players to get their nominations, this list — sorted alphabetically — is purely my own opinion.
Acid
A season champion with a host of seriously impressive performances across two roles and the most successful player on the Dotabuff page for the season makes Acid a no-brainer for a spot on a list of breakout stars.
Ben1
All the claims of Ben vastly overperforming for his MMR would come to be easily justified with over a 1k MMR climb over the course of the season, making him — at least in terms of numbers — one of, if not the, most improved players in the season.
Blackbriar
A player I’d had doubts about in previous seasons — and in this pre-season — it always felt hard to spot Blackbriar having a notable positive impact; this is no longer the case. It seems he found a place of comfort in the offlane, and his improvement in the role over time, as well as his consistent impact on a championship team with big performances on the likes of Mars and Underlord net Blackbriar a spot on the list in his best RD2L performance yet.
Chewie
Just about everyone on Play’s SUN team would go on to perform well above their listed sheet MMR, and Chewie was no exception, with great performances on what is a fairly unique go-to hero pool for a high 3k player.
Darba
Despite what I’m sure he’ll consider a disappointing end to his season in both divisions, Darba was undoubtedly a standout player in season 20, in a way we hadn’t seen from him before.
Debowy
Being stuck with an at first glance underwhelming FA while taking over captaining duties in the middle of the season seemed like a recipe for disaster, but Debowy and his team pulled through, which I attribute in large part to him stepping up and often having the impact you want from an immortal support.
DmWp
It’s hard to talk about revelations without mentioning a 4k flat player consistently holding his own against much stronger players mid, and it’s hard to imagine DmWp’s team would’ve done as well with any other 4.0k in the midlane.
Falls
Probably the easiest inclusion to make on this list, Falls is a mid-high 3k player who puts in offlane performances that outshine many a 5k. It’s not often you see the 3k on the team soak up bans, but with a player like Falls putting in shift after shift on Void Spirit, Night Stalker and Underlord, it’s no wonder that he was as threatening as he was. If only he had a mic!
Gainsworth
Gains earned his spot on this list with what I’d say was a noticeable improvement over the course of the season, as well as some massive performances on uncommon heroes that contributed significantly to his team’s success.
Gecko
One of the most valuable last picks in the season, Gecko definitely overperformed from the 4 role with notable expertise on the likes of Earth Spirit and Tusk.
Hanswurst
Despite a fairly early exit in the season, Hanswurst often had the kind of impact you’d expect from a player in a much higher MMR bracket than mid 3k.
Hiboo
A shaky start to the season in the 5 role, things turned around for Hiboo and his team when they swapped him over to the offlane, turning him from a non-factor to a terrifying map presence on Furion, and I’d argue his increased impact was a large part of the reason his team even got to the playoffs.
Kalimoo
Something awakened in Kalimoo in the middle of the season, and we saw him shift from purring kitten to roaring lion in the midlane, carrying his team much further than they had any right to with a string of seriously impressive performances the likes of which he’d never really put out before in RD2L.
Kalisdar
A name that didn’t actually make the first draft of this list, for one simple reason — what everyone was so surprised about, I’d seen Kalisdar do many times over. While his hero pool might not be the deepest, on his day and on his hero, Kalisdar can massively outperform his mid-4k MMR — and it seems that this season, every day was his day.
Okami Shiranui
The essence of this inclusion is really just a marked improvement in play over the course of the season, as Okami went from being just another last pick 5 to having notable impact in the playoffs and serving as a valuable asset in drafts. All of that for a low 3k offrole player!
Regu
An inclusion I struggled with for a good while, Regu at his best massively overperforms and proves that him being last pick in both divisions is a farce, and at his worst is a notable liability. Still, I think he’s had more great performances than not in this season, and certainly did better than it feels like he usually does on an individual level in RD2L.
Snufkin
Having to swap roles mid-season isn’t easy, but I’d basically almost forgotten that Snufkin started season 20 playing offlane with how well he adjust to 5. In doing MVP content for the playoffs, Snufkin’s name came up fairly often, a result of his regular and consistent impact on a championship winning team.
Spicy
Is it a bit scuffed that a quarter of this list consists of the WED champions? Well, maybe, but I think they all deserve a spot on it because their win was a result of them all doing better than we’ve seen them do in the past, and Spicy is no exception. Unlike our season 15 team, this season win wasn’t as free, and Spicy as the FA carried his weight, with moments of brilliance on the likes of Spirit Breaker that baffled casters and enemies alike.
Tonino
He came, he saw, and he almost conquered; Tonino did a lot on his team, and played one of the filthiest Rubicks I’ve seen in a good while. Despite falling just short in the season, I’d say he definitely made a name for himself in his first season of RD2L.
Xela
I don’t think Xela being good came as much of a surprise to anyone, yet he still managed to overperform and showed up in a big way, week in, week out, moreso than I’d seen him do in RD2L ever before. His subsequent climb then also didn’t prove to be much of a surprise.
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Thanks for reading!
