Topson | |
---|---|
![]() Taavitsainen in 2018 | |
Current team | |
Team | Tundra Esports |
Role | Middle Lane |
Games | Dota 2 |
Personal information | |
Name | Topias Taavitsainen |
Born | Haukipudas, Finland | 14 April 1998
Nationality | Finnish |
Team history | |
2017 | SFT |
2017–2018 | 5 Anchors |
2018–2022 | OG |
2022 | T1 (stand-in) |
2023 | Tundra Esports (stand-in) |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Topias Miikka Taavitsainen (born 14 April 1998),[1][2] better known as Topson, is a Finnish professional Dota 2 player for Tundra Esports.[3] As a member of OG, he won The International 2018 and The International 2019.
Early life
Topias Miikka Taavitsainen was born in Haukipudas, Finland on 14 April 1998.[4] He has seven brothers and four sisters. At the encouragement of his brothers, he began playing Defense of the Ancients when he was eight years old. His father owns a construction company and grew up as Laestadian family. His parents were doubtful if playing video games as a career would be profitable, but his eventual success of winning tournaments surprised his mother. He originally studied to be an electrician but transferred to a cooking school after one year.[5]
Career
Taavitsainen made appearances on lower-level squads in events before his big breakthrough. While none of these teams made an impact, his gameplay got noticed. His breakout for professional scene moment came in 2017. He had joined the Russian organisation SFT e-sports, where they had decided to pick up an entirely new roster. It was the first time that he had played for a high-tier team. After trying his luck with several teams, he focused on streaming and soon topped the European region by way of MMR. He was then recruited to join OG in 2018.[6]
Prior to The International 2018, OG lost three members of its roster with co-founder and captain Fly and s4 leaving to join Evil Geniuses[7] and Resolut1on being released from his contract.[8] With majority of top level players already being committed to teams for the upcoming competition, OG offered a position to Taavitsainen who was at that point an unproven newbie who had never participated in a major LAN event.[9] Due to such late roster change, OG was no longer eligible to be directly invited to The International 2018 and instead qualified through Open Qualifiers.[10]
Following that, OG were then placed into group A of The International's group stage, finishing fourth with a record of 9–7, which seeded them into the upper bracket. There, OG won every series to advance to the grand finals.[11][12][13] Facing the lower bracket winner PSG.LGD in it, whom OG had just defeated in the upper bracket finals, OG won the game one, but lost the next two games.[12] Needing another win to avoid losing the series, OG forced a late-game comeback in game four, and subsequently won game five in a similar fashion, making them International champions and winning them over $11 million in prize money.[12][13] Their victory was considered a Cinderella and underdog success story, as they had come from the open qualifiers and had beaten some of the more favored and accomplished teams along the way.[12][13]
OG and Taavitsainen continued their reign as The International 2019 champions, defeating Team Liquid 3–1. In addition, Topson also was named the tournament's MVP.[14]
Playstyle
Prior to The International 2018, Taavitsainen was considered to be one of weaker middle laners due to his unorthodox hero pool, questionable in-game strategic choices, and tendency to lose the middle lane.[further explanation needed][15] Taavitsainen's style has been described a being more selfless than most professional middle laners, focusing less on individual excellence and snowball potential and more on creating space for his team.[further explanation needed][4]
References
- ^ "GMVTHUB". gmvthub.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Madison (26 July 2022). "Story of Topson, OG's Legendary Mid-Lane Dominator". eSportsBFF.com. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Michael, Cale (7 September 2023). "Tundra adds Dota 2 legend Topson to bolster shifted TI12 roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ a b O'Keefe, David. "Topson's unorthodox and selfless play shows why OG are Dota 2's best team". Red Bull. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ Päivitetty, Julkaistu (29 August 2018). "Jesse Vainikka, 26, ja Topias Taavitsainen, 20, tienasivat pelaamalla miljoonia yhdessä illassa – näin heistä tuli huippupelaajia". Ilta-sanomat. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- ^ Galinat, Jamie. "Take a look back at Topson's one-year journey to The International". Red Bull. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Malystryx.GDS. "Fly and S4 leave OG... to join Evil Geniuses « News « joinDOTA.com". joinDOTA.com. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "Resolut1on kicked from OG". www.gosugamers.net. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ Stamenova, Gergana. "The life and times of Topson – Part 2". EarlyGame. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ Rose, Victoria (25 August 2018). "OG Dota are your champions of The International 8". The Flying Courier. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "OG beats PSG.LGD in winners bracket thriller; Evil Geniuses advances". ESPN. Rotoworld. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d "OG wins five-game thriller to take The International 8 title and $11 million". ESPN. Rotowire. 25 August 2018.
- ^ a b c Strom, Steven (26 August 2018). "Dota 2 championship ends in a pulse-pounding, curse-breaking Cinderella story". PC Gamer. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
- ^ freaks4u.com, Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH. "Playing like a God: Topson is your TI9 MVP". joinDOTA.com. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Bonifacio, Patrick (7 December 2020). "Player Spotlight: Topson — From Zero to Millionaire Hero". Hotspawn. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
External links
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