In Singapore, the tournament “T11” was played in MOBA DOTA 2 (Steam). “The International” is known for its huge prize pools: in 2021, it was about 40 million $, and in 2022, the prize pool is approaching 20 million $. The 25-year-old Neta “33” Shapira is part of the winning team this year and made his mother proud. Because at just 17, he perfectly explained to her what he planned to do with his life: He wanted to become a professional gamer and win a major tournament – by the time he was 25.
What kind of tournament is this?
- “The International” is the world championship of DOTA 2. The MOBA is one of the biggest games on Steam.
- “TI” is known for having extremely high prize pools, as the winnings are tied to a Battle Pass of the popular game.
- In 2021, the tournament distributed a total of 40 million US dollars in prize money. This year, the pool is already around 19 million $ and will continue to grow.
On the occasion of the tournament, Gabe made a personal appearance:
A teenager wanted to become a gaming pro at 17 – Mom is so proud of him
This special story is from one of the winners: The team “Tundra Esport” (based in London) dominantly won the tournament in 2022: The casters said the team had cracked the code of Dota 2.
There are 5 players from around the world: a German occupies the midlane position, a US player is the supporter at position 5, and a Slovak is the hard carry at position 1.
The Israeli offlaner Neta “33” Shapira was one of the lucky winners. He plays at position 3.
As reported by Dotesports, “33” also invited his family on stage, and his mom was allowed to raise the trophy.
A Facebook post from his mother went around the world. She wrote (via reddit):
Since he was 12 years old, he played for hours on the computer. At 17, he showed us a documentary, “Free to play”, so we could understand what kind of game DOTA 2 is and what he wants to do with his life: He wanted to become a professional E-sport player. By the time he is 25, he wanted to win his first big international tournament, he said. Today, at 25 and a half years old, he has fulfilled that wish. Mom is proud of him.
Apparently, the last 13 years have gone perfectly for the then 12-year-old, and he is still right on schedule.
That’s a nice story – especially for gamers, many of whom struggle to explain to their parents why they “can’t just hit pause” and that it’s a real hobby like football.
There are always stories of pros who make their mothers proud, who believed in them:
Mom took the 15-year-old out of school so he could play Fortnite – Now he is quitting
