From a “broken” ranked system to consistently bad teammates and everything in between, gamers will always have something they claim is holding them back. Well, five Dota 2 players put aside their excuses and took on the world’s best in a five-versus-one—and it wasn’t even close.
Gaimin Gladiator mid laner Quinn Callahan joined commentator Jenkins for the Herald challenge on April 2, where one high-ranked player takes on five of the statistically worst players in Dota to see whether they could stand a chance. Jenkins admitted he believed Quinn would actually struggle and the five Heralds would emerge victorious in the head-to-head. Oh, how wrong he was.
In a little over 31 minutes Quinn decimated the Herald five-stack with his Bristleback. The kill score speaks for itself: The Heralds managed to kill Quinn twice across the whole game. For Quinn? 52 kills. “Yeah, I was pretty sure I was going to win,” Quinn said following his victory. “The only thing I planned was that I would pick Bristleback and grab a Bloodstone—everything else I did was on the fly.”
Quinn took his Bristleback into the mid lane, which normally would have been the only part of the map accessible for all five players—but in this challenge the entire map was opened up, meaning the Heralds would have complete access to all three lanes and the jungle to build up farm. Unfortunately, they opted to try and take on Quinn head-on, with three players sharing the gold and experience.
Quinn made them pay, hitting level six before any of his mid lane opponents could amass EXP for level three and diving past towers for kills. Just seven minutes into the game, Quinn was zoning against all five Heralds, claimed another smattering of kills, and completed his Bloodstone—and from there it was all one-way traffic.
To their credit, the Heralds did display knowledge of the foundations of Dota: They began to push other lanes while Quinn was elsewhere, warded constantly for vision, and itemized to deal with the Bristle—but once he built the lead-up, there was no stopping him.
Jenkins ultimately likened the beatdown to a serial killer or a session of Dead by Daylight as Quinn stomped to victory then left swiftly to grab a pizza before gearing up for his next tournament, ESL One Birmingham, kicking off in a fortnight.
As for our heroic Heralds? Here’s hoping they hang around in Dota for a little while longer, but I think it’s clear—the pros really are that good, and if you aren’t in the Divine bracket yet, you’re a long way off the likes of Quinn.
