Matchmaking in most multiplayer games is often considered a chore. In Dota 2, however, players pride themselves on their matchmaking rating, constantly pushing to reach the top of the leaderboards.
For the past year, the 9,000 MMR bracket was the highest level any player had been able to inhabit. Now, however, Digital Chaos’ mid laner Abed Azel Yusop has broken into the 10,000 MMR bracket—becoming the first player in the world to do so.
The 16-year-old Filipino, who currently resides in North America, had only lost four out of 21 games in the past week, which saw him skyrocket to the top of the regional leaderboard.
In Dota 2, players that have been able to quickly climb up the ranked matchmaking leaderboard have often turned out to become budding stars in the game’s competitive scene, as the top of the leaderboards is populated by some of the game’s best players. As such, many stars in the past two years initially made their name solely through their success in ranked matches, before being picked up by competitive teams.
This was most famously illustrated with current Team Liquid mid laner Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, who won the Frankfurt Major in late 2015 with OG after being discovered as one of the top players on the European leaderboard. Miracle- was also the first player to break into the 9,000 MMR bracket in May 2016, which saw him heralded once again as one of the top individual players in the world.
Abed will be competing with Digital Chaos in the upcoming North American qualifiers for the International 7, which will take place from June 26 to 29.
