Team Liquid captain Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi is the master of Dota 2 heroes. Before Team Liquid’s match against Alliance, his list of heroes he needed to play only featured two names: Meepo and Templar Assassin. But KuroKy knocked that list down to zero by choosing to play both in Team Liquid’s seed matches for the upcoming Chongqing Major.
KuroKy picked Meepo for the first match—which Team Liquid won—before dropping the hero for Templar Assassin. (Team Liquid didn’t win the second match, but rounded out the third with a win to earn the second-place seed.) Team Liquid leader’s been working on his not-yet-played list since March, when he took over the record with 108 heroes played from former Evil Geniuses player Clinton “Fear” Loomis.
Related: KuroKy fulfills career dream as Liquid sweep TI7 grand finals
As with any competitive game, Dota 2 has a meta that sways. Heroes move in and out of popularity, so players always need to have some sort of a range. But typically, players have comfort picks and mains, the heroes they can count on to play well. KuroKy certainly has those, too, but he’s shown a dedication to being flexible, even when there’s something on the line. (These are professional matches, after all—not just the ladder.) He very well could never play Templar Assassin or Meepo again in a professional match, and now that the challenge is complete, he doesn’t have to. But he’ll continue to be an exciting and flexible player to watch, that’s for certain.
Across his career, he’s played a number of different roles, which likely accounts for his ability to play a number of heroes. KuroKy now mainly plays support for Team Liquid, but as demonstrated by his Dota 2 hero record, he will play anything.
A player with a storied past in Dota 2, KuroKy’s new record just feels right. He’s played Dota in some form since 2010 and is the highest-earning player by a fairly large margin. He’s also one of three Dota pros who’s competed at every International tournament since its inception, alongside Team Secret’s Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Team Root’s Leong “ddc” Fat-meng. His first—and only—win at The International came just last year when Team Liquid beat out Newbee with a 3-0 sweep in the grand final.
Dota 2 developer Valve has another new hero in the works, Mars. Announced at The International 8, the new hero is expected to be released in 2018—so KuroKy’s going to have to pull out Mars in competitive when he’s released if he wants to hold onto the title of all Dota 2 heroes played.
