The Dota franchise has been hugely popular. From the endless appeal of Dota2 to the recently release Dota Underlords, it has helped Valve Corporation maintain their position as one of the world's leading games developers.

With the news that Dota 3 could be in the pipeline, it's proving to be a critical moment in the development of this franchise. But should we give up on Dota2 and Dota Underlords just yet? After all, Dota 2 has become one of the largest esports in the world, and many gamers watch top-level Dota 2 esports tournaments like The International.

The rise of esports has been one of the most exciting things to hit both the sports and entertainment worlds in years. While the thought of watching other people play video games once seemed laughable, competitive gaming has somehow grown to become a billion-dollar industry in less than two decades.

Such is the popularity of esports that it was inevitable that some gaming fans would want to try fantasy esports for games like Dota 2. After all, internet technologies have meant that fantasy sports has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years.

What began at the turn of the century in the USA with fantasy sports competitions like NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB has now become a global phenomenon with the chance to play fantasy with PlayUp and other providers alike on sports like NRL and AFL in Australia. As a result, it's been fascinating to see how the demand for fantasy sports has quickly become a reality, and it could it turn to fantasy esports and offer you a great way of assembling your ultimate Dota 2 team.

Dota 2 And Fantasy Esports 

Given that esports like Dota 2, League of Legends and Counter-Strike are team sports, and it was only a matter of time before we start to see the rise of fantasy esports. This means that gaming fans can use fantasy esports sites to assemble teams with their favourite players.

So if you are a fan of the Dota franchise, you'd be keen to fill your fantasy esports roster with some of the biggest names in the competitive gaming realm. That would mean picking top Dota 2 players like Kuro' KuroKy' Takhasomi, Anathan' ana' Pham and Hector' K1' Antonio Rodriguez, all while staying under the salary cap.

The success of your assembled fantasy team depends on each player's real-life efforts in the actual esports matches. By picking up points based on your player's real-life performance, you might find yourself climbing the fantasy sports leaderboard and on course to make some significant prize winnings. With Dota 2 being one of the most famous esports, it's going to be interesting to see how Dota 3 could have the same impact in the competitive gaming realm.

Could Dota 2 shake up the fantasy sports realm?

Like there's plenty of scepticism about esports in the traditional sports world, it's been interesting to see how fantasy sports sites have been slow to recognise the appeal of fantasy esports for games like Dota 2.

After all, the esports realm is still relatively new, and the sheer range of tournaments for games like Dota 2 has made it hard to construct a reliable database of the playing records of some of the biggest esports stars.

Plus there's the apparent fact that markedly different demographics enjoy esports and traditional sports. As a result, some fantasy sports sites might be hesitant about putting on a new fantasy esports package with a relatively untested audience who are unfamiliar with some of the more idiosyncratic language that surrounds a game like Dota 2.

But with legendary sports teams like Paris Saint Germain, Manchester City and Golden State Warriors investing in esports, it seems that many fantasy sports sites are starting to recognise the demands of gamers. And we can hope to find more options for legendary games like Dota 2.

Where Do Fantasy Esports And Dota 2 Go From Here?

At the moment, it looks like you will probably only be able to assemble your fantasy esports teams for the biggest esports franchises like CSGO, Dota 2 and LoL. But as recent gaming hits like Overwatch get more established, we can hope to find a more excellent choice of fantasy sports options.

Recently we have seen significant competitive gaming events like the Fortnite World Cup become mainstream news, and the prize winnings for The International Dota 2 tournament frequently hit the headlines. As esports starts to gain greater acceptance and its audience matures, there will be a much higher demand for fantasy esports.

It's easy to forget that esports has been with us for less than 20 years and Dota2 has only been around since 2013. But with global audience figures already in excess of 400 million, there will be a significant demand amongst fans to be able to field their own fantasy esports teams for things like the Dota franchise. So while fantasy esports has been slow to get started, it's only a matter of time before it becomes more widespread and it's going to be fascinating to see how Dota 3 will improve things.