But there used to be times where players could run straight towards the pit even before the horn sounds and go for a surprise level one Rosh kill. We collected some of the best plays from professional teams.
Vici Gaming vs Team Spirit
Remember when the Rosh pit was located on the right side of the map, on the Dire side? A level one play ofVici Gaming at The Shanghai Major will jog your memory. Being up 1-0 against Vici Gaming, Spirit tried to seal the deal as quickly as possible in game two.
The classic Io-Tiny combination helped to secure the Aegis, as the ball of light could easily heal up the rocky creature that tanked the damage. Spirit went on to play the duo line-up in the midlane. Two heroes with to Bottles, an Aegis, constant healing and the huge damage output was too much for the enemy midlaner. Bogdan 'Iceberg' Vasilenko's Tiny finished with a 15/0/6 score and completely crushed Vici from the first second on.
Alliance vs Na'Vi
The El Clásico of Dota, Alliance versus Natus Vincere, is always a must-watch. Especially during The International, and when nifty strategies are included. Alliance are the masters of surprising Roshan plays, as they proved once again at The International 2016 against Natus Vincere.
Jerry 'EGM' Lundkvist and Jonathan 'Loda' Berg were enough manpower to bring down the immortal beast, so their three team-mates could distract the enemies in the meantime – and Na'Vi did not suspect a thing, despite Viktor 'GeneRaL' Nigrini walking around in front of the pit.
Secret vs Newbee
The current Team Secret might seem nearly invincible, but tradition dictates that they will choke at TI. At least that is what happened in the past, for example at The International 2018.
Newbee were able to completely outplay their opponents with a surprise level one Rosh. While their line-up did not hint at the strategy, it worked perfectly in practice. The small rocket start definitely helped Newbee out: the game lasted 79 minutes and went constantly back-and-forth, so Newbee needed every advantage to avoid drowning.
Alliance vs DK
Last week, we took a reminiscent look back at "The best baits in competitive Dota". In 2012, Alliance who were still known as No Tidehunter at that time, shook up the Dota world with their iconic level one Roshan bait.
Ever since that play, opponents had to stay wary of the gang pulling off another secret Rosh strategy – and they did. In the G-1 Championships League, Alliance blindsided team DK* by teleporting to the midlane straight away, rushing to Rosh, getting an immediate Aegis and being overpowered from the very beginning.
Fluff: Watermelon Delight vs Caster Crew
Probably one of the weirdest matches that was ever aired occurred in the The Manila Major Open Qualifiers. A free stack called Watermelon Delight was fighting against a squad that consisted of some top casters, such as Capitalist and Purge.
The Watermelons tried for the early Rosh strat but got quickly interrupted and a bloodbath followed. The crazy fights were not enough to dissuade them from their plan. Even after a second, now successful Rosh try, they decided to simply five-man throughout the entire match and push down mid. Unfortunately, their drive was disturbed by the fact that one member had final exams the next day and needed to leave Dota. A 6 minute GG and an incredibly confusing match was the consequence.
There are a lot more level one Roshan's in the history of Dota – especially from Alliance, who mastered this strategy. What was your favourite moment?
Photo credit: Valve
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