Dota 2 trash-talking is an art according to TORONTOTOKYO

Dota 2

May 14, 2024

Marcus Wong

Trash-talking is the act of insulting another opponent or teammate for the sake of it. While trash-talking mostly occurs after a bad incident, such as a team fight going south or your teammate not doing what you expect them to do, it can still happen. As such, it has become a norm in Dota 2 matches, which is also as widespread in competitive games.

Aleksandr “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek (Image Credits: PGL Wallachia S1)

Should pro players trash-talk in Dota 2 esports?

For most Dota 2 pro players, you expect them to be the pinnacle of professionalism in competitive sports, whereby they promote good sportsmanship and general respect for teammates and rivals alike.

Yet, it seems like Aleksandr “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek is an exception to this. In a recent interview at PGL Wallachia S1, the BetBoom Team hard support player prides himself in the art of trash-talking and even claims that it’s for high-IQ players.

TORONTOTOKYO’s History of trash-talking

Of course, being in the spotlight for recent trash-talking incidents, TORONTOTOKYO has quite a record in his book. Most recently, many questioned whether TORONTOTOKYO had beef with Team Falcons player, Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, after he typed something offensive towards the latter player in all-chat during the grand finals of the DreamLeague S22.

This goes beyond his typical and subtle trash-talks, such as his infamous ‘ez game’ quote against team OG at the International 2021 (TI10).

In an unofficial instance earlier this year, TORONTOTOKYO even threatened to bash Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek’s head when they meet at the BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024. This came after the SabeRLight- called out that his Winter Wyvern skills were bad. And of course, we did not miss out on mentioning BetBoom Team’s beef with Azure Ray too.

Aleksandr “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek (Image Credits: PGL Wallachia S1)

Trash-talking to irritate your opponents

While his toxic behavior remains a topic of debate for many Dota 2 esports watchers, perhaps he has reasons behind all his trash-talking acts.

After all, he stated that trash-talking is an art for intelligent players. Whereby he uses them at the right time, hopefully for a psychological effect against his opponents.

However, considering that we have seen blatantly rude trash-talks from TORONTOTOKYO aren’t the only form of trash-talks in Dota 2 Esports. This might not be the most effective method to shake up an opponent’s mental fortitude.

The OG Trash-talkers

Notably, famed two-time TI Champions Sébastien “Ceb” Debs and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein from OG are no strangers to trash-talking. Albeit theirs were more subtle and more often than not, didn’t even involve any words. The OG players took pride in tipping and using voice lines at moments of their opponents’ blunders in hopes of frustrating them further.

Sébastien “Ceb” Debs and Johan “N0tail” Sundstein (Image Credits: The International 2018)

Frankly, this seems to be more effective, as many opponents of Team OG chose to mute these players before their match so as not to be affected by their mind games. Whereas TORONTOTOKYO’s trash-talking tactic just came off as rude and childish behavior.