Arteezy

- ESL One Frankfurt 2015 champion.

Artour "Arteezy" Babaev (born July 1, 1996) is a Canadian-Uzbek professional Dota 2 carry, last playing for Shopify Rebellion. At 29 years old, Arteezy is one of the most mechanically gifted and influential players in the history of the game — the second player ever to hit 9,000 MMR, a two-time TI bronze medalist, and the carry who essentially defined what "greedy, high-farm, mechanically perfect position 1" was supposed to look like. An entire generation of carries grew up trying to farm like RTZ.

Early Life & Origins

Arteezy was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to Uzbek parents of Russian and Armenian ancestry, and moved to Canada as a toddler. Before Dota, he played the original DotA and reached Masters in StarCraft II as Protoss. He was a teenage prodigy who postponed going pro to focus on his studies — until the pull of the game became too strong.

His professional debut is the stuff of legend. In November 2013, an unknown Arteezy stood in for Speed Gaming at MLG Columbus — his first LAN ever — and proceeded to outplay established stars like Mushi and Dendi in the mid lane, carrying an underdog Speed Gaming to victory over Team DK. 7ckngMad's famous reaction to his skill became a piece of Dota history. The kid nobody had heard of had just announced himself to the world.

The Rise and the EG/Secret Era

In early 2014, Arteezy joined SADBOYS with UNiVeRsE, Fear, ppd, and zai — a stack quickly signed by Evil Geniuses. EG became one of the best teams in the world almost immediately, finishing 3rd at TI4 and earning over $1 million. This is where the important part starts.

When Arteezy moved to Team Secret in December 2014, he transitioned to the carry position — and Team Secret stormed through The Summit 3, Mars Dota League, and ESL One Frankfurt 2015, going 1st at each. He was ranked the best carry player in the world heading into TI5. His approach to the role redefined it. He wasn't just a farmer — he was an aggressive, greedy, mechanically flawless position 1 who could hit farm numbers nobody else reached while still being a lane threat. The way modern carries think about efficiency, timings, and the "farm everything, punish everything" style — that lineage runs straight through prime Arteezy.

He returned to EG in 2015 alongside SumaiL, and the two formed one of the most exciting core duos the game had seen. EG took 3rd at TI6 and TI8, 5th-6th at TI9. Consistent, elite, always in the conversation.

The Later Years

Arteezy stayed at EG through 2022, then moved to Shopify Rebellion when EG pivoted to the Peruvian Thunder Awaken roster. Shopify had solid results — 2nd at DreamLeague Season 21, 3rd at DreamLeague Season 19 — but the TI trophy never came. After failing to qualify for TI 2024, Arteezy stepped down from the active roster to focus on streaming. In April 2025 he was no longer affiliated with the team.

He hasn't fully let go, though. He moved to Europe in late 2025 talking about a competitive return, and grinded the TI 2026 open qualifiers in 2026 with Ceb and Topson — the old guard refusing to disappear quietly.

Playstyle & Legacy

Arteezy is the archetype of the greedy, mechanically dominant carry. Near-perfect last-hitting, elite farming patterns, aggressive itemization, and the confidence to take risks that punished any opponent who gave him space. His signature heroes — Naga Siren, Terrorblade, Lycan, Ursa, Drow Ranger — reflect a player who wanted to farm fast, scale hard, and take over. He holds all-time leads in professional matches played and won on Naga Siren (87 matches, 59 wins) and Ursa (75 matches, 49 wins). When people talk about the "farming carry" identity that dominated the 2015-2019 era, Arteezy is the blueprint.

He was also one of the most watched streamers in the entire scene — a personality as much as a player, whose influence extended far beyond his tournament results.

Fun Facts

He was the second player in Dota 2 history to reach 9,000 MMR, in June 2016 — and the third to hit 10,000, in August 2017. He was pushing the individual skill ceiling of the game before most of today's pros had even gone pro.

His influence reached other games entirely. Mobile Legends star KarlTzy named himself after Arteezy. Then FlapTzy named himself after KarlTzy. An entire "Tzy Nation" of Filipino pros adopted the "-Tzy" suffix. A Canadian Dota carry accidentally started a naming dynasty in a completely different esport.

He is famously one of the richest players to never win The International. Two bronze medals, over $2.7 million in earnings, ranked among the highest-earning players of all time — and no Aegis.