The Top 10 Insane Esports Strats that ACTUALLY Worked

When it comes to top tier esports competition, strats win games. But sometimes, you just have to throw all that out the window and do something truly crazy.
That’s why we wanted to bring you the top 10 insane esports strats... that actually worked.
Written by: Sebastien Martin-Schultz (@Sebdot)
Edited by: Brendan Fahey (@Drillbit_)
Hosted by: Colin McNeil (@McNeilColin)
Footage courtesy of: pastebin.com/UZVzJ40U
Music used under license from Associated Production Music LLC (”APM”).
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[@yukinoyume7624]

Haven't seen the video but i sense olofboost.

[@gylanv582]

I also have a feeling...

[@VesselSplat]

monkaHmm

[@patrickjoseph3412]

It is a score esports vid

[@akioaura]

mhmmm...

[@vandlassie8478]

can you not to ...

[@Cashisgr8]

someone: Describe olofboost in 50 different ways. theScore esports: okay

[@stevelao6256]

You mean "TheScore Esports : What about 1000 ways?"

[@skippy8447]

Smelly they did win the game

[@dharshdanube6911]

@@smelly745 Nope ,it did win the game but it was meant to be replayed ,they forfeited the replay it doesnt change the fact that their trick did win them a map

[@dharshdanube6911]

@@smelly745 They won the map not the series, no one cares about them forfeitimg cause they were just playing fair, their boost did win win them the map which is what the OP was trying to say

[@dharshdanube6911]

@@smelly745 it was deemed illegal because it worked lol which moron would want to replay a map and which moron would change the map itself because of a boost if it never affected anything? You do realise that if that the BIG bug was found way earlier they would have dqed big or asked them to replay that map, instead to avoid any confusion they had to let it pass, so it doesn't matter if it's illegal or not, what matters is if it help you win. Also big abused a bug which everyone knew and still didnt face any backlash, so does that make their play justified? And the reason why it was deemed illegal was also cause of the scoreline, if the score was in favour of fnc heavily and they did that, no one would have probably cared cause fnc would have won anyway but that boost literally made them win the map which the judges deemed unfair since no one in the scene knew and had to make it illegal. A similar Overpass boost in 2016 was done by a czech team but no one cared about it since it was not in tier 1, so its not fnc's fault that their play wasnt allowed

[@billydickhut743]

It’s not a thescore esports video without Olofboost

[@shenlong0]

or ryu

[@kaitetsujin4349]

So what about the previous videos this year? You know, the 200+ videos not including the olofboost or the cold awp

[@aronidk9135]

Kazuto Narusaka there's the falling awp and the cleanse and the moves

[@kyusswm]

Wouldn't have it any other way.

[@Haris-bg4jy]

@@kaitetsujin4349 ever heard of......ummm,a_a JOKE?

[@ckrager2624]

Am I the only one who doesn’t know wtf is going on in league of legends

[@-purplehaze-2212]

Nah bro I'm right here with you

[@uaLia]

same goes for me when watching dota

[@heaikawuolabwollberg514]

Me too, and I play LoL

[@Kokokwekwak]

im only familiar with csgo and dota2 never played lol..

[@dillondontplay]

Me2

[@joshuatimajo4249]

"Ana appears once a year..." That alone is a crazy strat 😂😂😂

[@prajwalgurung866]

Yea he need refresher orb to reduce his ti cooldown.. xD

[@chiborlawzidz6683]

His buyback is expensive

[@ciaojay7025]

TI is his summer job. 😂 He's unemployed the rest of the year

[@upperplus7953]

Everyone talking about olofboost, but can we appreciate my boys from former Liquid taking the loss in the TI9 finals like total bosses?

[@EzraTheEpic]

second place at TI is still a huge achievement

[@dova9436]

@@EzraTheEpic yeah that's true but still th fact when you think you could be champion hurts much

[@jaspercacayan708]

@@dova9436 Agreed, though I'm certain w33 hurts more than anyone else on Liquid/Nigma. Just look at him on their reaction video on True Sight 2019

[@skar9556]

"Atleast you guys won a TI." Feel bad for my boi W33..

[@deathendz]

@@dova9436 research has consistently shown that 3rd place winners are happier than 2nd place winners. Because both think about what could have been, but in drastically different ways

[@demilishing]

"Shouldn't give them IO" xD as they say hindsight is 20/20

[@nez3146]

Why wasn’t my pp bizon rush to mid on dust 2 not on this list very disappointing

[@NaChaengMiHyo]

Lol

[@bubbles13244]

Bro, the pp bizon, that weapon sucks, now the m249 is the way to go

[@OmPrakash-pc1ec]

A link pls?

[@kaba1996]

I hate hostage too

[@nez3146]

@@kaba1996 u are a very smart person

[@prizmr6s661]

fun fact: fabian died to the claymore because jnski just barely got past it (he’s colorblind) and so fabian assumed it was safe

[@joris2025]

Rly?

[@Hedgee_]

That kinda sucks,

[@moosh7078]

Yep, in siege there is no colourblind mode, and jnszki is colourblind so he cannot see the laser of a claymore. It was kind of lucky that he managed to slip past it, but if you see in the killfeed a little later, Fabian walks up main stairs and dies to it

[@lmao7439]

Wow I can't believe 2 invitational without seeing claymore

[@Yaz27]

I was half expecting them to use the Chanka strat G2 pulled at SI2020 but this works too

[@harleskadanik3383]

Wouldn't be a score video if it didn't include the olofboost, I am satisfied.

[@vizrter3218]

i see everyone saying olofboost wtf is it? i’m so confused lmao

[@harleskadanik3383]

@@vizrter3218 theScore include the olofboost super often, whatever video it may be. It's a running joke in the community of Score viewers, because they include it in like 90% of their videos.

[@nuuttinyyssonen4520]

I think the Los Angeles gladiators merry go round deserved a spot.

[@torbonattack8709]

100% should've been in this video

[@wowfantasticasmr7749]

Yes

[@tigi8165]

or the first appearance of goats or clockwork vendetta

[@waggish4999]

is that from overwatch?

[@torbonattack8709]

@@waggish4999 yes. absolute classic

[@viream1653]

7:41 For anybody wondering where it is

[@llla_german_ewoklll6413]

Thanks, was getting worried it wouldn't be here.

[@DrEcho]

Can we get this comment pinned?

[@mehdildj6199]

For Leauge Players Playing Io Carry is like Playing Yummi ADC

[@yuki7895]

Thanks

[@joshgao9936]

Thanks mate

[@franciscopetrucci]

True comparison

[@mehdildj6199]

i mean they are literally the same champ (+ some spells from Aurelion Sol) but they are the same lmao Latches on to you and heals you But the Madlad Ana Carried and won TI like a Boss

[@Ray.6406]

thanks

[@pr_ank_sisters]

Ana IO still gives me goosebumps to this day. Truly a legendary and enigmatic man.

[@eemelilounela1212]

One of my favorite things to rewatch from TI9 is the draft of the group game where og picks carry Io for the first time. The reactions from the casters are prizeless. Edit. It's OG vs NIP

[@Cheesyxable]

And both teams when picking players for the heroes are just playing "you first" for a minute straight.

[@holderian0]

Number 6 was such a great bait, admiralbulldog even suicided to rosh at the start to make it look more convincing. This is the play that gave us the sound "No one has ever done that in the history of Dota"

[@michaeljohngarcia6432]

And its such a 200 iq strat, bulldog never lost any gold since he spent it all in the beginning then he picked 2nd skill to instantly teleport to the clash

[@DigitalFuturezz]

I was wondering whos idea was that. EE? :D

[@michaeljohngarcia6432]

@@DigitalFuturezz fiftEE/fiftEE

[@runcool98]

Sad Tober

[@HorWangZaaa]

@@DigitalFuturezz It was actually S4

[@anburrito9644]

I'll always be astounded that Faker was so good in his prime that teams had to counter him as well as the team as a whole to win

[@ryanpedroza4439]

Ahhh yes the IO Ana Carry, why did I forget that

[@johndanielvillanueva8604]

"Ana appears once a year at TI to show the world why he's considered the god of Dota."

[@funpuns085]

Now that’s an insane strat

[@krissam7791]

Honestly, not banning Io vs OG was silly, it really doesn't matter. Only way to beat OG at TI is to banana

[@SoapSoapCrayon]

Liquid didn't think they could beat them with giving them ET (as they lost two games in a row to that), and chose to try against the wisp instead of beating the dead horse.

[@sweetapem9606]

nah they can win that game but topson using his 200 iq buying diffusal make liquid cant do anything because they rely on their carry bb without mana u can just forget about bb and go kill the rest of the team then kill bb after they all die

[@xyril7968]

Liquid won against Secret who is using the io strat, so kuro think they can do it to against OG but no one can beat the original

[@zhixci958]

@@sweetapem9606 that was 1 game besides the game was already lost even before they played. As much as i hate to say it liquid was already crumbling, w33 was tilted, MC didnt have a good game the whole series.

[@Qu1ntus_]

imo they should have banned Tiny. He enabled much of OG's plans and derailed Liquid hard in games 2 and 3. Also, unlike Secret, OG wisely banned the Meepo and Leshrac in Game 4, as both heroes shut down the rest of Secret even though Io got to that point.

[@danielpobar4492]

Where's Dendi + Puppey (Pudge Chen Combo)?

[@surajwahengbam]

Was waiting for this comment

[@wraith.ferron]

The strat that Valve outright said was only good in pubs and would never be competitively viable, so it didn't need to be patched. Then it shows up at TI.

[@lukemauldin9156]

If you could where would you put this 1-10?

[@pr_ank_sisters]

They must've forgotten about it

[@lukemauldin9156]

@@pr_ank_sisters 4 Dota clips would be alot

[@FirstWorldProblemz]

That last clip with the losing team walking away is how every losing esport team should act

[@xsign1a]

"Ana appears once a year" *yep that's absolutely correct*

[@pappaOfswe]

He is just there for some ez money at this point

[@shepherdsgamingrun]

@@pappaOfswe It's tuition for med school.

[@delraywillis8189]

Would have loved to have seen the Los Angeles Gladiators GOATs Bait on Kings Row with faking the brig and having a widow waiting in spawn. I get OW isn’t as popular as the other games on the list but it was so nice and could have made like 10th-8th on the list.

[@Rykrus]

I've always wondered if this channel has a thing against OW, I mean GOATS is literally a comp strat that flipped OW on its head, from comp games to T1 OWL games, you'd think it'd deserve a spot. But it seems like the only time OW is ever mentioned is when something bad happens. The LAG strat definitely deserved at least a mention as well.

[@MoonlitRose101]

Agreed. We need more OW. Especially the Merry-go-round.

[@andrewzanoni2681]

I wish they put one more r6 Clip in ( like bds vs mnm, when they pretended to hold the wrong room)

[@NatteNek]

Ah yes LoL. The game I don't know one thing about, but gets posted the most on this channel

[@abyssalgodsword]

Very popular

[@williamhobbs4202]

To someone who doesn’t play it I can imagine it’s confusing as fuck

[@gylanv582]

@@williamhobbs4202 took me 2-3 weeks to get used to the game and memorise like a few champs Still confused me a lot back then xd

[@FXCKTAI]

Literally

[@BadatStuff]

@@gylanv582 Happens when the game has over a hundred champions and pretty much each of them is played totally differently by different people depending on skill level

[@JohnnyNumber11]

I Love how the TL guys took their loss.

[@Xiuhcoatl_]

Nobody: TheScore Esports: How can we make another video including the olofboost?

[@Spurrrg]

Fun fact about the Joonas Cav pick. There was a claymore on main stairs, but Joonas is colorblind so he cant see the red lasers from it. He got really lucky and managed to go around the claymore. Later after the interrogation was committed, Fabian went up main stairs and got killed by the claymore Joonas did not notice. They had some funny convos after that.

[@hbk6917]

knee bringing out lily vs qudan's devil jin was pretty cool ngl

[@darylalonso9980]

Sometimes I think thescore makes this random top ten just so they can talk about olafboost again and again😂😂

[@snuuky8814]

Damn this channel is growing so quickly. It was like yesterday when this just had like 20k subs

[@bloomingblossom5269]

You think using Io as Carry is a strategy? Ana: Hey, as long as it works

[@pierrebarroux4273]

At this point The Score E-sport makes top 9 vidéos XD

[@GunsAndOrRoses]

Does anyone else feel comforted by this mans voice? I love the soft and gentle way he talks to us. It's so nice. He should do some audiobooks!!

[@RideAfterMidnight]

I remember watching HuK vs Idra when it happened. I couldnt believe it, but you really have to praise that last minute creativity

[@PartyMain]

Damn, pro Dota players when they lose actually are very kind and happy. Mad respect

[@bukangodzilla3256]

Og is the strongest team ever ini dota2 thats why liquid is not really mad, its like a team lose a prime skt ti1

[@thatguyluis]

They still got 4.5 million USD out of that, plus they are really getting stomped the entire series, so there's really no frustration cause they really never have a chance tbh.

[@durbek4389]

@@bukangodzilla3256 but prime liquid was also really good. They made beautiful plays.

[@asecondcycle]

Haven’t seen but I hope carry io is in here. Edit: YEP

[@slyduggy]

Glad to see you guys didn't forget about SC2!

[@TheBrad1300]

honestly i dont care how many times you use olafpass clips, they get me every time. Keep up the amazing vids!

[@carsomyr8276]

Next vid: Top 10 "theScore esports" videos to include the olofboost.

[@satansleftnipple]

Olof in the thumbnail ..you know its coming

[@FayeTheNerd]

There’s a strat I know about the shockwave in HyperScape it’s where you use it when you’re close to the ground but still in the air and you’ll stay jumping and get the double jump back

[@mr.t5785]

This shows DOTA2 strategy isnt just about drafts. Itemization, map mind games, etc. Are very game changing as well.

[@bushman6964]

My olof-senses are tingling

[@Dufaze]

Can you try incorporating an honorable mentions section for clips like the olofboost so we can start moving on?

[@ishansheikh3058]

The strat above IO play from Ana would be Dendi-Puppey Pudge-Chen combo. So cool and devastating that Valve had to delete it from the game.

[@Haris-bg4jy]

what about the astralis picking vertigo agains liquid in the quarterfinals of a major

[@raphamittel03]

That game faker`s LeBlanc was not about her, was Evelyn countering Nunu.

[@mirzarujanac3405]

waiting for the olof boost

[@SCHTRAM]

I never really thought the IO carry play was that mindboggling. People were pulling it off in pub games for weeks/months leading up to TI. But that whole series was amazing either way

[@Macaroni139]

Nobody talks about that one twister cup match in world of tanks blitz. Messi, had his entire team push him up and over a wall, so he could achieve a super elevated position. That play won his team the match

[@johnsonaxel8784]

Dota is the most complex E-sport out there and the one with the biggest prizes. There are countless insane strats due to its complexity.

[@qianerjun9158]

starcraft？

[@johnsonaxel8784]

@@qianerjun9158 not even close. over the years, dota's evolution surpassed the complexity of every other MOBA out there. This is the reason why the game is very unfriendly and punishing towards newcomers. People need thousands of hours to become "decent" at dota, hundreds-only to grasp the very basics. To reach the world top 100-500, probably 10k hours, or 5k if the player has MOBA experience and is approaching the game from a learning point of view, his only goal to become one of the best.

[@gjlipana881]

Dude starcraft is much more insane strat game. I know, i played LOL, Dota and starcraft

[@Saiintniic]

Watch out for chaka_pizza he’s a crazy underground player

[@what241354646]

Watching the olafboost live, you could tell it was going to be talked about forever, was too next level

[@Tonyn120]

love the last 20 seconds of the video. good memories lol

[@ahquit5150]

olof boost?

[@GoyfAscetic]

I'm not sad that the LA Gladiators Bamboozle during OWL's first playoffs didn't make the cut, just disappointed and sad :(

[@dramamine755]

So you're not sad but you're sad

[@Kuro.X]

I was thinking the same

[@GoyfAscetic]

@@dramamine755 I didn't stutter.

[@shadowcurtain]

omg the NR 3 i remember it like it was yesterday and yeah IO carry was mindblowing OG just invented that out of nowhere

[@xxsimonsxx7907]

Ah, yes, Esports *Proceeds to make 6 out of 10 spots about LoL or Dota

[@TheSplatterking666]

Dota is the king of esport so stfu

[@notasovietspytrustme4392]

What are sports?

[@mikaelious7464]

"Esports"

[@pikminologueraisin2139]

ah yes, don't forget the *E*

[@AKSourGod]

I gotta try out a moba one day. Everytime I see these type of vids on this channel, I get confused once the gameplay footage is playing. Looks like the craziness of FPS Multiplayer in a top down perspective.

[@miorionomichi]

Wow that Starcraft strat is unbelievable actually insane

[@rokpoplasen3526]

Early oof

[@thysquid2157]

Early olof*

[@goodknightunited5918]

They didn't really explain why some of these were so crazy. They give a bit of information, but I was still confused as to why they were insane plays and didn't understand it. Their other videos are better, I did not like this one.

[@BirjolaxewsChannel]

Agree. Most of them lack serious context; they don't even show the actual Roshan bait, only the collapse afterwards, for gods sake! The only one I felt they explained well were MF support and Io carry. The others required knowing the context already.

[@arcangel9489]

I'm sure Olofbooster have become a permanent member of The score esports.

[@philosophicalnarwhal7559]

TLDW...8 LoL moments, one starcraft to "mix it up" and olofboost for the 213434567th time. Great content guys

[@E_Clip]

Its not like there was a shortage of Dota clips, but one strat actually eclipses all of these: The Play. Yes that one, because at the time it was believed Tide + Naga was unbeatable and uncounterable combo, so all teams were making sure to ban either Tide or Naga, or preferably both. NaVi let IG take both and dismantled them in one fell swoop, or famously known as The Play. No one in their right mind thought NaVi stood a chance that game, but then magic happened. That is until today the best crazy strat that worked, at least in Dota.

[@Fried-Tofu]

Starcraft 2 got me so hooked on the scene when it first released and before the first xpac. Evil Geniuses(Idra, Machine, Grubby, & ofc iNcontrol(RIP)), Huk's sudden rise to prominence/dream run via 2011's MLG Orlando, Day9, Tasteless and Artosis Commentary/Podcasts. Such a great scene during that time, hopefully we'll see something like it again in the future with Starcraft 3 or another RTS.

[@Laachen]

thats the game where joonas misses the claymore then Fabian hits it when he goes to help joonas

[@goms2939]

Man, i like the sportmanship of Team Liquid at the end clip.

[@TheLilmuzzy]

I remember walking into Madison square garden(late to watch game 2 of the worlds semi finals SKT vs ROX) and right as I was sitting down ROX 🔒 the MF support. I have never heard a crowd freak out like that before or since, what an amazing game to watch live :)

[@unstablejose6804]

dude i love ur videos

[@fallshimjager1]

G2 pulled off a play that relied on planting with Monty using his shield on his back, which would only work with a Glaz cover AND with Empire doing a top floor defense only. That's even more crazy than using Caveira. A good play, even if in the end they were no match for the lean mean russian machine.

[@JarradLee1990]

The fact they now see the Olaf boost as a meme in their videos is great :P

[@Wyrmixx]

TheScore Esports video: top 10 crazy things that happened in Esports Olofboost: ah shit here we go again

[@Viviantoga]

I know I shouldn't have expected it but I'm kind of disappointed to not see the Surfing Zarya/Lucio on Dorado from Overwatch League S1, the Great Bamboozle on King's Row in OWL during 3-3 meta, or the stickyjumping Ullapool Caber medic pick at the start of a match in TF2 UGC Highlander (I wanna say 2012 on Suijin but I'm probably waaaay off),

[@user-yr5tx3uh1h]

I waited for Dendi's Pudge and Puppey's Chen. Sadly, didn't included but still one of the best strat!

[@rancori6426]

love your shirt man, is that tomie from junji ito's collection?

[@LiLi_mains]

I see the thumbnail my mind straight up remember dendi fountain hook

[@drazven2785]

Man, You forgot that moment in rainbow six pro league where a whole team reinforced the wrong objective, making the other team rushing another site

[@G0T1F]

Yooo Colin got da Junji Ito longsleeve on

[@emmanuelinfantegonzalez4316]

You forgot Infiltration vs PR Balrog! Thats one of the most insane strategy comebacks I have ever seen.

[@pgf2940]

wish they also included topson's diffusal gyro

[@perplexed2352]

Seen the Cav in the thumbnail instantly knew it was jnzski on Bank vs EG

[@schmeegledorf]

The best part about the first clip is that Joonas is color blind so he actually didn’t see the claymore, and later in the round Fabian dies to that claymore because Joonas didn’t call it.

[@lio2875]

TheScore esports: Oh shoot, we are one clip short for the top 10 *slaps in the olofboost*

[@dominicflattery8997]

That one time in r6 when a team reinforced the wrong site to bait the other team to attack there

[@jspr1te529]

You guys don’t understand. This is a strategy in itself. theScore esports keeps including it in their lists to keep the legacy of the Olofboost alive for many generations to come. 👌

[@thebossman5470]

It's so fitting that ana got the very last kill of TI9

[@YoHoosierDaddy]

I swear that Olaf boost and Coldzera jumping awp were in every Score esport CSGO top 10 videos.

[@ilypo]

Awesome video but would've loved to see at least as an honorable mention Infiltration's Hakan pick and Rangchu's Panda pick that won him the TWT

[@ERIK4life97]

Keep in mind that through 2019 G2 not only played Pyke as a toplaner but in every single role and with a lot of succes! I think that they only lost with pyke in an other role than support in the final vs FPX

[@doranjohnson2850]

He should've done the strut. Everyone knows you gotta do the strut. Wooo!

[@picojohnson1]

They should really create a clip hall of fame. So for certain dope clips: olofboost and coldzera B and others hold go there and they can show more clips for more games in the these type of top 10 lists. And for the hall of game clips even have a ceremony and panel discussing the clip and why it so revered.

[@Eedorian]

You should've included Knee picking Low-mid Tier Lili against Qudans Top Tier Devil Jin at Tokyo Tekken Masters 2018.

[@ringsboy9069]

Before watching I’m predicting olofboost, fountain hook, xpeke solo backdoor, first team team to use teleport for backdoor in LoL, support MF for Rox Tigers, the full team bait picks against Faker’s Leblanc, full team boost flank using Mei, and last second change to widowmaker.

[@cylas]

was hoping to see the kings row push from LA Gladiators

[@mrchaos831]

I'm shocked they didn't find a way to show surprised Ryu face

[@sollertia_]

At this point you guys should make a top 10 olafboost descriptions by thescoreesports