What happens when both ancients die at the same time in Dota 2?

There’s a first time for everything in Dota 2, and fans now know what happens when both ancients explode on the same tick.

No matter how many kills a team has or how much gold in the Anti-Mage is worth, the ancient is everything. There’s simply no other way to win, and rushing the throne is a perfectly valid way to clutch a win. While base races are already fairly rare, both ancients going down at the exact same time is difficult to believe. Fans have often speculated about the event, theorizing it may prompt Valve to finally create Dota 3.

However, there’s no longer any doubt, as a recent pub game has revealed exactly what happens when both ancients fall at the same time.

Radiant wins when both ancients explode at the same time

In Dota 2, if both ancients die at the same time, the radiant team wins the match.

The incredible rare occurrence happened on June 2, 2024, in a random pub match in Europe. Radiant secured mega creeps and pushed to end with a very fed Hoodwink. Dire, meanwhile, went for the throat with an even stronger Ursa. The base race ended with both teams destroying the other’s ancient at the same time, as proven by the battle log.

In this case, radiant took the game. While incredibly rare, this is actually the second recorded time that both ancients have died simultaneously. In 2016, another match ended with a radiant victory after both ancients exploded on the same tick. However, that match took place before the switch to the Source 2 engine, which could have changed the outcome.

Another game in 2022 featured a very similar situation with both ancients appearing to die at the exact same time. Radiant once again won the match. However, there is no recorded battle log for this match, so the green team may have won by only a few fractions of a second.

Dota 2 lore states that when one ancient dies, the other revives it and the fight begins all over again. In theory, both ancients dying on the same tick should permanently end the cycle. However, Valve wants to keep making money and Dota 2 players want to keep playing the game. The developer actually referenced the possibility in the trailer for the New Frontiers update, showing Valve has it in the back of its mind. If Dota 2 ever shuts down, it could reference the event in the end.