The Story of Peter Dager (ppd), Evil Geniuses

Full Name: Peter Dager

Nick: ppd

Also known as: Peterpandam, Peter, Franzzii, Salt King

Games: Dota 2

Current Team: Retired

Ex Team: SADBOYS, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Evil Geniuses

Date of Birth: November 2nd, 1991 (30 years old)

Place of Birth: United States

Nationality: American

Relationship Status/Partners: Julia Kramnik Dager

Here’s the story of Peter Dager, a retired professional Dota 2 player that won the 2015 TI with Evil Geniuses.

Who is Peter Dager (ppd)?

Peter “ppd” Dager was a professional Dota 2 player that most notably won 2015 The International alongside UNiVeRsE, Aui_2000, Fear, and SumaiL. He was also the CEO of Evil Geniuses.

He began his career as a Heroes of Newerth player in 2013. His alias was peterpandam, which later became ppd. As all players transitioned to Dota 2 in 2013, Peter joined the migration.

He is one of the most successful Dota 2 supports, carries, captains, broadcasters, and Dota 2 Twitch streamers from the 2010s. His favorite heroes include Treant Protector, Bane, and Crystal Maiden.

Because of his superb mechanics and salty comments, he has often been dubbed both a Dota 2 mastermind and salt king. Chances are you either love him or hate him, but you always respect his skills.

At one point in his seven-year-long career, ppd also had a brief stint as CEO of Evil Geniuses. However, he retired after eight months and started playing Dota 2 again.

In 2021, he tried out as a coach for Alliance for a short period but resigned to continue his Twitch streaming career.

How Did ppd Become Famous?

Many believe ppd started getting recognized by the community in 2014 during The Internationals. This was the year when ppd made his DotA 2 debut with Evil Geniuses at the ME Invitational, where they prevailed against Cloud9 in the finals.

Thanks to Peter’s leadership, EG became one of the most promising eSports teams in the world at the time.

ppd gained recognition thanks to his drafts, as well as thanks to his incredible skills with Treant Protector. That’s how ppd and his teammates got an invitation to compete in the prestigious 2014 The International, where they placed third, grossing $1,037,778.

In January 2015, Evil Geniuses suffered a blow from the departure of two core members: Arteezy and Zai. They went to the rivaling Team Secret as the atmosphere in EG wasn’t healthy at the time.

ppd and Artour supposedly had many disagreements on picking certain heroes, so they lacked much-needed practice sessions with a cohesive strategy in 2014.

As tournaments approached, EG took SumaiL and Aui_2000 as replacements for the upcoming matches.

Luckily, Peter showed stellar skills and innovative picks that put the EG team in the top 4 teams in Asian tournaments they played. Soon enough, the team earned $1,284,158 and established itself as one of the best teams at the beginning of 2015, so they were invited to compete in TI.

Evil Geniuses started TI5 off strong, although they lost from CDEC. However, they had a chance to execute their revenge in the finals.

EG scored a 3-1 victory against CDEC and became The International champions, earning $6,634,660 alongside the prestigious Aegis of Champions. This was the peak of ppd’s career, as many believed his unconventional picks were the road to EG’s victory.

Peter was always a somewhat controversial player due to his uncanny and bratty behavior (admittedly, not to the level of, say, Christian Rivera IWDominate).  However, ppd earned a lot of negative reputation when fans felt annoyed after EG rehired Arteezy as a replacement to Aui_2000. This was because Peter advocated for the change.

Peter Dager Debut Teams

As many HoN players transitioned to Dota 2 at the end of 2013, ppd followed the trend and embarked on his incredible journey.

Although he had previously played for a few lesser-known esports teams, his first professional commitment came with StayFree.

Thanks to his talent and skills during 2013 The International, he got scouted by Super Strong Dinosaurs. There, he played with well-known players like ComeWithMe and Sneyking.

After the disbandment of Super Strong Dinosaurs, ppd and his then-teammate Zai created the SADBOYS alongside Fear, UNiVeRsE, and Arteezy. That’s when ppd started playing as captain for the team and immediately proved himself thanks to his innovative drafting.

As SADBOYS finished as a top team in a few tournaments in 2014, they were listed as the upcoming Evil Geniuses roster.

ppd Streaming

Peter Dager also has a successful Twitch account under the name peterpandam that he created in April 2011. He streams his own Dota 2 content while playing with his friends.

He has around 160,000 followers, 5,000 peak viewers, and approximately 500 views per stream. He usually streams on Monday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Peter Dager Relationship

As Peter Dager went for his first retirement in 2020, fans were still happy as he started a new chapter of his life.

In April 2020, he married his girlfriend Julia Kramnik, a former Gambit Esports media manager from Ukraine.

He took a break from his professional Dota 2 competition mostly due to his desire to spend more time with his wife. Luckily, he got back into it at the end of 2020 when he joined Sadboys.

His former girlfriend was a Twitch streamer DeathNekoTifa.

ppd Dota 2 Statistics

Peter Dager is one of the rare players from North America who can boast of winning The International in 2015. In Fact, Evil Geniuses were the first North American team to do so.

His two most successful years were 2014 and 2015, when he competed in The International. In 2014, he won third place, securing around $1,000,000 for his team.

Other notable tournament wins in Tier 1 competition include: 

• World E-sport Championships 2014
• StarLadder StarSeries Season 10
• Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015
• and Dota Pit League Season 3

He won third place in The Frankfurt Major 2015, The Shanghai Major 2016, The International 2016 again with EG, and second place in ESL One Birmingham 2018 with Optic Gaming.

ppd Personal Info

Peter Dager was born in Fort Wayne, IN, on November 2nd, 1991. Today, he is one of the wealthiest eSports players coming from that state. 

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing in his esports career. When Peter Dager went to high school, his older brother and friends used to trash him in the popular Heroes of Newerth. He used to be overwhelmed with their skills and couldn’t compete on the same level as them. However, 2013 came, and all HoN players switched to playing Dota 2.

It turns out that ppd was more suited for Dota 2 action than for HoN. He soon began dominating not just his friends and his older brother but the pro competition. After the switch, his plans for college faded away as he became one of the best strategists who played the game, as he constantly out-picked his opponents.

As ppd spent more and more time on the Dota 2 pro scene, he draw attention to him with more than his sills. Fans noticed another trait that ppd had in store.

Namely, Peter Dager is one of the most disrespectful players on the professional Dota2 scene. Although you could say that trash talking and showing negative emotions are part of the game, ppd goes so far that he earned the title of Salt King.

For instance, he can often disrespect and insult his teammates if things go south. Perhaps this is something he inherited from his early days when he was outplayed by his older brother. When he underperforms, he often blames anyone and anything but himself.

He also disappointed EG fans as a captain when the 2015 roster’s Aui_2000 got replaced by Arteezy. You can say this was just business, or it was disrespectful of the player who won the TI moments before.

Although ppd is a wealthy eSports professional, he is known to live very frugally with his cash. He won $3,004,293 in prize money, yet he didn’t adopt a millionaire lifestyle. In fact, Peter resided in a small apartment alongside his friends and drove a rusty 1999 Chevy Blazer.

Things changed after he became the CEO of EG and moved to San Francisco and got married in April of 2020.

As Peter has a quick tongue, he was also a broadcaster for Dota 2 tournaments. In 2021 alone, he was a commentator or a guest commentator for Dota Pro Circuit and even The Internationals. The reason for this was that ppd liked to comment on Dota 2, and he also created his own Youtube channel under the name—you guessed it—ppd.

ppd always wanted to improve and help the competitive North American Dota 2 scene grow, so he initiated the North American Dota Challengers League or NADCL in 2021.

He currently streams on his Twitch channel under the name peterpandam and lives in The States.

ppd Net Worth and Finances

Peter Dager is the richest eSports player from Indiana, with an estimated net worth of around $3-5 million.

His most considerable profit came from winning the 2015 TI, and the rest of his fortune comes from other tournaments, sponsorships, streaming, and social networks.

Peter Dager Age

Peter Dager is 30 years old as of November 2nd, 2021.

Where Does ppd Live?

Peter Dager currently lives in the USA.

ppd Weight and Height

Peter Dager weighs around 75kg (165lbs) and has a height of approximately 180cm (5’9”).

ppd FAQ