This year, the big Dota 2 tournament called The International (TI) 2025 had some expected winners and some surprising teams that did really well.
After two weeks of exciting games, the teams that will go to a city called Hamburg to compete for the big trophy are now decided.
There are 16 teams in total. Eight of these teams got special invites from the game’s makers, Valve, because they played really well during the season.
The other eight teams had to win matches in their own parts of the world, called regions, to earn their spot. Valve gave two spots to teams from Western Europe and Southeast Asia.
The other four regions—Eastern Europe, China, North America, and South America—each got one team to go.
Team Liquid – Invited
PARIVISION – Invited
BetBoom Team – Invited
All Gamers Global (formerly Team Tidebound) – Invited
Gaimin Gladiators – Invited
Team Spirit – Invited
Team Falcons – Invited
Tundra Esports – Invited
Natus Vincere (NAVI) Junior – Western Europe Qualifier
Nigma Galaxy – Western Europe Qualifier
Aurora Gaming – Eastern Europe Qualifier
Xtreme Gaming – China Qualifier
Team Nemesis – Southeast Asia Qualifier
BOOM Esports – Southeast Asia Qualifier
Wildcard – North America Qualifier
HEROIC – South America Qualifier
In North America, the top team Shopify Rebellion was expected to qualify, but they were unexpectedly beaten by Wildcard. Wildcard had lost badly to Shopify just a few days earlier, but they came back strong and earned their spot.
Four of their players will be playing in TI for the first time, and they are excited to go to Hamburg, Germany, where the tournament will be held from September 4 to 14. One of the biggest surprises was that Nigma Galaxy, a team many fans love, finally got a spot in TI after not going for five years.
The team is led by Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi, and now they are back on the big stage with some of the best players in Dota 2. But not everything went as planned. Some teams that were considered favorites didn’t make it.
For example, Talon Esports, who had done really well in a recent big tournament, didn’t qualify even though their region had two spots. They lost to underdog teams, Team Nemesis and BOOM Esports. Another team, NAVI Junior, which is the youngest team in the tournament, also earned a spot for Western Europe. They combined the energy and passion of young players with the experience of their older leader, Zayac. Many think they could become a team like the famous Team Spirit from 2021, and fans are excited to watch their first TI.
In other parts of the world, teams expected to do well also made it. Aurora won in Eastern Europe, HEROIC beat Edge in South America, and Xtreme Gaming defeated tough teams like Yakult Brothers, Azure Ray, and Vici Gaming to qualify easily. Let’s look back at the exciting qualifiers for the big Dota 2 tournament called The International 2025.
This was one of the most important qualifier seasons of the year, with some teams winning easily and others surprising everyone with unexpected wins. The matches kept fans on the edge of their seats until the very end, especially in Western Europe, where they picked the last team to go to the main event. This will be the first time since 2011 that TI is hosted in Germany.
The tournament will also have some new rules and formats, including a new group stage system called the Swiss format and a special elimination round. The event will have two parts: “The Road to The International,” where teams compete to get into the main event, and “The International,” which is the big final tournament with the best teams.
