In the wake of all the changes still rippling through the Wandering Waters update, pro teams around the world have been hard at work, exploring fresh ways to outplay the competition. They've been battling in tournaments around the globe to put those theories to the test, all in pursuit of a single goal: to prove themselves worthy of facing off against the finest competitors in the world at The International.
Direct Invites
Amid all that action, some have already risen above the rest — and we’re excited to extend these eight teams direct invitations to Hamburg, Germany, to compete in The International 2025:
- Team Liquid
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Michael “miCKe” Vu
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski
Jonáš “SabeRLight” Volek
Samuel “Boxi” Svahn
Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi[/expand]
- PARIVISION
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Alan “Satanic” Galliamov
Volodymyr “No[o]ne-” Minenko
Dmitrii “DM” Dorokhin
Edgar “9Class” Naltakian
Andrey “Dukalis” Kuropatkin[/expand]
- BB Team
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Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko
Danil “gpk~” Skutin
Matvei “MieRo`” Vasiunin
Vitalie “Save-” Melnic
Vladislav “Kataomi`” Semenov[/expand]
- Team Tidebound
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Guo “shiro” Xuanang
Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang
Zhang “Bach” Ruida
Lin “planet” Hao
Zhang “y`” Yiping[/expand]
- Gaimin Gladiators
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Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov
Quinn “Quinn” Callahan
Marcus “Ace” Christensen
Erik “tOfu” Engel
Arman “Malady” Orazbayev[/expand]
- Team Spirit
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Illya “Yatoro” Muliarchuk
Denis “Larl” Sigitov
Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
Alexsander “rue” Filin
Iaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov[/expand]
- Team Falcons
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Oliver “skiter” Lepko
Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak
Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen
Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun[/expand]
- Tundra Esports
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Remco “Crystallis” Arets
Bozhidar “bzm” Bogdanov
Neta “33” Shapira
Martin “Saksa” Sazdov
Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon[/expand]
The remainder of the tournament field will be filled by the eight teams able to run the gauntlet of the Regional Qualifiers, with specific slot breakdowns as follows:
- Eastern Europe + South America - June 4th - June 8th
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Eastern Europe (1 slot)
Aurora Gaming
Natus Vincere
NAVI Junior
One Move
L1GA TEAM
Virtus.pro
(+4 teams from Open Qualifiers)
South America (1 slot)
HEROIC
OG.LATAM
Edge
Team Den
(+6 teams from Open Qualifiers)[/expand]
- China + North America - June 9th - 12th
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North America (1 slot)
Shopify Rebellion
Wildcard
(+6 teams from Open Qualifiers)
China (1 slot)
Xtreme Gaming
Yakult Brothers
(+6 teams from Open Qualifiers)[/expand]
- Southeast Asia + Western Europe - June 13th - June 17th
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Western Europe (2 slots)
Nigma Galaxy
MOUZ
OG
AVULUS
(+6 teams from Open Qualifiers)
Southeast Asia (2 slots)
TALON
BOOM Esports
Trailer Park Boys
The MongolZ
Ivory
Execration
(+4 teams from Open Qualifiers)[/expand]
A tidal wave of teams will battle for the final eight spots, meaning there’s a flood of Dota still to come. The Road to The International begins with Open Qualifiers running from May 31st–June 3rd worldwide (June 2nd–5th for China), with Regional Qualifiers to follow as detailed above. Only players in good standing with the Dota competitive community are eligible to participate.
From there, the Road continues when the sixteen invited and qualified teams face off in Hamburg, Germany. A three-day, five-round Swiss bracket followed by an elimination round will kick off on Thursday, September 4th and wrap up on Sunday, September 7th, with the eight remaining teams bound for Barclays Arena and a showdown for the Aegis of Champions set to begin on September 11th, culminating in the Grand Finals on Sunday, September 14th.
All this action gets underway in just over two weeks, so clear your calendars. Fans looking to join the fun live at Barclays Arena can grab tickets here.
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