At the end of The International, one team out of all the competing Dota 2 TI teams will lift the Aegis to become the new Dota 2 World Champion at one of the biggest esports events of the year. There is plenty at stake this year: the prestige, the bragging rights and a lucrative prize pool that’ll potentially be worth millions of dollars. On this page, you’ll find all the information you need about the competing TI teams.
The Dota 2 Teams Going to The International
Everything is all set for the Group Stage, with the twenty competing teams confirmed for this year’s TI and with that opportunities for Dota The International betting. Of the twenty teams, twelve teams qualified through the Dota Pro Circuit and the other eight teams earned their spot by fighting through the Regional Qualifiers.
All the Dota 2 Teams Qualified for The International 2023:
Dota Pro Circuit
- Team Liquid
- Gaimin Gladiators
- Evil Geniuses
- Shopify Rebellion
- Tundra Esports
- Talon Esports
- 9Pandas
- Team Spirit
- LGD Gaming
- beastcoast
- TSM
- BetBoom Team
Regional Qualifiers
- Nouns Esports (NA)
- Keyd Stars (SA)
- Thunder Awaken (SA)
- Entity (WEU)
- Quest Esports (WEU)
- Virtus.pro (EEU)
- Azure Ray (CN)
- Team SMG (SEA)
Dota 2 TI Points 2023
The Dota Pro Circuit ranks teams by awarding points throughout the season.
Here’s how the 12 invited Dota 2 TI teams ranked based on these points accumulated during the 2023 season:
- Team Liquid – 2150 points
- Gaimin Gladiators – 2140 points
- Tundra Esports – 1660 points
- 9Pandas – 1496 points
- Evil Geniuses – 1470 points
- LGD Gaming – 1284 points (recently renamed from PSG.LGD)
- Shopify Rebellion – 1170 points
- Talon Esports – 1120 points
- beastcoast – 1040 points
- Team Spirit – 1020 points
- TSM – 900 points
- BetBoom Team – 760 points
Analysis: A Closer Look at the Top Dota 2 TI Teams
In this featured discussion, we’re taking a look at the top 10 Dota 2 TI teams that are Invited Teams from the DPC and offering some insights into the form of these teams.
Gaimin Gladiators: Record-Breaking TI Team
Roster:
- Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov
- Quinn “Quinn” Callahan
- Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard
- Erik “tOfu” Engel
- Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp
Built on the ashes of ‘Team Tickles’ in February 2022, Gaimin Gladiators was a relatively new organization last year who impressed everyone after rising to the top of West Europe and placing moderately well at The International 2022.
Making some essential roster changes ahead of the 2022-23 season, Gaimin Gladiators were unhinged this season.
Crowned champions at the Lima Major, Berlin Major and Bali Major – they are the first team to ever win three consecutive Majors since OG in 2016-7. OG is the only team to ever win two TIs, doing so back-to-back.
With multiple wins all season long, Gaimin Gladiators have a serious chance of coming out on top at TI this year according to the TI12 odds.
Team Liquid: Consistently Near-Winners
Roster:
- Michael “miCKe” Vu
- Michal “Nisha” Jankowski
- Ludwig “zai” Wahlberg
- Samuel “Boxi” Svahn
- Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi
The past few years have been rough for Team Liquid. Ever since winning The International in 2017, they’ve repeatedly come very close to reclaiming the throne, in 2022 finishing in third place, finishing second in 2019 and fourth in 2018.
Similarly, the 2023 season has also offered a number of bittersweet performances for this consistent roster at the top of our Dota 2 TI power rankings. Although leading both DPC Tour 1 and 2 in WEU, Team Liquid have fallen to Gaimin Gladiators at every single Major almost – earning second every time.
Luckily for them, The International is the ultimate chance for revenge should these titans match up once again after topping the Dota Pro Circuit standings.
Recently taking down Gaimin Gladiators at the Riyadh Masters 2023 event, Team Liquid are capable of being crowned TI champions.
Tundra Esports: Defending Champions
Roster:
- Oliver “skiter” Lepko
- Leon “Nine” Kirilin
- Neta “33” Shapira
- Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun
- UPDATE – Martin “Saksa” Sazdov moved to the inactive roster due to health issues, the replacement is Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen
Tundra Esports will be returning to TI 2023 to defend the Aegis of Champions. If you’re looking for the definition of the word ‘dominance’, you’re better off taking a look at Tundra Esports‘ run at The International 2022. Securing the World Championship after dropping only one game, they also swept Team Secret 3-0 in the Grand Final.
Since TI 2022, Tundra Esports have managed to stay near the top at the most competitive league in the Dota Pro Circuit – Western Europe. Contending with the likes of Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators and other Dota 2 TI teams, they managed to win DPC WEU Tour 3 Division I recently and are potential Dota 2 TI favorites.
Proving that they can still win while competing at the highest level, Tundra Esports have a serious chance of joining OG in the hall of fame and go back-to-back at The International.
9Pandas: Former HellRaisers
Roster:
- Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev
- Gleb “kiyotaka” Zyryanov
- Matvey “MieRo” Vasyunin
- Vladislav “Antares” Kertman
- Alexey “Solo” Berezin
Signing the HellRaisers team in April, 9Pandas is the top representative from Eastern Europe according to Dota 2 betting sites.
Although they’ve found success in the region early on, their international record isn’t too impressive considering that they’re always outplaced by Western Europe teams and at times, other competitors.
However, Eastern Europe has fielded a number of World Champions, such as Team Spirit a few years ago. Considering this, they can’t be counted out at TI 2023.
Evil Geniuses: Falling Off?
Roster:
- Cristian “Pakazs” Savina
- Jean Pierre “Chris Luck” Gonzales Salazar
- Adrian “Wisper” Dobles
- Farith “Matthew” Puente
- Jose “Panda” Padilla
For the most part this season, Evil Geniuses has raised the bar for DPC South America thanks to their regional dominance paired with their strong international performances, such as finishing 4th at the ESL One Berlin Major.
Yet, despite this, they have faltered at the tail-end of the season. Specifically, their 17-18th placing at Bali Major 2023 is rather concerning for their fans. In addition, they then went on to place 9-12th at Riyadh Masters 2023.
Although they’ve performed well this year, their recent performances do paint a picture of falling form. Sure they won The International back in 2015, but times have truly changed since then.
Let’s see if they can bring it back in time for TI.
LGD Gaming: Former Favorites
Roster:
- Guo “shiro” Xuanang
- Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang
- Li “niu” Kongbo
- Lin “planet” Hao
- Zhang “y” Yiping
Arguably the best organization in Dota to never win TI, LGD Gaming has always been a yearly favorite.
Placing second, third and second at the past three iterations of The International, this year is likely the first time they won’t be considered a favorite, but a contender instead based on Dota 2 odds.
Mainly, this is due to their failings internationally. Sure, they’ve stayed on top of DPC China, but placing 9-12th at three international events this year is strange considering their legacy.
Associated with a few roster changes in May, the team is still finding its footing compared to others, placing 9-12th at the recent Riyadh Masters 2023.
While we’d like to give them the respect that former rosters have earned, LGD Gaming have a lot to prove at TI this year.
Shopify Rebellion: NA’s Hope
Roster:
- Artour “Arteezy” Babaev
- Abed “Abed” Yusop
- Jonas “SabeRLight-” Volek
- Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen
- Tal “Fly” Aizik
Representing North America, Shopify Rebellion is looking to make some noise. Diving into competitive Dota 2 as recently as last December, Shopify is NA’s best hope at TI this year compared to other Dota 2 TI teams.
However, it’s no secret that NA is one of the weaker regions. Although they placed 3rd at the international DreamLeague Season 19 and 4th at the Lima Major, they haven’t managed to replicate these performances since.
To remain on top of NA, Shopify will have to pull out some magic to overcome the list of teams above them in the Dota Pro Circuit rankings.
Talon Esports: Peaking Perfectly
Roster:
- Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon
- Rafli “Mikoto” Fathur Rahman
- Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong
- Worawit “Q” Mekchai
- Chan “Oli” Chon Kien
Last season, Talon Esports bombed out of TI with a 17-18th placing. In the 2023 season, they’ve managed to perform both regionally and internationally.
While compared to other seasons, their regional performance hasn’t been as consistent, they’ve stepped things up at multiple international events.
Recently, they placed third at Riyadh Masters 2023 and 4th at DreamLeague Season 20 which is massively exciting.
Considering that Talon Esports seem to peaking at the right time, we have high hopes for them possibly making a deep run.
Naturally, if they want to break into a Grand Final, they’ll likely need to take down a WEU titan and other Dota 2 TI teams.
Team Spirit: Still Standing
Roster:
- Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk
- Denis “Larl” Sigitov
- Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
- Myroslav “Mira” Kolpakov
- Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov
Maintaining a core three from their 2021 season, where they were crowned champions of The International. Team Spirit are back for TI 2023.
Sitting around the top of EEU, contending with 9Pandas, Team Spirit have bounced to the top of the scene very recently.
Specifically, they earned a whopping prize pool of $5,000,000 after walking away as champions of Riyadh Masters 2023 in July, beating other Dota 2 TI teams.
So although they haven’t been the top team all year, their legacy and their recent win at Riyadh Masters make them a favorite for TI 2023.
BetBoom: With a Boom?
Roster:
- Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko
- Danil “gpk” Skutin
- Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko
- Vitalie “Save-” Melnic
- Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek
While at first glance, they may seem like they’re not favoured due to their place in the DPC., they’ve recently peaked.
Specifically, after placing in the top 3 of DPC EEU all season long, they recently placed 5-6th at Riyadh Masters 2023.
In addition, a second-place finish at DreamLeague Season 20 is also very insightful. In both instances, they traded rounds with Gaimin Gladiators to prove that they could contend with the best Dota 2 TI teams.
Overall, a great darkhorse pick for The International.
Contenders: TSM & beastcoast
For the final two teams, we’d like to present them together. As the two teams at the bottom of our ranking, here’s a look at their rosters and their best performance from all season:
TSM roster:
- Enzo “Timado” Gianoli
- Jonathan “Bryle” De Guia
- Gainullin “kasane” Ilyas
- Matthew “Ari” Walker
- Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon
Their best achievement was placing first at both DPC NA Tour 1 and Tour 2.
beastcoast roster:
- David “Parker” Chote
- Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera
- Rafael “Sacred” Yonatan
- Elvis “Scofield” Pena
- Steven “Stinger” Mamani
As the two most underrated rosters, we can’t wait to see what these Dota 2 TI teams will pull out at The International this year.