Winning an international tournament is the greatest dream of any top professional esports team. Not only can teams earn huge cash prizes, but they also earn the bragging rights of being the best players in the world for that year. The International is well known to be a fiercely competitive esports tournament, especially between different regions like China, Europe, and others. This is why Dota 2 TI winners are different, as they have stormed through the tournament full of favorites to win the Aegis trophy.
The prize pool for winners is also something to look forward to, with the prize pool of TI 10 being $40 million. This is because everyone wants a piece of the huge prize pool that The International winners claim, making it more competitive. The huge stakes also lead to exceptional plays and teamwork, leaving viewers grasping for more. Every Dota 2 TI winner has many plays that we can remember fondly, and here we will dive into those winners right from when TI began.
List of Dota 2 The International Winners – TI1 to Present
The International, or TI for short, is the highest and most recognized tournament in Dota 2 esports. This event brings in teams from different regions to play and be crowned the international champion in Dota 2. The best teams battle it out for the highest prize pool in esports, with thousands of sponsors involved. It’s also a great opportunity to get involved with Dota 2 The International betting!
Here is every single team that has been a Dota 2 TI winner since its inception:
| Year | Event | Winners |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | TI1 | Natus Vincere |
| 2012 | TI2 | Invictus Gaming |
| 2013 | TI3 | Alliance |
| 2014 | TI4 | Newbee |
| 2015 | TI5 | Evil Geniuses |
| 2016 | TI6 | Wings Gaming |
| 2017 | TI7 | Team Liquid |
| 2018 | TI8 | OG |
| 2019 | TI9 | OG |
| 2021 | TI10 | Team Spirit |
| 2022 | TI11 | Tundra Esports |
Dota 2 The International Champions
Let’s dive into each and every winner!
TI1 Winner: Natus Vincere
Natus Vincere is an old name in esports. Well-known as one of the best gaming franchises in the world, they have trophies across games like CS:GO, League of Legends, and Dota 2.
NaVi’s pioneering win occurred in Cologne, Germany, at the TI 1 tournament in 2011 with a relatively small purse of US$ 1 million. They won by beating EHOME and walking away with $1 million from the 1.6 million dollar prize pool.
The team also had Dota 2 legend Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, the only player in TI history to participate in every TI to date.
TI2 Winner: Invictus Gaming
Invictus Gaming crushed the first TI winner, NaVI, who had the chance to win the tournament back to back. The event was held in Seattle, Washington and saw IG come out on top with a 3-1 win. They took home $1 million of the $1,600,00 prize pool and had the chance to lift the Aegis for the first time.
TI3 Winner: Alliance
At this point, The International started to get bigger and more teams became interested in winning this trophy for their region. Around this time, Valve introduced the Compendium, which also increased the prize pool by 2.50 dollars every time someone purchased the battle pass. This would eventually lead to huge prize pools in the future.
TI3 is said to have one of the most thrilling finals of all time. Europe’s Alliance faced off against the TI 1 champions NAVi to lift the Aegis for the year.
Eventually, Alliance won it, with the European region lifting the trophy for the first time after beating Natus Vincere 3 – 1. This match led to an explosion in the tournament, with more esports fans attending the event.
Alliance took home the US$ 1,437,190 grand prize from TI3’s US$ 2,874,380 prize pool.
TI4 Winner: Newbee
Dota 2 had boosted in popularity and had to move to KeyArena in Seattle, Washington to accommodate huge numbers of TI fans.
China again returned to be the Dota 2 The International champions, with Newbee beating Vici Gaming soundly 3 – 1 and proving they were the best Dota 2 players. Newbee earned US$ 5,025,029 in prize money from TI4’s US$ 10,923,977 total prize pool.
TI5 Winner: Evil Geniuses
North America wanted a taste of the pie too and after beating the Chinese squad, CDEC gaming, they walked away with a $6.63 million prize from the prize pool.
In TI 5, Valve also made a change to make sure all participants got a fraction of the ever-growing prize pool. Regardless, Evil Geniuses won US$ 6,634,661, which was the lion’s share of TI5’s US$ 18,429,613 prize pool.
TI6 Winner: Wings Gaming
Dota 2’s The International continued using KeyArena for the third time as they hosted Chinese Wings Gaming and Digital Chaos.
Wings Gaming eventually became the Dota 2 The International winners with a 3 – 1 victory in the grand final. This marked the third time that the Chinese region took home the Aegis.
Valve also updated the prize pool format, offering 25% of the battle pass to the prize pool instead of the regular Compendium. This increased the prize pool, with Wings Gaming winning the US$ 9,139,002 grand prize from TI6’s US$ 20,770,460 prize pool.
TI7 Winners: Team Liquid
Team Liquid is well-known for its franchises in Valorant, LOL and CS:GO. They became Dota 2 The International 7’s winner after shutting down another Chinese charge from Newbee.
Team Liquid took home the US$ 10,862,683 grand prize from TI7’s US$ 24,787,916 prize pool after fighting their way through the lower bracket and ending the day on a very clean 3-0 win against the upper bracket finalists.
TI8 Winners: OG
The International changed locations to Vancouver, Canada and used a new points system that vetted the Dota 2 TI teams. OG went on to win the tournament after beating Chinese PSG.LGD with a 3-2 fight to become Dota 2 The international winners for the first time.
OG was seen as an underdog in the tournament but turned it round, running through the tournament to get the Aegis shield. They won the US$ 11,234,158 grand prize from TI8’s US$ 25,532,177 prize pool.
TI9 Winners: OG
The International 9 was a historic event, with OG being the first team to go back to back for the first time in the tournament.
The team rode on the backs of some of the best DOTA players, Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, Sebastian “Ceb” Debs and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen and they eventually beat Team Liquid 3-1. They let everyone know they were the best Dota 2 teams in The International 9.
OG was awarded the US$ 15,620,181 grand prize from TI9’s massive US$ 34,330,068 prize pool.
TI10 Winners: Team Spirit
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, The International had to be delayed. However, Valve continued the event in 2021, with Team Spirit winning the trophy. Team Spirit became the first Russian team to win the title after crushing Chinese kings, PSG.LGD, in a 3-2 match.
The CIS squad won the US$ 18,208,300 grand prize, which was the lion’s share of TI10’s US$ 40 million prize pool, the largest in esports history.
Check back for an update on the Dota 2 International winner for 2022
With this list of all the previous Dota 2 TI winners, you should be able to hazard a guess at who stands a good chance of becoming the Dota 2 TI 2022 winners. Knowing the history of a competitive event such as this one is a great way to slightly clear away the fog of war, especially when it comes to gambling. TI11 betting odds are looking very interesting at the moment, and if you seize the opportunity, you could win big.
Researching the Dota 2 TI teams should make betting much easier and reduce your chances of losing money. You can also choose to bet on Dota TI 11 favorites that popular predictors are picking.