With just a few short months to go, The International 2024 (TI13) looks like it will be all about new teams and unfamiliar faces. With Team Falcons, Gaimin Gladiators, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Spirit being the big four of this season, that doesn’t leave much room for the old-school squads, hoping for an invite to the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year.
Even early on in the qualifiers we’ve seen some of the biggest and most famous names in Dota 2 drop out and not make it to the most important tournament of the season. Here’s the biggest names missing from TI13
The International 2024 (Image credit: Valve)
One of the biggest names missing from The International this year, hailing from North America, is none other than Artour “Arteezy” Babaev himself. Having participated in every TI since 2014, Arteezy is certainly NA’s figurehead and representative, usually going to every TI.
Unfortunately, his current team, Shopify Rebellion, is a husk of their former glory. With two of his most storied support teammates leaving the squad, SR is no longer a formidable force in NA. Arteezy and Shopify Rebellion missed out to former teammate Tal “Fly” Aizik and Nouns, who are NA’s sole representatives at TI13.
Last year’s TI12 was all about Azure Ray’s miracle run. The Chinese roster led by three ‘retired’ LGD Gaming players, Lu “Somnus` M” Yao, Yang “Chalice” Shenyi and Xu “fy” Linsen shot through groups and into contention for the Aegis. Without a consistent participation throughout last season but merely a leap of faith through the TI12 qualifiers, this team of misfits somehow pulled off a fourth-place finish at TI12.
Biggest names missing from the International 2024
Hoping to reenact the same miracle this year, Somnus and Chalice, now playing under Team Turtle’s namesake, failed to make the dream work again. While these Chinese players were just playing for fun, fans definitely got attached with the team.
The captain of Virtus.pro, Artsiom “Fng” Barshak took an early exit from their TI13 qualifiers. Losing the first series of the Eastern Europe qualifier was embarrassing for a team that make quite a splash just last year.
As such, following their elimination, VP even apologized on their page for their poor performance.
On the other hand, the TI13 Western Europe Closed Qualifier is just around the corner. The region being one of the most competitive this season led to an abundance of high-profile names and teams, desperate for the remaining two TI13 slots for their region.
Notably, the two-time TI Champion, Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen currently in Tundra Esports, is at risk of missing out on claiming another title. Alongside the veteran, are two prodigies who both attended last year’s TI12, namely Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev and Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko.
The International 2024 Hopefuls
Clement “Puppey” Ivanov from Team Secret will also be eyeing for a TI13 invite himself, after breaking his streak last year. Team Secret has been underwhelming since last year and that pattern remains the same throughout this season too. Nevertheless, Puppey is a TI hopeful, having participated in eleven out of twelve TI Championships in his career. Until TI12, Puppey has participated in three TI grand finals, so fans definitely aren’t counting Puppey out just yet.
Sébastien “Ceb” Debs alongside his new line-up in Team OG is also on the list of TI13 Hopefuls. Despite not having the same teammates that won him two TI back in 2018-2019, OG isn’t too shabby at keeping up with the other WEU powerhouses. They placed fourth at ESL One Birmingham 2024, which earned themselves a direct invite to Riyadh Masters 2024.
Last but not least, the Thai prodigies, Nuengnara “23” Teeramahanon and Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong from Southeast Asia’s Team Aurora has many fans’ expectations to qualify for TI13. Their recent performance was among the best coming from the region, and even gave the global opponents a run for their money.
While it’s upsetting to see that the familiar faces we all love to watch at TI did not make the cut. This is a testament to how our competitive Dota 2 landscape has shifted to new players and teams. It goes to show that even the most promising players aren’t susceptible to the growing competition.
Keep your eyes locked on this page as we update it with more names missing out on The International.
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