It took a while but one of the strongest Dota 2 teams in the world finally won themselves an Aegis of Champions.
It took almost three years of dominating the pro Dota 2 scene but Team Falcons have done it – they are The International 2025 champions. They earned the right to raise the Aegis of Champions after defeating Xtreme Gaming 3-2 at Hamburg, Germany.
The Team Falcons Dota 2 team’s journey started when they acquired half of Tundra Gaming’s The International 2022 champion roster. Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu, Oliver “skiter” Lepko, and coach Kurits “Aui_2000” Ling were riding high from their truly unstoppable run that year and they would form the shell of Team Falcons’ own championship roster.
With the addition of young and rising talents such as Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potarak and Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, the team was ready to take the pro Dota 2 scene by storm. And they did so with gusto, winning nearly every 2024 tournament they participated in with a podium finish at worst.
Ironically, they fell short of their goal after losing to Tundra’s revamped roster in The International 2024’s lower bracket semifinals. They would have to wait another year for their shot at an Aegis, this time with a much greater challenge.
A Test of Strength
In 2025, Team Falcons weren’t looking as strong as they used to. They still had top three finishes but they were no longer the untouchable juggernauts of 2024. It seemed like other teams had learned how to play against them and nothing showed this more than their 0-3 loss against Team Spirit in the 2025 Esports World Cup.
Of course, they were still seen as one of the favourites to become The International 2025 champions. However, this International proved to be one of the most surprising tournaments of the year.
This year’s Swiss format for the group stage truly threw a wrench in everyone’s predictions. China ended up above the rest, with both their representing teams finishing top three in the group. This gave them an immediate pass into the playoffs while other favorites like Team Falcons, PVISION, and defending champions Team Liquid had to fight for the remaining slots in the elimination round.
While Team Falcons did secure their playoffs spot, they had a lot to prove. They faced both Chinese teams, Xtreme Gaming and Team Tidebound, in the group stage and lost to both. Would they be able to learn from their mistakes and adapt to the surging Chinese squads?
The answer is yes as they cleanly dispatched Tidebound 2-0 in the upper bracket quarterfinals. They would steadily make their way to the grand finals where they faced Xtreme Gaming. It was a long and grueling series but Team Falcons would achieve their goal and become The International 2025 champions.
Banner photo from Dota 2 The International.
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