The pinnacle of Dota 2 competition, The International, is about to begin.
Over the next few weeks, 80 players from 25 countries will compete in the tournament of a lifetime.
Regardless of the circumstances, their absence will be profoundly felt by fans and peers alike.
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*note - these are players that did not qualify or get invited.
THEOGs
We literally mean THE originals.
We’re talking Clement ‘Puppey’ Ivanov, Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi, and Danil Dendi Ishutin.
TI11 marked Clement’s eleventh consecutive presence at The International, continuing his unmatched legacy in the game.
From TI1-TI9 had managed to secure himself a place at each iteration of The International.
In 2019 he was one of the last two players with such an astounding achievement Puppey being the other.
But that was the last time for Kuroky.
After winning TI7 withTeam Liquid, Kuroky formedNigma Galaxyin 2019 and never stepped foot on the International stage again.
It was the end of an era.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t in the cards for them this round.
Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruidaretired after TI11.
Xu “fy” Linsenhas been a part of the elite echelon ofDota 2professional scene for over a decade.
However, the past couple of years have been rough.
Since The International 2017, Miracle has remained a part of the roster that turned into Nigma in 2019.
He has been a part of Nigmas quest to make it to The International since then at no avail.
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassanstarted his spectacular career withEvil Geniusesat the tender age of 15 years old.
Shopify Rebellion’s loss to nouns also signalled the end of a TI streak forArtour “Arteezy” Babaev.
The famed core player had been competing on The International stage since TI4 with Evil Geniuses.
TI4 through TI12 marked nine consecutive appearances and no Aegis of Champions.
Missing this year is a mighty huge blow to take.
Daryl “iceiceice” Xiangis a highly decorated SEA veteran and a fan-favorite personality.
Daryl started to play Dota 2 competitively in 2011 withScythe Gaming.
He has represented eight teams at The International, more than any other player.
His best result was TI1 when he took a third-place finish with Scythe Gaming.
The last time he competed at The International (aside from show matches) was 2021 with Evil Geniuses.
This year iceiceice was part of Bleed Esports which took a subpar 5-6th result in the SEA regional qualifiers.
TI10 was postponed for 2021 and moved from Sweden to Romania.
Since then, TI moved to Singapore in 2022 and last year it returned home, to Seattle.
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