Top Dota 2 Team Drops Out of The International Two Weeks Before it Starts

Gaimin Gladiators, one of the most dominant teams in all of Dota 2 over the last four years, has officially pulled out of The Internaitonal 2025, with no public statement made from the organization regarding the decision. 

This news comes less than two weeks before The International 2025 kicks off on Sept. 4 in Germany, with the top Dota 2 teams in the world gathering to compete for over $1 million and the honor of lifting the Aegis of Champions, something that Gaimin Gladiators has come close to doing twice. Though that goal seems out of reach now due to what appears to be internal conflict.

In a statement from Valve, via the official Dota 2 TI channels, it was confirmed that Gaimin Gladiators will no longer be competing at The International 2025 following the players and organization being “unable to come to an agreement” on participation. Here is the full statement:

“On Sunday, the Gaimin Gladiators organization informed us that they were withdrawing their team from The International,” Valve said. “After talking with the invited players directly, we learned that they were unable to come to an agreement with their organization that would allow them to participate. We are now in the process of finding a suitable replacement team.”

This statement did release just a few hours after GG was eliminated Team Falcons at FISSURE Universe: Episode 6, leading to some mixed messaging considering Valve notes the decision was shared the previous Sunday.

GG co-founder and president Nick Cuccovillo released a statement two hours after Valve’s announcement, confirming the decision and that legal action is involved.

“I want to share that Gaimin Gladiators won’t be competing at TI this year. Some internal matters between the players and the organization made it impossible for us to move forward with a roster,” Cuccovillo said. “For now, I can’t go into more detail as there are legal considerations involved, but I’ll share more when I’m able to.”

Former Rainbow Six-Siege pro and GG Dota 2 manager Oleg “Jak2oO” Porotnikov, who left the organization last September, shared a bit of extra perspective on “a certain sequence” that might have eventually led to this situation. 

According to Porotnikov, via Telegram, there were insider sources speaking of GG’s coach CY potentially being forced out of the team even though the majority of the team wanted to keep playing with him. This rumor work is something that Porotnikov claims the organization has used in the past to impact relations internally before, including on himself. 

Because of this internal friction, and the team’s somewhat spotty placing since TI 2024, Porotnikov notes that the org likely took action to try and ease tension, including potentially asking CY to help “suppress the growing discontent.” However, Porotnikov puts forth that CY told the team about the discussions and that led to the players further questioning the org’s actions, the org doubling down and the players standing their ground in response.

According to another Dota 2 source with insight into the situation, Gaimin Gladiator’s players openly stated that they did not want to represent the organization any more. In response, GG reportedly threatened legal action if the team tried to compete independently.

As of now, even after the players got legal help, the situation seems locked, with the players unable to do anything.

“I’ll speak only for myself. For GG, it’s easy to violate any contract terms retroactively. The question is, will the team go along with it?” Porotnikov said. “Well, in the [Gaimin Gladiators] team (in the organization), the main takeaway is always money; there’s no hint of human relationships there. It’s all for profit.”

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Even if this Gaimin Gladiators team is not the exact same roster that set the Dota 2 world on fire in 2023 and 2024, claiming eight different first place finishes and placing second at TI in two years in a row, not having Quinn and company at TI is a huge blow. 

Despite up and down placements throughout late 2024 and 2025, GG was still one of the top Dota 2 teams in the world, finishing in the top five at most offline events they competed in, and earning a direct invite to TI 2025. And that is where Valve will face the biggest hurdle with this announcement. 

Yes, losing a talented team with some of the biggest names in competitive Dota is a loss for TI, but now Valve has to find a proper replacement for a team that was directly invited to the event well over two months since the regional qualifiers were decided. 

Just taking into account that Western Europe is the team missing a representtive now, the most likely course of action is Valve extending an invite to OG. The N0tail coached squad finished third in the region’s qualifiers for TI and are one of the only “top” squads that still have a full roster ready to take the stage.

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If Valve goes outside of Europe, China has a solid lineup of veteran teams that could step up, though only flyfly’s Yakult Brothers has retained their roster, while Azure Ray and Vici Gaming released moved their lineups led by Somnus and Ori respectively to being inactive after the regional qualifiers. 

We should get an official confirmation from Valve soon on which team will replace Gaimin Gladiators at TI 2025, with the event still slated to kick off on Sept. 4. In the meantime, players have been given 10 fantasy rolls and the predictions page will be updated when a new team is added.

Esports on SI has reached out to Gaimin Gladiators for comment, but has not received a response at the time of publication.