Owen thrives on the thrill of competition, particularly in Valve titles. He reached a peak of 8,500 MMR in Dota 2 and remains a regular contender on the Southeast Asian leaderboards. Beyond his main forte, he has extensive experience in the Counter-Strike 2 esports scene and a deep understanding of esports betting.
Olivia Richman is a seasoned esports journalist who has worked with Inven Global, Esports Illustrated, Esports.gg, and more. As an editor and writer at Esports Insider, she loves telling unique esports stories, especially within the FGC. When not working and gaming, Olivia loves collecting Kirby plush, eating sushi, and driving her cars at the track.
Image Credit: Valve After a grueling series of qualifiers, we’ve finally locked in the 16 teams competing at The International 15 , which is going to be Dota 2 ’s biggest tournament of the year.
If you’re one of those seasonal viewers who only comes out of your cage for TI, here are some of the most important storylines to follow.
There are many players who are considered legends of the game, but Clement “Puppey” Ivanov is hands-down one of the most influential figures in Dota 2 history. He was the only player to appear in 11 TIs in a row, doing so from 2011 to 2022.
Since his unrivaled streak ended, Puppey has missed the 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions of the game’s biggest event, but the big man is finally back this year. However, he won’t be playing as the legendary support and captain we’ve known him for, as he’ll be occupying the coaching role under PARIVISION .
Image Credit: PGL The 2025 – 2026 season is the first time he’s taking the coaching helm, and though PARIVISION had a pretty disastrous start to the year, the team has since stabilized and is even looking like the best team in the world over the past couple of months. It really feels like the roster is finally gelling under Puppey’s supervision.
The benchmark for PARIVISION this year is pretty clear – the roster finished third last year with their former coach Filipe “Astini” Ribeiro, so anything better than bronze is the goal. And from what I’ve seen so far, I think they’re a serious favorite to win it all.
Puppey may be one of Dota’s greats, but he doesn’t have what some of the participants this year have – two Aegises and a hope for a third.
There are six three-time hopefuls coming into TI15, and these very talented e-gamers are:
I’ll be honest, judging by Team Spirit’s turbulent season so far, I’m not liking Yatoro and Collapse’s chances of taking it this year. However, Mira, 33, and the dynamic duo of Team Falcons are definitely in the conversation.
I wouldn’t say Aurora, 1win Team, or Team Falcons are heavy favorites heading into the event. But with TI, the favorites never win, so these guys are definitely within reach of claiming a third TI win.
2026 might really be the year, and if any of them manage to do it, they’re automatically entering the GOAT debate.
While we have promising rookies and people gunning for a third Aegis this year, there’s one player we might not see much longer.
Dota 2 legend Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan , who barely qualified for The International 15 with Nigma Galaxy, sent out a cryptic message on X after surviving the European closed qualifiers to reach this event.
His post reads: “Made it to TI, probably the last one. Grateful for the support. See you all in China.”
So, you don’t have to be Sherlock to tell that he’s possi…