Nigma Galaxy finally qualified to their first-ever TI, over five years since the organisation was formed.
Nigma Galaxy have become the 16th and final team to qualify for The International (TI) 2025 after they defeated 
OG, 2-1, in the lower bracket finals of the tournament's Western European qualifier on Wednesday (18 June).
This marks the first time that Nigma Galaxy have qualified for TI since the organisation was formed in November 2019. 
Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and 
Maroun “GH” Merhej are now set to once again compete in Dota 2's annual world championship tournament six years after they finished second in TI 2019. 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, the youngest player in the history of Dota 2 to raise the Aegis of Champions, will also get another crack at trying to win his second title after his last TI appearance in 2022.
After struggling to produce noteworthy results since the team's formation, Nigma Galaxy entered 2025 with a revamped roster and renewed purpose. Tony “No!ob” Assaf and Omar “OmaR” Moughrabi joined the team last September, with GH moving to the position 5 support role while KuroKy stepped down from the active roster to instead become the team's coach. And with 
Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi continually sidelined by apparent medical issues, 
Daniel Chan “Ghost” Kok Hong took over as Nigma Galaxy's carry player in February.
With all of Western Europe's strongest teams already receiving direct invites to TI 2025, Nigma Galaxy's path to qualifying for TI was wide open. However, they and the other teams based in Western Europe would face stiff competition from Eastern European teams. Since 
Aurora Gaming were essentially guaranteed to win the Eastern European qualifier, and did so in dominant fashion, many of the lesser teams in the region rerouted to the Western European qualifier to take advantage of its additional slot and the relatively weaker competition there.
Nigma Galaxy were among the Western European teams to fall victim to their Eastern European counterparts to start the qualifier, falling to 
Natus Vincere (NAVI) Junior in three games in the upper bracket quarterfinals and getting dropped down to the lower bracket.
Despite their earlier loss to NAVI Junior, Nigma Galaxy proved themselves superior over the other Eastern European squads in the qualifier. They swept 
Virtus.pro and 
4Pirates, then took down 
Yellow Submarine in three games to advance to the lower bracket finals and get into position for the second spot in TI 2025 through the Western European regional qualifier.
Facing Nigma Galaxy for the final spot in TI 2025 were OG, who previously lost to NAVI Junior in the upper bracket finals of the qualifier. As two of the biggest fan-favourite teams in Western Europe–even as both struggled to produce noteworthy results–the showdown between Nigma Galaxy and OG proved to be a dramatic finale for the TI 2025 regional qualifiers.
Nigma Galaxy drew first blood in the series by stomping OG to the tune of a 37-9 kill lead in 27 minutes of action in game one. However, OG struck back by grinding out a 51-minute win in game two to force the series to a deciding third game.
While game three started with both teams on relatively even footing, Nigma Galaxy blew the game wide open after the 20-minute mark and demolished OG in the ensuing teamfights. Despite OG's best efforts to mount a comeback, Nigma Galaxy simply could not be denied, as they eventually forced the GG call after 44 minutes to secure the 2-1 series victory and their long-awaited spot in TI.
With the conclusion of the Western European qualifier, NAVI Junior and Nigma Galaxy now join Eastern European qualifier winner Aurora Gaming, South American qualifier winner 
HEROIC, Chinese regional qualifier winner 
Xtreme Gaming, North American regional qualifier winner 
Wildcard, as well as Southeast Asian qualifier winners 
Team Nemesis and 
BOOM Esports among the teams to have successfully fought for their way to a spot in TI 2025.
The winners of the TI 2025 regional qualifiers will join eight directly-invited teams in this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament. The direct invite teams include defending TI champions 
Team Liquid, 
Tundra Esports, 
Team Falcons, and 
Gaimin Gladiators from Western Europe; 
PARIVISION, 
BetBoom Team, and 
Team Spirit from Eastern Europe; as well as 
All Gamers Global (formerly 
Team Tidebound) from China.
TI 2025 is set to take place in Hamburg, Germany from 4 to 14 September. This will be the first time since the inaugural edition of TI back in 2011 that Dota 2's world championship tournament is hosted in Germany.
This year's Dota 2 world championship tournament also features a revamped format with the addition of a new Swiss-format Group Stage and Special Elimination Round along with tweaks to the Playoff seeding. TI 2025 will be split into two distinct phases, The Road to The International and The International proper. The Road to The International will feature the new Swiss-format Group Stage and Special Elimination Round while The International proper will feature the Playoffs.
TI 2025's Group Stage and Special Elimination Round will run from 4 to 7 September. The new Swiss-format Group Stage will feature the 16 participating teams competing in a five-round Swiss bracket with best-of-three matches. Teams will need to win four series in order to advance to the Playoffs while those that suffer four losses will be eliminated, with three teams advancing to the Playoffs and three others getting eliminated after the Group Stage.
The 10 other teams will then have to play in the Special Elimination Round, where the high seeds will face the low seeds, with the winners advancing to the Playoffs and the losers getting eliminated. In total, this year's Road to The International will see eight teams advance to The International itself while eight others will have their journeys cut short early.
The International proper, i.e. the Playoffs, will take place from 11 to 14 September, and still follow the tried-and-tested double-elimination format that fans have grown accustomed to. However, instead of having some teams start in the lower bracket as in previous editions, TI 2025's Playoffs will have all eight Playoff-qualified teams start in the upper bracket.
As usual, TI 2025's Playoffs will feature best-of-three matches except for the Grand Finals, which will be a full best-of-five series for the coveted Aegis of Champions.
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