Gaimin Gladiators withdraw from The International 2025

Valve is currently in the process of finding a replacement team just two weeks before TI 2025.

In a shocking turn of events, Western European Dota 2 team Gaimin Gladiators have withdrawn from The International (TI) 2025, the game's annual world championship tournament, just two weeks before it is set to begin on 4 September.

The news was announced by Dota 2 developer Valve on the official TI account on X (formerly Twitter). According to the post, Gaimin Gladiators faced internal conflict in its Dota 2 roster, prohibiting them from participating in TI. Following their sudden withdrawal, Valve has begun the search for a replacement team.

The statement reads:

“On Sunday, the Gaimin Gladiators organization informed us that they were withdrawing their team from The International. After talking with the invited players directly, we learned 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.”

Shortly after Valve announced Gaimin Gladiators' withdrawal, the organisation's co-founder and president Nick Cuccovillo said in a post on his personal X account that “some internal matters between the players and the organization made it impossible for us to move forward with a roster.” He also added that he can't go into too much detail on the situation “as there are legal considerations involved” but that he will “share more when I'm able to."

There have been a few cases of teams reshuffling at the brink of TI in previous iterations. However, Gaimin Gladiators’ last-minute withdrawal from this year’s world championship is unprecedented. It also appears that the internal conflict and its aftermath were not anticipated by nearly everyone in the community.

It doesn’t help that the organization had just been spotted teasing for TI five hours before the news dropped. Captioning a photo of their group stage ranking in the ongoing FISSURE Universe Episode 6, Gaimin Gladiators stated: “The countdown for Hamburg and The International is on.”

However, some did point out that Gaimin Gladiators was the only team that didn’t have a Supporter’s Bundle, which launched in the Dota 2 client three days ago–hinting at the possible issue.

Gaimin Gladiators' withdrawal will leave a big hole in the landmark annual tournament, especially as the team is among the eight direct invites to TI 2025. Since its formation three years ago, the team has earned monumental achievements, including winning three Majors in 2023 and finishing as runners-up at TI in 2023 and 2024. But the former runners-up will now cease to appear at the world championship, and the exact reason is yet to be known.

Gaimin Gladiators have not commented on their TI withdrawal at the time of writing.

Valve to find a replacement for Gaimin Gladiators at The International 2025

With one coveted slot now available just two weeks before TI takes place, Valve jumps into a search for a “suitable replacement team.” The criteria for the replacement team have not been made known to the public, but we can expect a credible team without logistical issues, allowing them to compete in Hamburg, Germany this 4 September.

Some in the community are already naming organizations they expect to see. OG, Talon Esports, Team Yandex, and Edge are some of the teams that almost made it through TI 2025 Regional Qualifiers, making it highly likely that one of them will be chosen as the replacement.