Team Falcons outlasted Xtreme Gaming in five games in the grand finals to claim this year's Aegis of Champions.
Western European juggernaut
Team Falcons have been crowned as this year's Dota 2 world champions after they defeated Chinese powerhouse 
Xtreme Gaming, 3-2, in the grand finals of The International (TI) 2025 on Monday (15 September).
With their victory, Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions and the grand prize of US$1.1 million out of the tournament's US$2.6 million prize pool. They are also the seventh team from Western Europe to win the world championship, extending the region's ongoing era of dominance over the scene.
Oliver “Skiter” Lepko and 
Jing “Sneyking” Wu now join the illustrious club of two-time TI champions, having claimed their first Aegis of Champions in TI 2022 with 
Tundra Esports. 
Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, 
Ammar “ATF” Assaf, and 
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen also captured their first world championship title. Cr1t notably achieves the feat after having played in the last nine iterations of TI.
Falcons coach 
Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling also becomes the first-ever player/coach to claim three TI titles, having won his first as a player with 
Evil Geniuses in 2015 and claiming his second as the coach of Tundra in TI 2022.
Meanwhile, Xtreme bow out of TI 2025 with a commendable second place finish and with over US$340,000 in consolation. Unfortunately, China's campaign to reclaim the Aegis of Champions has gone unsuccessful for nine years now. The legendary 
Wings Gaming were notably the last Chinese team to claim a world championship all the way back in TI 2016.
Xtreme carry player 
Wang “Ame” Chunyu has also failed to shed his infamous moniker of ‘The Uncrowned King’, as the Aegis of Champions has now eluded him for seven TI appearances. It is also worth noting that this marks the third time that Ame has lost in game five of a TI grand final after TI 2018 and TI 2021.
While Xtreme ultimately failed to reclaim the Aegis of Champions this year, their second place finish still comes during an opportune time for the Chinese Dota 2 scene. After the region saw steady decline for the past few years, Chinese Dota has seen a veritable renaissance in TI 2025 thanks to the performance of their teams in the tournament as well as the recent announcement that TI 2026 will be hosted in Shanghai next August.
Falcons' journey to becoming TI 2025 champions
Falcons entered TI 2025 as one of the biggest favourites on paper, having secured a direct invite and winning the last big tournament before TI. On the other hand, Xtreme were not rated as highly, having languished under the shadow of 
Team Tidebound for most of the year and having to earn their spot in the tournament through the Chinese regional qualifier in March.
Not only that, Xtreme were unable to compete with their original roster after 
Wilson “poloson” Koh Chin was sidelined in order to recover from health issues in July. The team then had to tap xNova to stand-in for poloson for TI 2025.
But once TI 2025 kicked off, Xtreme quickly cemented themselves as the biggest contenders for the Aegis of Champions by cruising through the Group Stage as the only team to win all their matches. The team notably defeated the likes of Eastern European squads
Aurora Gaming and 
Team Spirit, Tidebound, and even Falcons in their first encounter of their tournament. That perfect run through the Group Stage earned Xtreme a direct berth to the Playoffs.
Falcons also enjoyed a strong start in the Group Stage, securing three wins in the first four rounds. Falcons defeated 
Team Nemesis, Tundra, and defending champions 
Team Liquid but lost to Xtreme in round three. They were then forced into the Elimination Stage after losing to Tidebound in the final round of the Group Stage. Falcons knocked out Spirit in the Elimination Stage to secure their spot in the Playoffs.
The Playoffs then saw Xtreme extend their undefeated streak in TI 2025 to five matches with a sweep over Tundra in the upper bracket quarterfinals. However, the Chinese squad suffered their first match loss of the tournament in the upper bracket semifinals at the hands of Eastern Europe's 
PARIVISION and were knocked down to the lower bracket.
On the other hand, Falcons looked dominant as they became the first team to reach the grand finals. They first got their revenge over Tidebound in the upper bracket quarterfinals, won a three-game slugfest in the upper bracket semifinals versus 
BetBoom Team, then outlasted PARIVISION in the upper bracket finals to reach the championship round.
Xtreme were quick to bounce back from their loss to PARIVISION, however, as they secured back-to-back sweeps over 
Nigma Galaxy and BetBoom to reach the final day of TI 2025. Xtreme then defeated PARIVISION in the lower bracket finals to earn the right to challenge Falcons in the grand finals.
3-2
Xtreme GamingThe first four games of the grand finals were all one-sided, with Xtreme striking first in a 51-minute game one before Falcons tied things up at 1-1 in a 37-minute stomp in game two. Xtreme secured a commanding 2-1 series lead after winning a 40-minute game three, but Falcons were quick to force the grand finals to a deciding game five with a 33-minute stomp in game four.
The final game of TI 2025 saw Falcons dominate from the get-go and methodically pick apart a stubborn Xtreme defense. Despite the Chinese squad's best efforts to mount a comeback, Falcons simply could not be denied as they secured ultimate victory after a grueling 58-minute decider.
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