Team Resilience and Vici Gaming have qualified for The International 2026

TI 2026 will see China's Team Resilience and Vici Gaming join Xtreme Gaming to play in front of their home crowd this August.

China's Team Resilience and Vici Gaming have secured the first qualification berths at The International (TI) 2026, claiming the region's two available slots through their regional qualifier. Both teams join Xtreme Gaming–who received a direct invitation–in representing China at this year's championship, which will take place on home soil in Shanghai from 13 to 23 August.

How Team Resilience qualified for TI 2026

Team Resilience emerged as the surprise winners of this significant qualifier stretch. Despite featuring a roster of well-known talent, the team had been briefly active as it was only formed in April.

Over the past two months, the team have attempted to qualify for two events, finishing third in the DreamLeague Season 29 qualifier before falling short against Vici Gaming in the Dota 2 Esports World Cup qualifier.

Despite mediocre results, the team had their sights set on a much bigger prize and ultimately delivered. Resilience secured first place in the TI 2026 China qualifier with a flawless undefeated run through the upper bracket. Along the way, they took down Cloud Rising, a stacked Team Refuser, and Yakutou Brothers (previously Yakult Brothers) to claim the region's first TI slot.

Who are on Team Resilience’s Dota 2 roster?

1. Shaohan “Erika” Yang
2. Ziliang “Echo” Xu
3. Kongbo “Niu” Li
4. Hao “plAnet” Lin
5. Zhang “Zzq” Ziqiang
6. Xie "Super" Junhao (Coach)

Team Resilience’s Dota 2 roster carries familiar Chinese talent. Erika has a Top 6 finish at TI 2021 with Vici Gaming under his belt. His most recent TI appearance came in 2024 with Team Zero, where he placed 13th–16th alongside current teammate zzq.

Meanwhile, Niu rose to prominence after joining LGD Gaming in 2023, finishing third at his debut TI alongside current teammate plAnet. While this victory marks niu’s return to TI’s stage since then, plAnet has had a more recent TI appearance in 2025 with Team Tidebound.

This qualification carries a great significance for Echo in particular, who will step foot into TI for the first time since starting his professional career in 2018. Prior to this, his strongest period came with Team Tidebound last year, where the squad made consecutive Tier 1 appearances.

Team Resilience is guided by veteran coach Super, a prolific former player owning multiple Top 4 finishes at The International under his belt. 

How Vici Gaming qualified for TI 2026

While Team Resilience stormed through the upper bracket with ease, Vici Gaming had to go through a much more grueling run.

The team was perilously close to elimination. They had dropped to the lower bracket at the hands of Yakutou Brothers and struggled in the finale matchup against them, as the two brawled for the second and final ticket to TI in the lower bracket. 

In that final series, Vici conceded the opening game, then won the next to take the series into the decider round. The third game panned into a remarkable 93-minute battle, where Vici pulled off a miraculous 64,000 gold net-worth comeback–committing piles of Rapiers and buybacks–to eventually secure a hard-earned qualification to TI.

Yakutou Brothers, who also field experienced veterans such as Liangzhi “KAKA” Hu and Zhen “lou” Lou, fell agonisingly short, however, it was a close defeat they could take pride in. Vici Gaming entered the qualifier as one of the favourites, having already secured a place at the Dota 2 Esports World Cup last month and maintained a consistent presence in top-tier competition throughout the season.

Who are on Vici Gaming’s Dota 2 roster?

1. Xuanang “Shiro” Guo
2. Hongcheng “Xm” Guo
3. Zhang “Bach” Ruida
4. Zixing “XinQ” Zhao
5. Yiping “y`” Zhang
6. Zheng Zheng “Yao” Yao

Vici Gaming boast an exceptionally stacked roster. TI6 champions Bach and y', who famously lifted the Aegis with Wings Gaming, have successfully secured yet another appearance at The International. Together with Shiro, the pair also achieved an impressive Top 8 finish at TI last year under Team Tidebound, comfortably exceeding expectations. 

Meanwhile, Xm and XinQ are widely regarded among the finest players in their respective roles, having helped Xtreme Gaming reach a runner-up finish at TI last year, on top of many other elite achievements.

What are The International 2026 qualifier regions, dates, and slots?

The International 2026 regional qualifiers cover North America, South America, China, Southeast Asia, and a newly unified European region, replacing the traditional split between Western and Eastern Europe. 

Here are the dates and slots per region of TI 2026 Closed Qualifiers:

China

• Dates: 15 -18 June
• Slot(s): 2

South America

• Dates: 15 - 19 June
• Slot(s): 1

SEA

• Dates: 19 - 23 June
• Slot(s): 1

Europe

• Dates: 21 - 28 June
• Slot(s): 4

North America

• Dates: 24 - 26 June
• Slot(s): 1

The qualifier winners will join the directly invited teams–Aurora Gaming, BetBoom Team (now competing as BoomBoys), Team Falcons,Team Liquid, 1w Team, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Yandex–to complete the 16-team field.

The International 2026 will take place in Shanghai, China, from 13 to 23 August, with a current prize pool of US$1.6 million. The tournament's final four days will be held live at the Oriental Sports Center, where the world's best team will be crowned champions in this fifteenth edition of The International.

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