Seven players will make their Dota 2 world championship debut at The International 2026 on 13 August.
Dota 2 may be an old esport, but every year, new talent step onto the game's biggest stage to try and claim the coveted Aegis of Champions. The International (TI) 2026, which kicks off on 13 August, will see seven players attend TI for the first time.
Some of these players enter as top contenders, having put together strong seasons that could see them lift the Aegis in their first-ever TI appearance. Others enter the event in lesser-fancied teams, with an opportunity to gain valuable experience and grow under the pressure of the biggest stage. Here are the seven players who will be making their TI debuts in just a few days.
Team Yandex – Malady
The 22-year old 
Arman “Malady” Orazbayev will make his TI debut at TI 2026 with 
Team Yandex, but this isn’t his first time qualifying for one. In 2024, he had a solid campaign with 
Gaimin Gladiators and earned a direct invite to TI 2025, only to be denied the opportunity to compete after the organisation withdrew from the tournament due to internal conflicts–issues that remain largely unresolved to this day.
The Kazakhstani support player began his competitive career in 2019 with smaller stacks before eventually joining more established Tier 2 squads such as 
HellRaisers and 
Natus Vincere (NAVI). By 2025, he had made his breakthrough at the top level after joining Gaimin Gladiators, who were then among the best Dota 2 teams in the world.
Although the season technically marked Malady’s best results, it was a relatively difficult one for Gaimin Gladiators, who failed to lift a single trophy. Still, the team secured a direct invite to TI 2025, though Malady’s debut never materialised after GG unexpectedly withdrew from the championship–a decision that also affected Malady’s current Yandex teammate, Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov.
A year later, Malady is finally set to step onto the big stage, this time under much better circumstances. With Yandex, he is now considered one of the strongest favourites to win TI 2026 and has a strong chance of making a championship-winning debut.
Team Spirit – Not Me
Team Spirit's 
Alexey “not me” Kosminyn is a fresh talent who entered the scene in 2024 with Tier 2 team 
One Move. The 22-year old then spent a brief few months with 
Yellow Submarine, an unofficial academy team for Spirit, where Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov also trained before making his breakthrough with Spirit then getting loaned to 
TEAM VISION.
In May this year, not me joined Spirit as the team’s position 4 and immediately began seeing results, securing third place at DreamLeague Season 29, followed by Top 8 finishes at both BLAST Slam VII and the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026. Not me also helped Spirit qualify for TI 2026 through the European qualifier. His journey looks promising so far, with many praising his aggressive and sacrificial support playstyle, which enables the Spirit squad. His TI debut will certainly be one to watch.
OG – Natsumi
For Southeast Asian fans, 
John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas has been around the top scene for some time, playing for renowned teams in the region such as 
Talon Esports, 
Blacklist International, and 
BOOM Esports. While he has appeared in Tier 1 events such as DreamLeague, PGL and BLAST tournaments, Natsumi has never before stepped onto the TI stage, making this stint with 
OG an exciting debut.
Early this season, when OG pivoted to Southeast Asia and picked an all-Filipino team, many had questioned the decision. However, the team paid dividends almost instantly, earning consecutive Top 6 finishes in their early outings. However, the team suffered a tumultuous mid-season, gradually seeing worse results. Despite this, OG made it to TI 2026 through the Southeast Asian qualifier. This marks Natsumi’s first successful TI qualification campaign after falling short the past five consecutive years.
OG enters TI 2026 as one of the more unpredictable teams. While Natsumi may not be the flashiest carry, he poses great chemistry with his teammates to potentially take down the strongest teams.
Team Resilience – Echo
The 25-year old midlaner 
Ziliang “Echo” Xu will make his TI debut with China’s 
Team Resilience. Despite having very few major event appearances, playing on home soil could help ease the player into the pressure of the big competition.
Echo started his professional career in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 scene in 2018 before finding his big break with 
LGD Gaming in 2024. He then joined 
Team Tidebound in late 2025, although the two stints failed to produce any notable results.
After forming Team Resilience at the last minute alongside several regional veterans, Echo remarkably secured his first TI appearance by winning the China qualifier in dominant fashion, overcoming prominent names like 
Vici Gaming and 
Yakult Brothers. Team Resilience is one of the biggest dark horses entering TI, with their potential difficult to gauge due to their recent formation in April.
HULIGANI – ssnovv1, Mirage and Vazya
Huligani (also known as L1GA TEAM) is arguably the biggest underdog at TI 2026, largely due to its inexperienced line-up. Three of the team’s players will be stepping onto the TI stage for the first time: carry player Ilya “ssnovv1” Lavrenkin, mid laner Miras “Mirage`” Mutanov, and offlaner Ivan “Vazya” German.
The team booked a berth in TI 2026 after an impressive lower bracket run in the TI European qualifier, taking down higher-favoured teams NAVI and 
Virtus.pro along the way.
The 22-year old ssnovv1 only began competing professionally in 2025, most notably spending a brief stint with 
AVULUS towards the end of that year. Meanwhile, 25-year old Mirage has been around since 2019, although he has primarily played in the Tier 2 scene. The same applies to Vazya, who, at 29 years old, is making his TI debut after beginning his competitive career in 2021 in the Tier 2 scene.
The HULIGANI players certainly have limited experience of competing on the big stage. However, as underdogs with relatively little pressure on their shoulders, they may be able to pick up a few map wins and cause some surprises along the way.
What is The International 2026?
TI 2026 will be this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, taking place in August in Shanghai, China. As with previous iterations of the tournament, TI 2026 will feature a total of 16 teams that earn their spots in the tournament by receiving direct invites or earning slots through regional qualifiers.
The list of directly-invited teams to TI 2026 include
Aurora Gaming, 
BetBoom Team, 
Team Falcons,
Team Liquid, 
1w Team, 
Xtreme Gaming, and Team Yandex. Meanwhile, the teams that earned their spots through the regional qualifiers include European qualifier winners Team Spirit, 
TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), 
HULIGANI, and 
Nigma Galaxy, North American qualifier winner 
GamerLegion, Southeast Asian qualifier winner OG, South American qualifier winner LGD Gaming, as well as Chinese qualifier winners Vici Gaming and Team Resilience.
TI 2026's main event will be hosted in the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Valve first announced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 during last year's world championship tournament, where Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China's Xtreme Gaming in the five-game grand finals.
This will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, where Western Europe's OG became the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Team Liquid in four games to claim the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.
TI 2026 will be split into two phases: the ‘Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ main event. The Road to The International will be a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, where the 16 teams will be cut down to the final eight that will play in the game's biggest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center.
While Valve have yet to reveal the details on TI 2026's prize pool, the tournament is expected to follow last year's prize pool format with a US$1.6 million base prize pool. The prize pool will then be boosted through sales of the TI 2026 Compendium.
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