The defending Dota 2 world champions may be parting ways after The International 2026.
Reigning Dota 2 world champions 
Team Falcons are likely to make roster changes after The International (TI) 2026, the team's position 4 support player 
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen has revealed.
Cr1t revealed that Falcons are likely headed towards a roster overhaul in an interview with Ted "PyrionFlax" Forsyth as part of TI 2026's official broadcast, saying “we know [TI 2026] is probably gonna be the last tournament for this roster together.”
Falcons are currently the longest-tenured team in the Dota 2 competitive scene, with its roster consisting of 
Oliver “Skiter” Lepko, 
Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak, 
Ammar “ATF” Assaf, Cr1t, and 
Jing “Sneyking” Wu having played together since November 2023.
Four of Falcons' players have also played together before coming under their organisation's banner. Skiter and Sneyking have notably been playing together for over five years now, having been part of the 
Tundra Esports roster that won TI 2022 from 2021 to 2023 before they moved to Falcons. Malr1ne and ATF were also briefly teammates in the 2021 
Creepwave stack that would go on to produce some of the best players of this generation.
Why are Team Falcons making roster changes after TI 2026?
Cr1t said that Falcons' potential split is just a natural progression as teams try to remain competitive in the Dota 2's cutthroat top tier of competition.
"Every team talks about what happens after TI. We talked about what happens [to us] after TI. And when you make changes it's because you want to get better and you want to have an upgrade in some roles. It's hard with the success we've had to be looking at somebody and be like, "Oh yeah, when we change this guy out we're gonna get someone better." But I think people on this team just need that. It's just natural," said Cr1t.
While Falcons are the defending champions in TI 2026, they are far from being the biggest favourite to raise the Aegis of Champions this year.
The team have only won one tournament in the 2025-2026 competitive season, namely FISSURE PLAYGROUND 2 last November. Since then, the team's results have been mixed, accruing five Top 4 finishes in tournaments and finishing outside of the podium places in seven other events. In their final tournament appearance before TI 2026 at 1win Essence II, Falcons notably finished second to 
Team Liquid.
Cr1t also explained that the pressure to produce the results expected of a team of Falcons' calibre has been a factor in the roster's decision to potentially part ways after TI 2026.
“It's a big thing, we've played together for three years and three TI's. So part of that is there's some pressure involved as well. And then when you're losing games because of it, the best thing you can do is just be a good teammate and be available and try to work through it,” Cr1t explained.
Despite Falcons' looming potential roster changes, Cr1t remains confident in his team's campaign to repeat as champions in TI 2026. The 30-year old Danish veteran said he just wants to appreciate the fact that he'll be playing in his 10th TI and focusing on playing.
“TI is always fun, always exciting. The reason why TI is so big is because you have to earn it. And I think for me, I'm always very happy just participating. And I think you've got to have that respect for the tournament as well if you want a chance to win in the first place,” added Cr1t.
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, 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), 
Team Falcons, 
Team Liquid, 
Iron Wing (aka 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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