SumaiL, widely considered to be among the greatest Dota 2 players of all time, ends his illustrious career after over a decade of competition.
Nigma Galaxy superstar carry player 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan has announced his retirement from competitive Dota 2 after his team bowed out from The International (TI) 2026 on Saturday (22 August).
SumaiL had already hinted at the possibility of his retirement after TI 2026 shortly after Nigma Galaxy qualified for the tournament back in June. Fans were hoping that a deep run in TI 2026 would change SumaiL's decision, especially after Nigma Galaxy's unexpectedly strong run through the Group Stage and the early parts of the Playoffs.
Unfortunately, Nigma Galaxy were eliminated by Eastern Europe's 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team) in three games in the lower bracket quarterfinals. SumaiL and his team bowed out in 5th-6th place–the same placement they had in last year's world championship tournament.
In an exit interview shortly after his team's loss, SumaiL confirmed that he will indeed be stepping away from the game, saying “[TI 2026] is probably my last event.”
“We tried our best. It looked pretty good, we were one game away from Top 3 last night. And then today was a good series but, I don't know, something went wrong [in game three]. As far as for the team, I'm not sure. This is probably my last event,” said SumaiL.
When asked if Nigma Galaxy's run at TI 2026 could change potentially change his mind, SumaiL seemed set in his decision. “I would like to give it some thought, for sure. But I don't see it, to be honest, unfortunately,” said SumaiL.
SumaiL then thanked his fans for their support throughout the years before stepping away from his last professional Dota 2 tournament.
“Thank you to everyone, to be honest, for the cheers and support throughout the years. It's been rough, the past few years you know. But at the end of the day, I've said and I'll say it again, you guys make it, you guys make Dota great, to be honest. We are just playing video games, so I really appreciate it,” said SumaiL.
SumaiL is not the only player to announce his retirement from competitive play after getting eliminated from TI 2026. 
Team Falcons' 
Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen also announced that he will be stepping away from competitive play following Falcons' loss to 
Team Liquid in the first round of the lower bracket.
SumaiL's last dance in The International 2026
Not many expected Nigma Galaxy would make the Playoffs of TI 2026, let alone finish in the Top 6, when considering the stacked competition in the tournament. But somehow, SumaiL and his teammates were able to find their groove in the game's biggest stage.
Nigma Galaxy's campaign in the TI 2026 Group Stage didn't have the most promising of starts, as they were swept in the first round by 
Iron Wing (aka 1w Team). But they bounced back from that loss and went on an incredible eight-game win streak across the next four rounds, outclassing 
OG, 
LGD Gaming, 
Vici Gaming, and 
Team Spirit. Nigma Galaxy's victory over Spirit in Round 5 notably earned them a direct berth to the Playoffs.
Nigma Galaxy's Cinderella run continued in the opening round of the Playoffs, where they defeated defending champions Team Falcons in three games to advance to the upper bracket semifinals. There, Nigma Galaxy faced 
Team Yandex, one of the biggest favourites to claim this year's championship.
Game one of the match between Nigma Galaxy and Yandex was arguably the best game of the entire tournament. Nigma Galaxy pulled off an incredible 74-minute comeback win behind stellar play from SumaiL on Necrophos, mid laner 
Artem “Lorenof” Melnick on Storm Spirit, and 
Cedric “Davai Lama” Deckmyn on Enigma. Davai Lama's Enigma was notably the star of the show, constantly catching multiple Yandex heroes with Black Hole, much to the delight of the crowd.
However, Yandex would bounce back from that game one loss and went on to defeat Nigma Galaxy in a 2-1 reverse sweep. That match notably took a toll on all the players involved, as it ended at almost 3AM in Shanghai. That left Nigma Galaxy with very little time to prepare for their next match in the lower bracket quarterfinals against BoomBoys, which was scheduled a little over eight hours later.
SumaiL and the rest of Nigma Galaxy put up a valiant last stand against BoomBoys, forcing the series to three games before ultimately falling in a 43-minute rout in the decider. While SumaiL falls well short of claiming a second Aegis of Champions before retiring, he did put up a stellar performance in his final tournament.
SumaiL bows out of competitive Dota 2 as one of its all-time greatest players
SumaiL is widely recognised as one of the greatest Dota 2 players of all time, boasting the greatest rookie season in the game's history. He joined 
Evil Geniuses in January 2015 and became the youngest player to win an official Valve event when he helped EG win the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015 at just 15 years and 361 days old.
SumaiL then became the youngest player to both play and win TI, when he helped EG win TI 2015 at just 16 years and 176 days old. He also holds the record for the most kills in a single game in TI at 31 kills, a feat he achieved in TI 2018.
Over the course of his career, SumaiL has racked up eight Tier 1 tournament titles, which includes TI 2015. He has also finished third in TI twice in 2016 and 2018, and placed in the Top 3 of nine Majors.
SumaiL spent the last three years of his career with Nigma Galaxy, helping the team qualify for TI and finish in the Top 6 in back-to-back years–both feats being firsts in the organisation's history.
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