Ten teams, including tournament favorites, will battle for survival in The International 2025’s Elimination Round.

Dota 2’s world championship, The International (TI) 2025, has wrapped up its action-packed Group Stage, where 16 teams clashed in a Swiss-system format over the past three days. Under this format, only the Top 3 teams from the Group Stage advance directly to the Playoffs (branded as The International), while the three lowest-performing teams are eliminated. Meanwhile, the ten teams hovering in the middle of the rankings are sorted into the do-or-die Elimination Round.

With teams fighting tooth and nail in every single game, with many going past the 60-minute mark even in this early stage of the tournament, TI 2025's Group Stage may very well be the most exciting one in the history of the tournament. Indeed, the shift to a Swiss-format Group Stage has injected an excitement virtually unseen for this preliminary phase in previous years.

Here is the final TI 2025 Group Stage ranking:

  1. Xtreme Gaming 4-0
  2. BetBoom Team 4-1
  3. Team Tidebound 4-1
  4. Team Falcons 3-2
  5. PARIVISION 3-2
  6. Aurora Gaming 3-2
  7. Heroic 3-2
  8. Team Liquid 3-2
  9. Nigma Galaxy 2-3
  10. Tundra Esports 2-3
  11. Yakutou Brothers 2-3
  12. Team Spirit 2-3
  13. Wildcard 2-3
  14. Natus Vincere 1-4
  15. BOOM Esports 1-4
  16. Team Nemesis 0-4

Three teams secure Playoffs spots

The final Group Stage standings came as a revelation, upsetting expectations and disrupting predictions. To the surprise of many, Chinese teams completely dominated the early competition. Xtreme Gaming clinched the top seed with an undefeated 4-0 score, taking down Aurora Gaming, Team Falcons, Team Spirit, and Team Tidebound with impeccable performances.

Trailing close behind are Team Tidebound and BetBoom Team, both finishing with strong 4-1 records. Tidebound’s only loss came against Xtreme Gaming, while BetBoom dropped their opening match against Nigma Galaxy before winning four in a row. Both teams now join Xtreme in the Top 3 and secure direct slots in The International Playoffs.

While these three teams get a breather as they await their matches on TI’s main stage, ten others will clash for survival in the Elimination Round–and the lineup is as intense as it gets.

Ten teams head for The International 2025’s Elimination Round

HEROIC, the South American underdogs, had a tumultuous first two days, suffering losses against PARIVISION and NAVI. But they drastically shifted their momentum, winning eight straight maps, including series wins over BOOM Esports, Wildcard, and tournament heavyweight Tundra Esports. That final victory marked the biggest underdog upset of the Group Stage so far.

In the first Elimination Round series, HEROIC were matched against Gaimin Gladiators’ replacement, Yakutou Brothers. Closing Day 3 of the championship, HEROIC became the first team to win an elimination series, defeating Yakutou 2-0. They now join Xtreme, Tidebound, and BetBoom in the Top 8.

Fan-favorites Nigma Galaxy survived the Group Stage with an early upset against BetBoom, followed by three consecutive losses to PARIVISION, Team Liquid, and Yakutou Brothers. However, a clutch win against NAVI kept their TI run alive. They now face Aurora Gaming in the Elimination Round–a team that secured solid victories over Wildcard, Yakutou Brothers, and Team Spirit.

Team Liquid, the defending champions, are fighting for their third Aegis–and their second back-to-back title. Though consistent throughout the season, Liquid couldn’t quite find their rhythm in the Group Stage, dropping series to Team Tidebound and Team Falcons. Now, they face Tundra Esports in the Elimination Round. On paper, Liquid has the edge, as Tundra has underperformed so far–possibly due to position 5 support Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon being sidelined just before the event. Tundra closed the Group Stage with a 2-3 record, losing to Falcons, Spirit, and HEROIC.

Meanwhile, Team Spirit, one of the pre-tournament favorites, will need to regroup after a rough showing. A stark contrast to their recent form, Spirit dropped series to Xtreme, PARIVISION, and Aurora, landing them in the 2-3 danger zone. In the Elimination Round, Spirit faces a red-hot Team Falcons, who finished 3-2 but delivered some of the Group Stage’s strongest performances–with their only losses coming from the two Chinese top seeds.

Three teams sent packing from TI 2025’s Group Stage

On the other end of the spectrum, Southeast Asian underdogs Team Nemesis and BOOM Esports were the first to exit the competition. Surprisingly, NAVI, who had qualified through the WEU Qualifier, also faltered and joined them in early elimination.

NAVI fields the youngest roster at TI 2025, featuring 16-year-old midlaner Niku. The team had shown promise earlier this season, notably reaching the Top 8 at PGL Wallachia Season 5 in their Tier 1 debut. Their potential drew attention heading into their TI debut, but the squad may still be developing the experience needed to thrive on the biggest stage. NAVI finished with a 1-4 record, with their sole win coming against HEROIC.

The International 2025 continues its Elimination Round today, September 7. By the end of the day, three more teams will be knocked out and some of them are guaranteed to be tournament favorites. There’s a real possibility that top contenders won’t make it to The International’s main stage–a gut-wrenching twist unfolding at the most important Dota 2 event of the year. 

For more information on the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year, check out GosuGamers' guide to this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament and TI 2025 tournament tracker.

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