As The International approaches, the Dota 2 community is buzzing with excitement, but some familiar and favorite faces will be missing from the competition. 

The pinnacle of Dota 2 competition, The International, is about to begin. No accolade in the world of esports stands higher than competing on this stage, and no achievement is greater than lifting the Aegis of Champions.

Over the next few weeks, 80 players from 25 countries will compete in the tournament of a lifetime. For some, this marks their first appearance; for others, it’s another chapter in their storied TI legacy.

But as these players prepare for the ultimate challenge, countless others have seen their dreams of attending put on hold or even set aside entirely. Among them, a select few have become beloved figures in the Dota 2 community—players whose absence will be deeply felt.

Some of these notable players were competitors just last year, while others haven’t graced the stage for several iterations. Regardless of the circumstances, their absence will be profoundly felt by fans and peers alike.* 

*note - these are players that did not qualify or get invited. We still may see them on the analyst or talent segments, show-matches, other content, or even as last-minute stand-ins. 

THE OGs

We literally mean THE originals. We're talking Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov, Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi, and Danil “Dendi” Ishutin. All three of these iconic players were at TI1 – Puppey and Dendi taking home the very first Aegis of Champions and the $1,000,000 prize – a staggering amount at the time. They went on to take second place together the following year and then the three of them took second place at TI3 together. 

Puppey has always been considered an incredibly versatile player and one of the most successful players in the Dota 2 scene. TI11 marked Clement's eleventh consecutive presence at The International, continuing his unmatched legacy in the game. The year 2022 had been one of the most challenging years in Team Secret’s existence as Puppey struggled to navigate the DPC year. 2023 and 2024 seemed like he had hit rock bottom – marking two years in a row when the Dota 2 veteran would not attend The International.

  • Read It's no Secret; Puppey Power left behind

One of the greatest captains and legendary players in the Dota 2 world, KuroKy started his career playing DotA 1 and made his first appearance in Dota 2 at The International 1, playing for GosuGamers.net. From TI1-TI9 had managed to secure himself a place at each iteration of The International. In 2019 he was one of the last two players with such an astounding achievement —Puppey being the other. But that was the last time for Kuroky.  After winning TI7 with Team Liquid, Kuroky formed Nigma Galaxy in 2019 – and never stepped foot on the International stage again. 

  • Read Nigma Galaxy; The fallen stars

Well known for his solo mid-skills, Dendi has been regarded as one of the most creative players in the scene, renowned for his unorthodox play-style and unconventional item builds. His personality, skill, and long successful history still make him one of the most popular Dota 2 players in the world. But it has been quite some time since he has been able to compete at the highest levels or with much success. Winning The International 1 was just the first step and he stayed loyal to his first team through thick and thin until 2018. It was the end of an era. In January 2020, he founded a new organization, B8, and was poised for a comeback that never arrived. This year Dendi’s team B8 were one step away from making it to The International 2023 (TI12), but they were halted in their path by nouns, who defeated them 3-0 in the grand final to secure the North American qualifier spot for TI12.

OG (The two-time-back-to-back championship team)

OG were the first team to have won The International twice and the only to win it back-to-back in 2018 and 2019. But this year, Johan "N0tail" Sundstein, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs and Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka, and Anathan "ana" Pham will be sitting things out – just like all of the years following their historic feat. 

This year they were regarded as one of the main favourites at one of the two slots up for grabs in the region. However, ahead of their upper bracket semifinals against entity, the team had played with Aleksandra "Immersion" Khmelevskoi standing in for Sébastien "Ceb" Debs who had just become a father – sparking much controversy. 

  • Read OG to miss another TI after being denied to play qualifiers with a standin

Important to note though is that Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen will be in attendance as he is competing for Tundra Esports who secured their spot via the Western European Regional Qualifiers. 

The O(ther) G(uys)

Through the years various players have cemented their place in either the hearts or history of Dota 2. Whether they are still competing or made a daring return from retirement, we hoped to see these players grace The International stage again. Unfortunately, it just wasn't in the cards for them this round. 

Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida retired after TI11. He is regarded as one of the greatest offlane players to have ever graced the game and definitely one of the most successful in his role. In his eight-year career, he took home the most coveted Dota 2 trophy, the Aegis of Champions, in 2016 with Wings Gaming and was one game away from repeating the feat at TI10 with PSG.LGD. Azure Ray brought him back out of retirement as he returned with a new moniker “Bach” and assumed the offlane position, but it didn't yield the results either was looking for. 

  • Read Faith_bian announces plans to retire after TI11 

Xu "fy" Linsen has been a part of the elite echelon of Dota 2 professional scene for over a decade. He reached The International grand finals twice in his career and placed in the top 4 on the TI stage four times. However, the past couple of years have been rough. More precisely after his departure from LGD Gaming, in 2020, fy toyed with the retirement idea, but couldn’t really stay away from the game for too long. Last year he landed in fourth place with Azure Ray, but this year ended up in third place in the Chinese regional qualifiers. 

  • Read Team Zero delivers big upset in China as the first team qualified for The International 2024

Amer 'Miracle' Barqawi has long been one of the most popular figures in Dota 2 because of his flashy plays and great mechanical skills. In 2016, he became the first player in Dota 2 history to achieve a matchmaking rating of over 9000 and then achieved 10,000 MMR in June 2020. Since The International 2017, Miracle has remained a part of the roster that turned into Nigma in 2019. He has been a part of Nigma’s quest to make it to The International since then at no avail. 

Syed Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan started his spectacular career with Evil Geniuses at the tender age of 15 years old. It didn't take long for him to go on to win The International -- in fact, it was within the same year. For five years he grew in more ways than one to become NA's 'King' -- rising in fame and collecting many trophies and accomplishments. In the post-TI9 shuffle, he left EG on rocky terms and that's where his career began to sputter and stall. The last time he stepped on the stage was in 2021 with OG where he took a disappointing 7-8th place finish. 

Shopify Rebellion's loss to nouns also signalled the end of a TI streak for Artour "Arteezy" Babaev. The famed core player had been competing on The International stage since TI4 with Evil Geniuses. TI4 through TI12 marked nine consecutive appearances and no Aegis of Champions. Missing this year is a mighty huge blow to take. In a full sweep, Nouns made quick work of Shopify to claim the qualifier slot to represent North America at The International 2024. 

  • Read Nouns trounce Shopify to claim the only NA spot at The International 2024

Daryl "iceiceice" Xiang is a highly decorated SEA veteran and a fan-favorite personality. Daryl started to play Dota 2 competitively in 2011 with Scythe Gaming. At that time, he was playing StarCraft II, Defense of the Ancients, League of Legends, and Heroes of Newerth competitively at the same time. He has represented eight teams at The International, more than any other player. His best result was TI1 when he took a third-place finish with Scythe Gaming. The last time he competed at The International (aside from show matches) was 2021 with Evil Geniuses. This year iceiceice was part of Bleed Esports which took a subpar 5-6th result in the SEA regional qualifiers. 

The International 2024 (TI13)

The International 2024 is set to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark in September at the Royal Arena. This will mark the second time The International is coming to Europe, but the first time when, hopefully, fans will be able to attend. The first time Valve tried to bring its most prestigious tournament to Europe was in 2020 when the pandemic hit the world. TI10 was postponed for 2021 and moved from Sweden to Romania. Although tickets were sold, a new wave of coronavirus forced Valve to refund all tickets and hold the tournament in an empty stadium in Bucharest. Since then, TI moved to Singapore in 2022 and last year it returned home, to Seattle.

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