Streamer Yaroslav “NS” Kuznetsov shared his perspective on the list of teams that received direct invitations to The International 2025 Dota 2 championship. He shared his thoughts during a recent Twitch broadcast.
When asked about the invitation extended to Gladiators, NS pondered who else could realistically have been invited instead. While acknowledging that inviting a second Chinese team like Xtreme *could* have been done out of regional respect, he felt Xtreme did not genuinely merit a direct slot. He argued that Gladiators, despite recent roster changes, still possess a core group and represent an organization with significant history, having achieved numerous victories in previous seasons and finished as TI runner-ups. He contrasted them with teams like Aurora, which, despite showing comparable recent form, are simply too new. NS suggested that if Aurora had won a couple of significant tournaments during the current season, they would likely have been invited over Gladiators without question, but they haven`t achieved such wins.
NS stated that he believes the invitations for Spirit, PARIVISION, BetBoom Team, Liquid, Tundra, and Falcons are entirely justified and beyond debate. He admitted there might be a slight discussion regarding Tidebound and Gladiators, suggesting potential alternatives like Xtreme for Tidebound or Aurora for Gladiators. However, he immediately countered that such alternative choices would likely face the same question: “Why not Gladiators?” Ultimately, Valve had to make a selection, and they did. He noted that teams from North America, Southeast Asia, or South America were nowhere near consideration for direct invites, leaving Aurora and possibly Xtreme as the only points of slight contention. Since the invite list has been finalized, he concluded that further complaining is pointless; all other teams will compete in the regional qualifiers.
Kuznetsov pointed out that this method of selection is not the most equitable system and has historically drawn criticism.
He explained that Valve is returning to an older system of direct invitations for TI. He recounted his own experience, receiving direct invites for The International 1 and 3. He admitted the TI3 invite was questioned at the time but was ultimately justified by their team`s strong results later in the season, including winning The Defense Season 3. NS contrasted this system with the DPC (Dota Pro Circuit), which he considers a fairer approach because invites were based on points earned from leagues and tournaments, eliminating subjectivity and leaving no room for debate about who deserved an invite based on their seasonal performance. He criticized the abandonment of the DPC system and the return to the old invite method, which he believes is inherently biased and prone to being influenced by human factors, potentially including personal preferences of the selectors.
Valve announced the eight directly invited teams for The International 2025 on the night of May 15th. The remaining eight spots in the tournament will be filled by teams qualifying through regional playoffs scheduled for June.
Finley Holt