The International 2025 has a talent-heavy field, but we see three underdog teams with a chance to pull off an upset for the ages: Team Nemesis, Natus Vincere, and HEROIC. With qualifiers now closed, the event is just around the corner, and it should be exciting to watch how these three up-and-comers fare in the star-studded field.
Upsets have produced many of the most memorable moments in TI history. From TNC Predator’s legendary takedown of OG at TI6 to Team Bald disbanding OG at the TI11 qualifiers, these moments always stand out.
With the 2025 incarnation of the event on the horizon, fans are already trying to predict which teams will shock the world with a surprise upset. Here’s who we’ve got our eyes on.
Team Nemesis – SEA it to believe it
Valve made an unusual move with Southeast Asia this year. The developer didn’t directly invite any teams from the region, but compensated with a second qualifier slot. Team Nemesis was the first to grab a seat at the table, defeating BOOM and Talon with an undefeated run. Even casual fans should recognize Polo “Raven” Fausto, now playing offlane, from his days on TNC Predator. In fact, he belonged to the TNC lineup that took down OG back in 2016, giving him a pedigree for upsets.
Image Credit: Valve
The squad’s X-factor lies in its lack of any international record. No other team has experience against it, and the team’s playstyle is emblematic of its region. Instead of putting its support duo center stage, the squad relies on midlaner Mc “Mac” Villanueva to set up a checkmate in the midgame. You’ll typically see him executing the plan with either an obese hypercarry like Morphling or a building-smasher like Tiny. This game plan isn’t revolutionary, but when combined with other teams’ lack of experience, Team Nemesis could ruin some bracket predictions at TI.
Natus Vincere – An underdog with a TI pedigree
Na’Vi is one of the most recognized names in Dota 2 esports, but the sponsor fell into a rut after failing to qualify for The International 10. Strangely, Natus Vincere’s academy team qualified for TI while its main squad did not.
Na’Vi’s management chose to drop “Junior” from the qualifying team’s name for the tournament. As a result, fans may not immediately recognize names like Taras “gotthejuice” Linnikov and Artem “Niku” Bachkur. They’re not to be overlooked, however, as the former is ranked 13 on the European MMR leaderboard and the other is a 16-year-old prodigy with a monster Puck.
Image Credit: Natus Vincere
Longtime shotcaller Baqyt “Zayac” Emiljanov lends valuable experience to the young lineup. Excluding the veteran, the team’s average age is just 18.5 years. Young, hungry teams tend to be unpredictable at TI, making it an upset machine right from the group stage. It could struggle against more stable contenders like Team Falcons and Parivision, but squads prone to upset losses like Team Liquid could catch a nasty sucker punch.
HEROIC – The international problem child
HEROIC has one of the weirdest identities in all of Dota 2 esports. The squad qualifies for enough big events to claim top-tier status, but rarely penetrates the top eight. It dominates in its own region but consistently flounders on the global stage.
And yet, when examining its match record, a strange pattern emerges. At the Esports World Cup, the team choked out Team Liquid to claim a win in a group stage best-of-two. At FISSURE Universe 5, the South Americans slammed Tidebound in a major playoff upset 2-0. In the group stage prior, it pounced on a slumping Nigma Galaxy to claim another unexpected victory. In addition, HEROIC has shown flashes of genius to claim games off Liquid and Aurora, two top contenders.
Image Credit: HEROIC
If any team has been setting itself up for a surprise deep run, it’s HEROIC. Carry player Yuma Langlet has consistently broken the wonky carry meta by picking disgraced former top-tiers like Lina and Templar Assassin and playing as if they hadn’t been nerfed. Elvis “Scofield” Peña and Matheus “KJ” Santos Jungles Diniz are the support duo to watch in their region, and their crafty early game rotations could disrupt the most stable European meta. While the squad is unlikely to leave with the Aegis, we expect the underdog to claim at least one surprise win at The International 2025.