Dota 2 TI 2024: One region reigns supreme with four teams left

This year's The International, the supreme Dota 2 tournament, has returned to the chokehold of a single region. Out of the four teams left in the gauntlet, three belong to the Western Europe region, making it likely that the trophy will go back to Europe once again. Historically, this region has been the highest stakeholder in this prestigious tournament, having bagged the trophy 5 times out of 12.

From the way things are at present, 2024 might see that record further cemented into the annals of The International.

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The Uncrowned King of Dota 2 remains uncrowned, as Topson's three-time TI dream lives on

The mid-Rubick wonder walks out of the booth after ending the Chinese TI dream (Image via X)

Xtreme Gaming got knocked out of the competition in the final game of today's (September 14) lower-bracket quarterfinals. All the games today have been 2-0 washes thus far, and to the surprise of the crowd, this one was no different.

With this defeat, The International trophy remains far out of China's reach for yet another year—a region that was considered one of the strongest up until a few years ago. Moreover, the 'Uncrowned King' of Dota 2, Wang "Ame" Chunyu, will retain the tag for at least one more year after a rather shocking drubbing at the hands of Tundra Esports.

On the other end of the thread, Topias "Topson" Tavitseinen continues to be the sole candidate who might write his three-time TI-winner legend this tournament - pending three more grueling series.

With the dismissal of Xtreme Gaming, the only non-WEU team in the running is Team Falcons of the newborn MENA region. They have their own uncrowned king in Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen, freshly returned from his decade-long sabbatical in the NA region.

Well, despite the European supremacy, the Falcons cannot be counted out, as they have cinched four Tier-1 tournament trophies this year.

Even though WEU is considered the de facto strongest region in Dota 2 right now, many hoped for an even international competition this year. With the dissolution of the DPC, there have been numerous tier-1 tournaments throughout 2024, and the winners have been a diverse mixture of CIS, WEU, China, and MENA.

Furthermore, a healthy mixture of all regions had also made it into the playoffs stage of TI 2024 - but that cookie started to crumble with the shocking exit of Team Spirit, the defending champions.

Many Falcons loyalists will undoubtedly cheer from the Copenhagen Crowd during the lower-bracket Semifinals today - god forbid we see yet another Gaimin Gladiators vs Team Liquid final. Even so, the dark horse of MENA is a superteam of past TI-attendees from previous Western European teams. Hence, looking from this angle, the current TI is a contest of Europe-bred talent.