TI13 is the worst-ever performance for one of Dota 2’s most storied regions

Explore how China Dota 2 is dead
Wukong could not win the game for Ame (Image via Xtreme Gaming)

Xtreme Gaming, the only Chinese Dota 2 team to make it to the live-audience stage of The International 2024 (aka TI 13), got eliminated in the lower bracket quarterfinals. This sends the star-studded squad home with $88,960 to their name for a 5th- 6th place finish in the prestigious annual tournament. This is the lowest final standing for Chinese teams in the history of TI, leaving many fans of the region disappointed.

This also leaves TI 13 a one-region show, sans Team Falcons' MENA debut.


The Wings Gaming curse continues in the biggest Dota 2 tournament

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Although the prize pool has regressed significantly over the last few years, The International remains time-honored as the most prestigious tier-1 Dota 2 gauntlet, and arguably one of the biggest milestone names in all of Esports. Since its inception, China has been a strong competitive region, with numerous holdover talents from the original DoTA.

At one point, it had become a Dota 2 legend that a Chinese team is fated to win the tournament every alternating year. This cycle was broken in TI8 (2018) when OG defeated PSG.LGD in the grand finals. A runner-up spot is the closest China has gotten to reclaiming the title since then.

Here's the track record of TI performance from the China region:

  • The International 2011: runner-up, EHOME
  • The International 2012: winner, Invictus Gaming
  • The International 2013: 4th place, TongFu
  • The International 2014: winner, Newbee
  • The International 2015: runner-up, CDEC Gaming
  • The International 2016: winner, Wings Gaming
  • The International 2017: runner-up, Newbee
  • The International 2018: runner-up, PSG.LGD
  • The International 2019: 3rd place, PSG.LGD
  • The International 2020 was cancelled
  • The International 2021: second place, PSG.LGD
  • The International 2022: 4th place, Team Aster
  • The International 2023: 3rd place, PSG.LGD
  • Finally, The International 2024: 5th-6th place, Xtreme Gaming

Many mythologize this lack of trophies as the Wings Gaming curse. Wings Gaming was the last Chinese team to win TI, following which it disbanded and reformed as Team Random due to wage disputes. Team Random's legendary roster was en route to a stellar year again, had it not been controversially dismantled by ACE, the Esports organization governing the Chinese Dota 2 pro scene at the time.

Read More: Top 10 iconic Dota 2 moments on game's tenth anniversary

If not the legends of a curse, many also attribute this to a decline of the Chinese Dota 2 scene - be it due to limited game time, an almost-ritualized cycle of pros retiring and returning, and a lucrative streaming scene that is far more profitable than the instability of tier-2 Dota 2.

Yet, in TI 13, it is a series of unfortunate misplays that derailed Xtreme Gaming's lower-bracket run. With their defeat, Wang "Ame" Chunyu still remains the "Uncrowned King" of Dota 2, and China remains a region that fails to revitalize its glory days.

Stay tuned for more Dota 2 News and updates on Sportskeeda.

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Edited by Ritoban "Veloxi" Paul
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