Historic The International: who can become a three-time champion
At the main tournament of the year, The International 2026, 19 players have the opportunity to add another championship Aegis to their collection. Seven of them have already won the tournament twice and can become the first three-time champions in history, while another 12 are competing for their second title.
Candidates for a third title
Seven two-time champions will compete at The International 2026:
- Mira, Yatoro and Collapse — The International 2021 and 2023
- 33 — The International 2022 and 2024
- skiter and Sneyking — The International 2022 and 2025
- Topson — The International 2018 and 2019
Particular attention will be on Ilya Yatoro Mulyarchuk and Magomed Collapse Khalilov. Both players have won the championship twice with Team Spirit and can now become the first players in Dota 2 history to win The International three times with the same organization. Spirit have already lifted the Aegis twice, in 2021 and 2023.
For Netta 33 Shapira, this tournament could also be an opportunity to make history. The Israeli player won The International 2022 with Tundra Esports and then repeated the achievement at The International 2024 with Team Liquid.
Oliver skiter Lepko and Jingjun Sneyking Vu enter the tournament as the reigning champions. In 2022, they won The International with Tundra, and in 2025 they repeated the achievement with Team Falcons. Both now have a chance to become the first players to win three Aegises.
Topias Topson Taavitsainen also deserves special attention. The Finnish player won two consecutive The International tournaments with OG in 2018 and 2019. In 2026, he returned to the professional scene and replaced Santiago TaiLung Olivos Aguero on LGD Gaming, giving him the opportunity to compete for his third title seven years later.
Candidates for a second title
Another 12 participants at The International 2026 already have one championship title:
- Malr1ne, ATF and Cr1t- — The International 2025
- m1CKe, Nisha and Boxi — The International 2024
- Saksa — The International 2022
- Larl — The International 2023
- SumaiL — The International 2015
- GH — The International 2017
- Bach and y` — The International 2016
For Stanislav Malr1ne Potorak, Ammar ATF Assaf, and Andreas Cr1t- Nielsen, this year's tournament will be a chance to repeat last year's success. All three won The International 2025 with Team Falcons, with each of them claiming their first championship title.
Mike m1CKe Vu, Michał Nisha Jankowski, and Samuel Boxi Svan also have an opportunity to win a second Aegis after their victory at The International 2024 with Team Liquid.
Sumail SumaiL Hassan can also repeat his success 11 years later. The Pakistani player won The International 2015 with Evil Geniuses, becoming the youngest champion in the tournament's history at the time. He currently plays for Nigma Galaxy. Maroun GH Merhei is also competing for his second title after Team Liquid won The International 2017.
Zhang Faith_bian Ruida and Zhang y` Yiping won The International 2016 with Wings Gaming and, ten years later, will once again compete at the main tournament, this time representing Vici Gaming.
A Historic Opportunity for Coaches
Players are not the only ones who can make history. Team Falcons coach Kurtis Daniel Aui_2000 Ling is the main contender for a unique achievement.
The Canadian has already won The International three times: in 2015 as a player for Evil Geniuses, and in 2022 and 2025 as a coach for Tundra Esports and Falcons, respectively. If Falcons lift the Aegis again in Shanghai, Aui_2000 will become the first four-time The International champion in history.
Another two-time champion among the coaches is Yaroslav Miposhka Naidenov, who won The International 2021 and 2023 as the captain of Team Spirit and returned to the organization before the current tournament as a coach. If Spirit win the tournament, he will have a chance to claim his third Aegis.
Other former The International champions will also serve as coaches at the tournament, including Clement Puppey Ivanov and Kuro KuroKy Salehi Takhasomi. However, each of them has one title.
Thus, The International 2026 could become one of the most significant tournaments in Dota 2 history. Seven players will have their first opportunity to become three-time champions, another 12 can claim their second Aegis, while Aui_2000 could set an absolute record by winning the tournament for the fourth time.
The International 2026 will take place from 13.08.2026 to 23.08.2026. Sixteen teams will compete in the tournament, and the prize pool has already exceeded $2,800,000. You can follow the championship in detail in the coverage.
As CyberScore previously reported, Valve shared photos of the The International 2026 participants from Shanghai.
by CyberScore