The International 2021: Will a Chinese Dota 2 team lift the aegis of TI this year?

The International, Dota 2’s premiere annual championship event, will finally take place this August after a year of absence.

The ongoing series of qualifiers, along with the direct invites, have filled 16 out of 18 slots. All that remains are two hotly contested seats in two fiercely competitive regions: Western Europe and China. But compared to the two European teams (Alliance and Team Secret), four invites belong to Chinese teams.

China will have the highest representation compared to any other region in this TI, with Invictus Gaming, PSG.LGD, Team Aster, and Vici Gaming.

Today is the last day of the first half of 2021! We've been through a lot in the half year. But this is just the beginning, we will continue to work hard, keep pursuing our dreams, and hope that we can all achieve what we want. Come on, our boys! Come on, LGD! pic.twitter.com/PVKgzrO5Iv

— LGD Gaming (@LGDgaming) June 30, 2021

Statistically, that also means a higher chance for a Chinese team to pocket the coveted trophy this year.

The ‘curse’ of the east-west trophy cycle in Dota 2

There is an interesting distribution of TI trophies in the history of competitive Dota 2. Ever since the second TI event, each even year’s title went to a Chinese team (Invictus Gaming in 2012, Newbee in 2014, Wings Gaming in 2016).

That is, it used to, until OG broke the cycle in 2018 by defeating PSG.LGD. That day, OG’s carry, Anathan ‘ana’ Pham being at the absolute top of his game contributed to OG’s undoing of the eastern charm. But ana has since dropped out of competitive Dota 2 altogether.

Not only did OG dispel the Chinese even-year myth in 2018, they became the first ever defending champions of TI in 2019. This means that China has not seen a single TI trophy since 2017. In the last TI, PSG.LGD did not even make it to the finals.

But TI 10 is very likely the point where Chinese Dota 2 outshines the other regions again.

This year’s PSG.LGD gameplay shows the ultimate synthesis of that competence and goal-oriented mindset. Their side have consistently performed well, not just in the immediate DPC seasons, but throughout their Dota 2 history.

PSG.LGD’s Wang ‘Ame’ Chunyu, widely regarded as the Chinese Arteezy, is an even bigger example of dedication. After their dismissal at the 2019 lower bracket finals in TI, Ame opted for a transfer to CDEC roster just to continue scrimming ahead of a comparatively laid back Lu ‘Somnus ‘M’ Wao.

The importance of their unyielding training regime was proven in the recent Dota 2 WePlay AniMajor finals against EG, where Ame proved to be a better carry than Artour ‘Arteezy’ Babaev.

"Don't give up! There's no shame in falling down. True shame is to not stand up again!". Shintaro MidorimaUnfortunately, after this loss, it's time to say goodbye to @VICIThey had an incredible run in the #AniMajor and are sure to present us with some high-level games at TI pic.twitter.com/mikpPszbZF

— WePlay Esports (@WePlay_Esports) June 12, 2021

As PSG.LGD continue to further perfect their peak form, more Dota 2 rosters are poised to fight over the seat of the fifth Chinese team in TI 10.

The upcoming qualifiers will be an exciting tussle between heavyweights like Somnus M’s Elephant and Yang ‘Chalice’ Shenyi’s EHOME.