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The International is the biggest stage in Dota 2 esports. Winning the tournament is every Dota 2 player's dream. Lifting the coveted Aegis of the Champions not only immortalizes the player, it also gets their name permanently etched on the Aegis and brings lot of financial rewards.
In the 10 year history of The International, the tournament has immortalized several Dota 2 professionals and has also left some of the greatest players empty-handed.
In this article, the greatest Dota 2 players who have never won the coveted TI shall be listed.
The best Dota 2 players to never win TI
5. Omar "w33" Aliwi
Omar "w33" Aliwi is regarded as the unluckiest Dota 2 professional of all time. He has been to the Grand Finals of the International, which is a prestigious achievement in itself, not once, but twice.
He reached the TI finals for the first time in 2016, when his team, Digital Chaos, fell short of the Champions Wings by a margin of 3-1 in a best of 5 Grand Finals.
In the latest edition of TI, w33 qualified for the grand finals once again with Team Liquid and lost 3-1, again to the two-time TI champion OG.
Fans fondly call him "w33po", referring to his signature hero Meepo, who he plays with extreme efficiency and is lauded as the best Meepo player in the world. w33po is currently on the inactive roster for Team Nigma and it is difficult to see him win a TI in the future.
#4 Tal "Fly" Aizik
The story of the great betrayal, the fairytale comeback of OG from being the ultimate underdog to the greatest of them all.
All of this turned Fly into a sort of Judas in the eyes of some Dota 2 fans. This has overshadowed how good a support player he is. He has consistently been good during his days at OG, as well as at EG, where he played with carries of different styles and managed to keep up with them.
Fly left the OG roster to win TI, and the year he left OG, they won TI. Evil Geniuses look to be in fine form this year and are one of the favorites to lift the Aegis.
#3 Xu "fy" Linsen
FY is regarded as one of the best position 4, i.e.roaming support players, of all time. He played in the finals of TI8, when his PSG.LGD team were regarded as the firm favorites to lift the Aegis.
Fy played a crucial role in PSG.LGD reaching the Grand Finals, playing his signature Earthshaker, which had a streak of 7-0 until the finals. PSG.LGD fell short of OG, as they lost 3-2 in what is regarded as the greatest TI Final in the history of TI.
#2 Andreas Franck "Cr1t" Nielsen
Cr1t has been one of the best support players Dota 2 has ever seen. He has been playing for a long time, and though has won a number of Majors with OG, he could never really get his form in the TI with OG, or with Evil Geniuses.
EG, his current team are among the favorites to lift the Aegis this year, and only time will tell if he can win it or not.
#1 Artour "Arteezy" Babaev
Arteezy is considered the single best carry player by a large portion of the Dota 2 community. His exceptional plays make him one of the most feared carry players on the active Dota 2 circuit right now.
Arteezy is cursed. No matter what team he’s on, what position he plays or how many tournaments he wins, Arteezy can never bring home Dota 2’s biggest trophy.
Despite being one of the best western Dota 2 players out there, Arteezy has never made it to a TI grand final or even won a Major. He has tried and failed so many times, which is why it is referred as the "Curse of Arteezy".
