Dota 2: 11 players hoping to lift their Aegis shield for the second time in their lives

No team has won The International twice yet. To be more precise, there was still no player who had wielded the Aegis shield twice. Obviously, with each passing year, one would expect this possibility to happen. But with 90 players attending this year’s TI, only 11 will have a chance to make Dota 2 history.

MATUMBAMAN, Miracle-, MinD_ContRoL, GH, KuroKy (Team Liquid)

For the first time since TI4’s Alliance, we have a champion team returning to TI without changing any members. And these boys look so strong. Liquid have been very consistent throughout the season, including the PGL Supermajor championship. Liquid is definitely this year’s contender. If they win, Liquid will be the first team to win TI twice.

Puppey (Team Secret)

Many years have passed since Puppey got himself Aegis. Back in 2011, he was still on the legendary Natus Vincere squad, the first team to win the tournament The International. With each passing year, Puppey fought hard to get that shield back. He has reached the final twice – 2012 and 2013 – but a second Aegis remains a dream.

Faith (Newbee)

As the only Chinese player on the list, Faith returned with high hopes from last year’s TI7. Faith won in 2012 playing for Invictus Gaming, defeating Puppey and Team Na`Vi in the final. He almost made history last year but Newbee lost to Team Liquid. Like Liquid, if Faith wins with Newbee, Newbee will be the first organization to have two Aegis for themselves.

s4 & SumaiL (Evil Geniuses)

Puppey won 2011, Faith was 2012, now we have S4, the only player to return from the 2013 champion team, Alliance. After a failed year at OG, s4 left the team to join EG, where he believed there was a high chance of winning TI8. In a recent interview, s4 said, “I felt like I needed something to make it happen because I didn’t want to see my career stall.” Unlike s4, SumaiL is still loyal to his organization after winning and will return to the 3rd TI tournament under EG. SumaiL not only wants to have his second Aegis, but he also wants to win for the organization that helped him grow.

ppd (OpTic Gaming)

Although “only” won TI once, PPD has never known defeat at The International. In his previous three appearances, he has never been outside the top 3. But this year is completely different from PPD. While at EG, he had to rely heavily on superstar mid laner SumaiL and experienced offlaner Universe. This year, CC&C and 33 will be his companions in these positions. While they’ve been good players for the season, for CC&C this will be their first time at TI and 33 for their second.

UNiVeRsE (Fnatic)

After spending almost his entire career playing for Evil Geniuses, Universe now wants to try his luck in Southeast Asia. After a difficult season, he was dropped from EG and joined Fnatic. Fnatic is a very difficult team to judge, they can turn from “excellent” to “trash” in a split second. But this move allows Universe to continue pursuing Aegis, and Fnatic – while not a candidate – still has the opportunity to help him achieve this dream.

---

It is quite surprising that all the real former kings have a chance to win The International one more time. They continue to play after winning the championship – this is not easy. Plus, it’s The International’s first time taking place in Vancouver, Canada – from August 15 to 25 – and there’s nothing better than winning a team that has won TI before.