Team Falcons has been crowned Dota 2 world champion in Hamburg. In the final of The International 2025, the Saudi Arabian organization prevailed against Xtreme Gaming after trailing twice.
For the first time since its premiere in 2011, the prestigious tournament The International returned to Germany. Unlike 14 years ago, however, the Dota 2 world championship was not played at gamescom in Cologne, but at the Barclays Arena in Hamburg. In addition to the venue, there was also a sporting debut.
Team Falcons secured the first The International title in its history. The Saudi Arabian organization had “only” finished seventh out of 16 in the group stage, meaning it had to go into the elimination round. There, Team Spirit was defeated quite convincingly 2-0 in a best-of-three series. This meant they advanced to the upper bracket quarterfinals.
Three times 0-1! The Falcons turn their duels around
The Falcons really picked up speed: Team Tidebound (2-0), BB Team (2-1), and PVISION (2-1) were no match for them. Although the latter two organizations had each taken a 1-0 lead. Their march through the upper bracket culminated on Sunday in the Grand Final against Xtreme Gaming, who had also defeated PVISION (2-1) earlier.
There, what had happened in the previous rounds was repeated: Team Falcons got off to a false start and fell behind 0:1. However, Xtreme did not have a match point in the second game, as the Grand Final was played in a best-of-5 format. The organization from Saudi Arabia, which competed without any local players, fought back to 1:1.
One-hour deciding game for the title
The Falcons couldn’t enjoy the equalizer for long, though, as Xtreme took a 2-1 lead in the third game. Once again, a response was needed – and once again, it came: in less than 34 minutes, Team Falcons won the fourth game and evened the score again. The Grand Final went into the fifth game, reaching a boiling point of tension. Team Falcons and Xtreme fought for the Dota 2 crown for almost an hour, with a better outcome for the organization from the desert kingdom. Amidst loud cheers from the Falcons fans, the quintet led by Jordanian Ammar ‘ATF’ Al-Assaf then lifted the trophy and celebrated the prize money of over $1.15 million.
