Puppey returns as a coach, SumaiL hints at retirement, China’s chance at redemption: the best storylines going into The International 15

After a grueling series of qualifiers, we’ve finally locked in the 16 teams competing at The International 15, which is going to be Dota 2’s biggest tournament of the year.

If you’re one of those seasonal viewers who only comes out of your cage for TI, here are some of the most important storylines to follow. 

There are many players who are considered legends of the game, but Clement “Puppey” Ivanov is hands-down one of the most influential figures in Dota 2 history. He was the only player to appear in 11 TIs in a row, doing so from 2011 to 2022. 

Since his unrivaled streak ended, Puppey has missed the 2023, 2024, and 2025 editions of the game’s biggest event, but the big man is finally back this year. However, he won’t be playing as the legendary support and captain we’ve known him for, as he’ll be occupying the coaching role under PARIVISION. 

The 2025 – 2026 season is the first time he’s taking the coaching helm, and though PARIVISION had a pretty disastrous start to the year, the team has since stabilized and is even looking like the best team in the world over the past couple of months. It really feels like the roster is finally gelling under Puppey’s supervision. 

The benchmark for PARIVISION this year is pretty clear – the roster finished third last year with their former coach Filipe “Astini” Ribeiro, so anything better than bronze is the goal. And from what I’ve seen so far, I think they’re a serious favorite to win it all. 

Puppey may be one of Dota’s greats, but he doesn’t have what some of the participants this year have – two Aegises and a hope for a third. 

There are six three-time hopefuls coming into TI15, and these very talented e-gamers are: 

I’ll be honest, judging by Team Spirit’s turbulent season so far, I’m not liking Yatoro and Collapse’s chances of taking it this year. However, Mira, 33, and the dynamic duo of Team Falcons are definitely in the conversation.

I wouldn’t say Aurora, 1win Team, or Team Falcons are heavy favorites heading into the event. But with TI, the favorites never win, so these guys are definitely within reach of claiming a third TI win.

2026 might really be the year, and if any of them manage to do it, they’re automatically entering the GOAT debate. 

While we have promising rookies and people gunning for a third Aegis this year, there’s one player we might not see much longer. 

Dota 2 legend Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, who barely qualified for The International 15 with Nigma Galaxy, sent out a cryptic message on X after surviving the European closed qualifiers to reach this event. 

His post reads: “Made it to TI, probably the last one. Grateful for the support. See you all in China.”

So, you don’t have to be Sherlock to tell that he’s possibly announcing his retirement, either after this TI or before the next. 

The community’s King made waves at TI5 by becoming the youngest player to ever win The International, bagging the Aegis at just 16 years old with Evil Geniuses. Time really flies, because it’s been a decade since – and the kid who once shocked the entire world is now looking at a possible farewell. 

Unfortunately, I don’t fancy Nigma’s chances at all this TI, and there’s a strong possibility they won’t even make it out of groups. But if this really is SumaiL’s last dance, I’d love for him to at least go out with a bang. 

It’s really no secret that Chinese Dota has been in a major slump. This region literally used to win TI every other year, and now they’ve been in a drought since 2016.

Not to mention, there’s also a serious lack of a new generation – we’re still seeing the same veterans competing over and over again. Two of the players who won China’s last TI are still competing this year: Zhang “y`” Yiping and Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida, who won TI6 under Wings Gaming, are set to play in Shanghai under Vici Gaming. 

If China wants to revive its Dota scene, its time is now. The event is held on home soil, and they’re fielding three teams at the tournament – four if you count the legendary LGD Gaming organization, though they’re fielding a full South American roster.

TI15 in Shanghai is the perfect chance to attract or motivate a new wave of talent who will eventually replace these vets who have been fighting for over a decade. The question is, do these Chinese representatives have what it takes to make a deep run? In my eyes, only Xtreme Gaming – who received a direct invitation – has a decent shot.  

Players and teams aside, there was some controversy over ticket sales for the event. News broke out that TI15 tickets sold out in just three minutes, which might sound like a huge W at first, but there were threads upon threads on Reddit claiming that most of them were potentially scalped or bought out by clankers. 

Many fans failed to get their tickets and talked about how the process felt a little scuffed, with some even failing despite using multiple devices. Then, they saw tickets being resold for multiple times the price just a few hours later. 

Although this situation sucks for the diehard fans who really wanted to watch the event in person, all these scalping shenanigans better be worth it – if I don’t see a full stadium roaring at every match, I’m going to crash out.

The Shanghai Oriental Sports Center has a venue capacity of 18,000, so it better not disappoint.