HEROIC Take Historic Finish for LATAM at The International

published 17 September 2025

Congratulations to HEROIC Dota 2 on equalling the best ever result for a team from the South American region at The International 2025. And with this 5-6th placement, the squad also set a new record highest finish for players from Brazil, Nicaragua and Bolivia!

HEROIC’s TI 2025 Squad:

🇳🇮 Yuma - Yuma Langlet

🇧🇷 4nalog - João Gabriel Giannini Santos

🇧🇴 Wisper - Adrián Céspedes Dobles

🇵🇪 Scofield - Elvis Joel De la Cruz Peña

🇧🇷 KJ - Matheus Santos Jungles Diniz

Coaching Staff:

🇧🇷 kaffs - Igor Furtado Guimarães Estevão

🇷🇴 Mangusu - Andrei-Vlad Sateanu

Road to The Playoffs

With mixed results throughout the season, TI became the proving ground for the HEROIC squad. After a disappointing showing at the Esports World Cup, the focus shifted to peaking at the right time and carrying the weight of being the region’s sole representative at the most important event of the year.

The opening day was tough, with defeats to Parivision and their surprise drafts, and the newly promoted NAVI side leaving the team on the back foot. But from Day 2 onwards, HEROIC found their rhythm. Back-to-back sweeps over BOOM and Wildcard showcased the squad’s resilience and Yuma’s breakout performances whilst cementing the squad as the best team in the Americas.

By Day 3, momentum was fully on HEROIC’s side - resounding victories against Tundra (including a 27 minute game 1) and then the Yakutou Brothers in the Elimination Stage sealed an incredible turnaround, transforming an 0-4 start into an 8-map win streak all the way to the main stage! This resurgence not only earned HEROIC a high seed in the playoffs but lined us up for a rematch with Parivision in front of a crowd filled with South American fans.

The International Stage

With both Parivision and HEROIC boasting coaches that SirActionSlacks called ‘the two biggest brains in Brazil’, there was a lot to cheer for for the South Americans in the crowd. Both teams allowed each other their best heroes in the draft leading to an exciting standoff, but as one of the heaviest hitters of the tournament, Parivision pulled away with another 2-0 sending HEROIC to the lower bracket for their second rematch.

At this stage, Yuma was leading the entire International with the highest average kills and Tundra just couldn’t figure him out. HEROIC’s unrelenting playstyle drilled them down to secure another 2-0 victory and secured our squad a spot in the history books as they equalled the highest ever placement at a TI for a South American squad!

Our final opponent of the playoffs was BetBoom. In the tightest series of the event for HEROIC, the 3 map affair was pure cinema. After letting the first map slip in favour of BetBoom, the second showcased some of the best Dota HEROIC has ever played to keep the dream alive in front of a roaring crowd. Control of map 3 began falling out of reach for HEROIC, but Yuma, in what is indisputably one of the plays of the tournament, pulled off a ridiculous 2v4 reengagement that allowed our squad to somehow gain a lead. Sadly it wasn’t to be. BetBoom regained composure towards the end of the game and knocked HEROIC out of the event, but the team left the stage with heads held high and the fans got to witness ‘the most entertaining game of the playoffs so far’.

HEROIC now proudly shares the record for highest South American team placement at the International with Thunder Awaken of 5-6th. Thank you to all of the incredible fans who supported us both at home and screaming your lungs out inside the arena. The atmosphere was electric, and as KJ said in his closing speech, you are what makes this special. We hope you’ll stay with us as we start the long road back to next year’s TI, and join us on October 14th our team’s next outing at BLAST Slam IV!