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In the 13-year history of The International, we’ve seen impressive runs, Cinderella stories, comebacks, and redemption arcs. What Team Liquid did in Copenhagen this year, no team has ever done before. Their run for the Aegis was completed without losing a single game in the Main Event.

Team Liquid’s Historic TI 13 Run

During the playoffs, Team Liquid needed just 330 minutes and 50 seconds, or 5 and a half hours, to win the world championship. To put it into perspective, they played three Bo3 series and a Bo5 final in that time. It also means they didn’t make any crucial mistakes in the draft or throw a single game. Their overall run wasn’t spotless since they lost a match 2-0 against Team Spirit and dropped a game against BetBoom Team in a seeding match. Nonetheless, that’s just three games dropped during the entirety of TI. On their path to history, they beat Xtreme Gaming, Cloud9, and Gaimin Gladiators twice with an overall score of 5-0. GG has never won a game in the TI finals despite making it to the end for two consecutive years.

It’s a long-term commitment that finally paid off. The team’s core—Michael “miCKe” Vu, Samuel “Boxi” Svahn, Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi, and coach William “Blitz” Lee—has been playing together since 2019. They’ve had good and bad periods; in 2021, they even failed to qualify for TI, but the organization stuck with them. Their latest acquisition, Neta "33" Shapira, proved to be an amazing addition. With the TI 13 win, 33 became the first player in history to win TI with two different teams. It’s also the second win for Team Liquid.

Their incredible achievement secured them “just” $1,164,393, which is 45% of the $2,587,561 prize pool—the lowest prize pool since the crowdfunding model was introduced in 2013. It’s still a lot of money, but not even close to what some other teams have won. For example, Virtus.pro and Vici Gaming won a similar amount ($1.4M) just by finishing in 5th-6th place at TI 10, which featured a $40M prize pool.

Team Spirit TI 12 Run Contender for the Most Dominant Run

Other teams have had dominant runs at TI as well. In the first International, the legendary Na’Vi squad lost only one game. Dota 2 was still in beta back then, and some matches in the playoffs were Bo3 and Bo5 series.

At TI6, Wings lost two games in the playoffs, but they struggled much more in the group stage than Team Liquid did.

Two years ago, at TI 11, Tundra showed real dominance. They won the tournament without losing a match. They had four 1-1 matches in the Bo2 group stage and lost only one game in the playoffs.

Last year, Team Spirit was even more dominant, losing only two games in the entire tournament before lifting the Aegis, both of them in the playoffs. That could be considered one of the most dominant performances in TI history.

The International is such a historic tournament, and it’s important to remember the greats. Each edition is different, bringing unique storylines and impressive achievements. Dota 2 has not been at its peak for some time now, but that doesn’t take away from Liquid’s historic moment.